Overview

Application features:

booting to another application and on-demand code execution
reading and writing
- RAM
- embedded FLASH (eFLASH)
- QSPI (FLASH or RAM)
- OTP
- Registers
FLASH (embedded or QSPI) memory management
custom protocol for UART or SWD communication

It is used as a default target application by:

libprogrammer
cli_programmer
SmartSnippets Toolbox

Vocabulary and notes

uartboot protocols use few terms:

SOH - Start of Heading (0x01 value)
STX - Start of Text (0x02 value)
ACK - Acknowledge (0x06 value)
NAK - Negative Acknowledge (0x15 value)
CRC - 16-bits value calculated from data using CRC16-CCITT algorithm

uartboot uses 32-bits addressing.

Byte order

The data length, CRC, address, bytes in OTP words should be sent using little-endian (LSB-first).

UART configuration

The application can be controlled using the serial console exposed over UART2.

GPIO pins configuration is as follows:

DA1459x GPIO pin	DA1469x GPIO pin	DA1468x GPIO pin	Function
P0.13	P0.9	P1.3	UART2 TX
P0.15	P0.8	P2.3	UART2 RX

UART settings are as follows:

Setting	DA1459x/DA1469x	DA1468x
Baudrate	115200	57600
Data bits	8	8
Stop bits	1	1
Parity	None	None
Flow control	None	None

This configuration can be changed, by modifying uartboot.bin binary at specific offsets:

Offset	Description	Format
0x0200	TX port number	(4 bytes LE)
0x0204	TX pin number	(4 bytes LE)
0x0208	RX port number	(4 bytes LE)
0x020C	RX pin number	(4 bytes LE)
0x0210	UART's baudrate value	(4 bytes LE)

By default, all values are set to 0xFFFFFFFF.

UART transmisison flow

A complete flow for command transmission handling (including in/out data) is as follows:

<= <STX> <SOH> (ver1) (ver2)
=> <SOH>
=> (type) (len1) (len2)
call HOP_INIT
<= <ACK> / <NAK>
if len > 0
     call HOP_HEADER
     => (data...)
     call HOP_DATA
     <= <ACK> / <NAK>
     <= (crc1) (crc2)
     => <ACK> / <NAK>
call HOP_EXEC
call HOP_SEND_LEN
if len > 0
     <= (len1) (len2)
     => <ACK> / <NAK>
     call HOP_SEND_DATA
     <= (data...)
     => (crc1) (crc2)
     <= <ACK> / <NAK>

  '<=' - data sent by uartboot.
  '=>' - data sent to uartboot by host application.

In case, error occures at any step (HOP_*), uartboot will send 'NAK', which shall terminate the transmission.

SWD (debugger) interface

The application can be also controlled using the SWD interface (debugger commands), this can be done by performing the following actions:

find DBGP string marker in uartboot binary (it is aligned to 4 bytes) and mark the fields as follows:

Offset	Field	Description	Format
0x00	DBGP	`DBGP` bytes	(4 bytes)
0x04	RUN_SWD	SWD interface usage marker (0: SWD is not used, other: SWD if is used)	(4 bytes LE)
0x08	NUM_ADDRESS	Current index of the command	(4 bytes LE)
0x0C	CMD_BUF_ADDRESS	Current command buffer address	(4 bytes LE / pointer)
0x10	BUF_ADDRESS	Input/output payload buffer address	(4 bytes LE / pointer)
0x14	ACK_NAK_ADDRESS	Input/output ACK/NAK value	(4 bytes LE)

write '0x01' to RUN_SWD field in the application binary
load application binary to the device RAM memory and execute it - application should start in SWD mode and stop at the breakpoint
write input data at BUF_ADDRESS (if needed)
write command header at CMD_BUF_ADDRESS
increase value at NUM_ADDRESS
set field at ACK_NAK_ADDRESS to NAK value
continue the application (leave the breakpoint)
uartboot executes given command then stops at the breakpoint again.
read field at ACK_NAK_ADDRESS - if command executed correctly it will contain ACK value
read output data from buffer at CMD_BUF_ADDRESS (if needed)

Note: Detaching the debugger from board will cause a hardfault and it will be not possible to communicate with uartboot anymore until application restart.

Commands overwiev

uartboot application supports the following commands:

Command	Name	Description
0x01	Write	Write data to RAM
0x02	Read	Read data from RAM
0x03	Copy to QSPI	Copy data from RAM to QSPI memory
0x04	Erase QSPI	Erase a part of the QSPI memory
0x05	Run	Execute a part of code
0x06	Write OTP	Write data to OTP memory
0x07	Read OTP	Read data from OTP memory
0x08	Read QSPI	Read data from QSPI memory
0x09	Customer specific	Perform customer specific action
0x0A	Read partition table	Read partition table from FLASH memory
0x0B	Get version	Get uartboot's version
0x0C	Chip erase QSPI	Erase whole QSPI FLASH memory
0x0D	Is empty QSPI	Check that a part of QSPI memory is empty
0x0E	Read partition	Read data from FLASH partion
0x0F	Write partition	Write data to FLASH partion
0x10	Get QSPI state	Get QSPI controller state
0x11	GPIO WD	Enable external watchdog notifying
0x12	QSPI direct write	Write data directly to QSPI memory
0x13	Chip erase eFLASH	Erase whole eFLASH memory
0x14	Read eFLASH	Read data from eFLASH memory
0x15	eFLASH direct write	Write data directly to eFLASH memory
0x16	Copy to eFLASH	Copy data from RAM to eFLASH memory
0x17	Erase eFLASH	Erase a part of the eFLASH memory
0x18	Is empty eFLASH	Check that a part of eFLASH memory is empty
0x30	Change baudrate	Change communication UART's baudrate
0xFF	Dummy	Write 'Live' marker to data buffer

Supported commands

Supported commands' description.

Write

Write data to RAM memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x01
Length LSB	(0x04 + N)
Length MSB	(0x04 + N) >> 8
Destination address LSB	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address MSB	0xXX
Data 0	Data byte 0
…	…
Data n	Data byte N

Note: SWD interface is able to write directly into RAM memory, which is suggested way for performing this operation. This command can be also used for writing values to registers.

Read

Read data from RAM memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x02
Length LSB	0x06
Length MSB	0x00
Source address LSB	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address MSB	0xXX
Data length LSB	0xXX
Data length MSB	0xXX

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Data 0	Data byte 0
…	…
Data n	Data byte N

Note: SWD interface is able to read directly from RAM memory, which is suggested way for performing this operation. This command can be also used for reading values from registers.

Copy to QSPI

Copy data from RAM to QSPI FLASH/RAM memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x03
Length LSB	0x0A
Length MSB	0x00
Source address LSB	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address MSB	0xXX
Data length LSB	0xXX
Data length MSB	0xXX
Destination address LSB	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address MSB	0xXX

Erase QSPI

Erase a part of the QSPI FLASH memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x04
Length LSB	0x08
Length MSB	0x00
QSPI address LSB	0xXX
QSPI address	0xXX
QSPI address	0xXX
QSPI address MSB	0xXX
Size LSB	0xXX
Size	0xXX
Size	0xXX
Size MSB	0xXX

Note: All QSPI FLASH sectors which include given area (specified by address + size) will be erased (erase operation is sector aligned).

Run

Execute a part of the code.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x05
Length LSB	0x04
Length MSB	0x00
Memory address LSB	0xXX
Memory address	0xXX
Memory address	0xXX
Memory address MSB	0xXX

Note: Code can be executed from different memories e.g. RAM, eFLASH, QSPI, OTP, ROM. If the memory address is the same as the input buffer then uartboot will copy all data from input buffer at RAM 0 address and perform the SW Reset. This feature can be used for booting application from RAM which are too big for handling by ROM bootlaoder.

Write OTP

Write data to the OTP memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x06
Length LSB	(0x04 + N * 4)
Length MSB	(0x04 + N * 4) >> 8
OTP cell offset LSB	0xXX
OTP cell offset	0xXX
OTP cell offset	0xXX
OTP cell offset MSB	0xXX
Word 0 LSB	0xXX
Word 0	0xXX
Word 0	0xXX
Word 0 MSB	0xXX
…	…
Word n LSB	0xXX
Word n	0xXX
Word n	0xXX
Word n MSB	0xXX

Note: Cell size is 64-bits for DA1468x and 32-bits for DA1469x. In case of DA1459x, the OTP is emulated by allowing certain regions in eFLASH to be write/erase protected.

Read OTP

Read data from the OTP memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x07
Length LSB	0x06
Length MSB	0x00
OTP cell offset LSB	0xXX
OTP cell offset	0xXX
OTP cell offset	0xXX
OTP cell offset MSB	0xXX
Data length LSB	0xXX
Data length MSB	0xXX

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Word 0 LSB	0xXX
Word 0	0xXX
Word 0	0xXX
Word 0 MSB	0xXX
…	…
Word n LSB	0xXX
Word n	0xXX
Word n	0xXX
Word n MSB	0xXX

Note: Cell size is 64-bits for DA1468x and 32-bits for DA1469x. Data length is a number of 32-bits words. In case of DA1459x, the OTP is emulated by allowing certain regions in eFLASH to be write/erase protected.

Read QSPI

Read data from QSPI memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x08
Length LSB	0x06
Length MSB	0x00
Source address LSB	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address MSB	0xXX
Data length LSB	0xXX
Data length MSB	0xXX

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Data 0	Data byte 0
…	…
Data n	Data byte N

Customer specific

Perform customer specific action.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x09
Length LSB	0x00
Length MSB	0x00

Note: Behavior and input/output messages are implemented by the customer.

Read partition table

Read partition table from FLASH memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x0A
Length LSB	0x00
Length MSB	0x00

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Length LSB	0xXX
Length MSB	0xXX
Sector size LSB	0xXX
Sector size MSB	0xXX
Start sector 0 LSB	0xXX
Start sector 0 MSB	0xXX
Start count 0 LSB	0xXX
Start count 0 MSB	0xXX
Partition ID 0	0xXX
Partition name length 0 LSB	0xXX
Partition name length 0 MSB	0xXX
Partition name 0 START	0xXX
…	…
Partition name 0 END	0x00
…	…
Start sector N LSB	0xXX
Start sector N MSB	0xXX
Start count N LSB	0xXX
Start count N MSB	0xXX
Partition ID N	0xXX
Partition name length N LSB	0xXX
Partition name length N MSB	0xXX
Partition name N START	0xXX
…	…
Partition name N END	0x00

Note: Check uartboot_types.h file for more details.

Get version

Get uartboot's version.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x0B
Length LSB	0x00
Length MSB	0x00

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Version character 0	'0'
Version character 1	'.'
Version character 2	'0'
Version character 3	'.'
Version character 4	'0'
Version character 5	'.'
Version character 6	'3'

Note: Response string is sent without the '\0' character at the end. Its length is sent before the payload.

Chip erase QSPI

Erase whole QSPI FLASH memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x0C
Length LSB	0x00
Length MSB	0x00

Note: Execution time for this command is slightly longer than for the other commands.

Is empty QSPI

Check that the part of the QSPI FLASH memory is empty.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x0D
Length LSB	0x08
Length MSB	0x00
Size LSB	0xXX
Size	0xXX
Size	0xXX
Size MSB	0xXX
Start address LSB	0xXX
Start address	0xXX
Start address	0xXX
Start address MSB	0xXX

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Number LSB	0xXX
Number	0xXX
Number	0xXX
Number MSB	0xXX

Note: If Number represents positive value, than it is a number of bytes that were checked to be erased. Otherwise, it represents position of first non-empty byte multiplied by -1.

Read partition

Read data from FLASH partition.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x0E
Length LSB	0x07
Length MSB	0x00
Source address LSB	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address MSB	0xXX
Data length LSB	0xXX
Data length MSB	0xXX
Partition ID	0xXX

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Data 0	Data byte 0
…	…
Data n	Data byte N

Note: Source address should be an offset from the partition beginning.

Write partition

Copy data from RAM to FLASH partition.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x0F
Length LSB	0x0B
Length MSB	0x00
Source address LSB	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address MSB	0xXX
Data length LSB	0xXX
Data length MSB	0xXX
Destination address LSB	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address MSB	0xXX
Partition ID	0xXX

Note: Destination address should be an offset from the partition beginning.

Get QPSI state

Get QSPI controller state

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x10
Length LSB	0x01
Length MSB	0x00
QSPI Controller ID	0xXX

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Driver configured	0x01 / 0x00
Manufacture ID	0xXX
Device type	0xXX
Density	0xXX

Note: DA1459x & DA1468x support only one QSPI controller, DA1469x and DA1470x can support 2. Manufacturer ID, Device type and Density depends on connected QSPI memory.

GPIO WD

Enable external watchdog notifying. Start square wave on QPIO pin: 15ms high state, 2s low state.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x11
Length LSB	0x02
Length MSB	0x00
GPIO pad	(PORT << 5) + PIN
GPIO level	0x00: 3.3V, 0x01: 1.8V

QSPI direct write

Write data directly to QSPI memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x12
Length LSB	(0x05 + N)
Length MSB	(0x05 + N) >> 8
Verify write	0x00 / 0x01
Destination address LSB	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address MSB	0xXX
Data 0	Data byte 0
…	…
Data n	Data byte N

Chip erase eFLASH

Erase whole eFLASH memory (excluding the 0x40000 - 0x40800 area).

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x13
Length LSB	0x00
Length MSB	0x00

Read eFLASH

Read data from eFLASH memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x14
Length LSB	0x06
Length MSB	0x00
Source address LSB	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address MSB	0xXX
Data length LSB	0xXX
Data length MSB	0xXX

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Data 0	Data byte 0
…	…
Data n	Data byte N

QSPI direct write

Write data directly to QSPI memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x15
Length LSB	(0x05 + N)
Length MSB	(0x05 + N) >> 8
Verify write	0x00 / 0x01
Destination address LSB	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address MSB	0xXX
Data 0	Data byte 0
…	…
Data n	Data byte N

Copy to eFLASH

Copy data from RAM to eFLASH memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x16
Length LSB	0x0A
Length MSB	0x00
Source address LSB	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address	0xXX
Source address MSB	0xXX
Data length LSB	0xXX
Data length MSB	0xXX
Destination address LSB	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address	0xXX
Destination address MSB	0xXX

Erase eFLASH

Erase a part of the eFLASH memory.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x17
Length LSB	0x08
Length MSB	0x00
eFLASH address LSB	0xXX
eFLASH address	0xXX
eFLASH address	0xXX
eFLASH address MSB	0xXX
Size LSB	0xXX
Size	0xXX
Size	0xXX
Size MSB	0xXX

Note: All eFLASH sectors which include given area (specified by address + size) will be erased (erase operation is sector aligned).

Is empty QSPI

Check that the part of the QSPI FLASH memory is empty.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x18
Length LSB	0x08
Length MSB	0x00
Size LSB	0xXX
Size	0xXX
Size	0xXX
Size MSB	0xXX
Start address LSB	0xXX
Start address	0xXX
Start address	0xXX
Start address MSB	0xXX

Return Message

Byte Description	Value
Number LSB	0xXX
Number	0xXX
Number	0xXX
Number MSB	0xXX

Note: If Number represents positive value, than it is a number of bytes that were checked to be erased. Otherwise, it represents position of first non-empty byte multiplied by -1.

Change baudrate

Change communication UART's baudrate.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0x30
Length LSB	0x04
Length MSB	0x00
Baudrate LSB	0xXX
Baudrate	0xXX
Baudrate	0xXX
Baudrate MSB	0xXX

Note: 'ACK' after command execution is sent using the new baudrate. This command has no effect in SWD mode. Allowed baudrates: 4800, 9600, 14400, 19200, 28800, 38400, 57600, 115200, 230400, 500000, 1000000.

Dummy

Write Live marker to the data buffer.

Command Format

Byte Description	Value
SOH	0x01
Command Opcode	0xFF
Length LSB	0x00
Length MSB	0x00

Note: This command writes 'Live' at the beginning of the data buffer.