Need File System for M52259

[vboccanf]

Hi Mark,

I'm completely new to uTasker but it looks really cool. Nice job!

I'm working on a brand new project using the MCF52259 and Code Warrior 7.2. I only have 3 months to get the first prototype done and one of the things I need to get be able to do is to write to internal flash to record parameter values (sensors, actuators, etc.) and a list of faults.

I've seen several references in the forums and on the site to a file system and a parameter storage system. Is it possible to use one or both of these components standalone or do I need to run them as part of UTasker? If they can't be run standalone, is their a way to turn off the other features of UTasker to minimize memory usage?

I only have the 64K if internal RAM that comes with the 52259 and anticipate that my application may use half of that. I am anticipating needing things like a bootloader, USB and Ethernet down the line but am a little hesitant to try to get that all working now if I don't have to.

Any guidance you can provide is much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[mark]

Hi

The uTasker project for the M52259 includes several resources that should fit in:
- uFileSystem - this allows for a very fast and simple file system to be in internal FLASH and/or external SPI FLASH. It interacts with the web server, FTP and application code whereby the low level calls can also be used to access the medium (eg. for reading and writing data which is not necessarily file oriented).
- User Files - these are files which are embedded in code - they can therefore not be changed without reloading new code but can interact with the file system (eg. FTP and HTTP) alongside the uFileSystem files (they look like read-only file in the uFileSystem).
- Embedded User Files. These are like user files but they can be uploaded into internal or external SPI FLASH as a single file and then appear as multiple files in the uFileSystem - this can make some file management simpler in certain projects (like when there is a set of web pages which can be exchanged by loading a single file)
- utFAT. This allows FAT32 compatibility when an SD card is connected to the M52259 via its QSPI. This allows several GBytes to be easily saved, read and managed - the SD card is removable and can then be read in a PC.
- uParameterSystem for storing and retrieving parameters (maybe suitable for storing smaller amounts of information rather than using files).

The uTasker project is fully configurable in its config file so its features and dimensions are very controllable. It is a small footprint solution so gives additional applications a lot of room on the M52259 - the applications can also use the uTasker resources and so tend to be easier to write and require much less code too. The complete uTasker demo project with all Ethernet, USB, utFAT and other demo interfaces (including a quite large command line menu interface via TELNET, UART and/or USB CDC takes up about 105k FLASH and about 26k SRAM. Removing parts that are not needed (by define) reduces it to much smaller sizes, depending on what is used and what not. Note that the SRAM use includes the Ethernet buffers which take up about 12k by default plus things like UART and USB buffers (which will be generally required when using these), etc.

The project includes USB, Ethernet (FTP and HTTP)  [optionally encrypted] and UART SREC boot loaders for the chip. The complete project can be simulated in the uTasker M52259 simulator (in real-time) and will run out-of-the-box on the M52259DEMO, M52259EVB (new Tower boards being tested at the moment) using Codewarrior or GCC. This makes stating much easier and real project development work much more efficient.

It is simplest to request an evaluation, work through the tutorial (which takes about 20 minutes to complete) and then you can test and use most of the features as described above (documentation on the documentation page, or questions and answers in the forum should fill in any extra details as needed) and see exactly what is suitable and what not.

Good luck

Regards

Mark