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FreeRTOS+Trace and FreeRTOS+CLI Demo

Using the FreeRTOS Win32 Simulator

Download

The example presented on this page is available in the following directory of the offical FreeRTOS zip file download:
FreeRTOS-Plus/Demo/FreeRTOS_Plus_CLI_with_Trace_Windows_Simulator

Introduction

This page describes a simple FreeRTOS example that runs in the FreeRTOS Win32 simulator. Using the simulator makes it easy to evaluate FreeRTOS+CLI and FreeRTOS+Trace on a standard desktop PC, using free development tools, and without needing to connect any external hardware.

To keep everything as simple as possible, the FreeRTOS+CLI command line interface is accessed through a UDP socket on the default Windows loopback IP address of 127.0.0.1. Using the loopback adaptor allows the demo to be used on a single computer, and without a live network connection.

The following commands are implemented:

Command String Command Behaviour
trace The trace command is used to start and stop the trace recording. FreeRTOS+CLI will only process the command if it is entered with exactly one parameter.

To start a FreeRTOS+Trace recording enter:

"trace start"

To stop a FreeRTOS+Trace recording enter:

"trace stop"

Stopping a trace results in the trace buffer being automatically saved to the hard disk of the host computer. Instructions on viewing the trace are provided further down this page.

echo_parameters This demonstrates how to create and implement a command that accepts a variable number of parameters. FreeRTOS+CLI will not check the number of supplied parameters, and the implementation of the command simply echos parameter back, one at a time. For example, if the user enters:

"echo_parameters one two three four"

Then the generated out will be:

The parameters were:
1: one
2: two
3: three
4: four

echo_3_parameters This demonstrates how to create a command that takes an exact number of parameters. The command will not be accepted by FreeRTOS+CLI unless exactly three parameters are supplied. When the command is accepted, the implementation of the command echos all three parameters in a similar manner to the echo_parameters command detailed above.
task-stats Displays a table, each row of which shows state information on a single task. Note that the displayed task stack high water mark will not show a valid value when the Windows simulator is being used.
run-time-stats Displays a table, each row of which shows the amount of time a single task has spent in the running state. That is, how much execution time has been allocated to each task. Both absolute and relative values are displayed, although the absolute times have no units when using the Windows simulator.


Demo Functionality

Two tasks and a single queue are used to generate a simple execution pattern that can be viewed in the FreeRTOS+Trace graphical interface.

A low priority queue send task repeatedly sends a message to the queue. A higher priority queue receive task repeatedly attempts to read a message from the queue, blocking on the queue read operation when no messages are available. An explanation of the resultant execution pattern is provided below.

A trace monitoring task is also created that prints out a message when it determines that the status of the trace recorder has changed since it last executed.

It should be noted that, because the Windows simulator is being used, the timing information displayed while the application is running, and recorded in the trace log, have no meaningful units.


Building and executing the demo

  1. Ensure Microsoft Visual C++ is installed. The free Express version can be used.

  2. The Visual C++ solution file is called FreeRTOS_Plus_CLI_with_Trace.sln, and is located in the \FreeRTOS-Plus\Demo_Projects_Using_FreeRTOS_Simulator\FreeRTOS_Plus_CLI_with_Trace directory of the download. Double click the file to open Visual C++, or alternatively open the file from within the Visual C++ IDE.

    The RTOS project viewed inside the compiler development tool
    The RTOS project viewed in the Visual C++ IDE
    Within the solution explorer:
    • The source files that implement the demo application are listed in the Demo App Source folder.
    • The source files that implement the FreeRTOS+CLI functionality are listed in the FreeRTOS+/FreeRTOS+CLI folder.
    • The source files that implement the FreeRTOS+Trace recorder functionality are listed in the FreeRTOS+/FreeRTOS+Trace folder.
    • The source files that implement the RTOS functionality are listed in the FreeRTOS folder.

  3. Build then execute the project. (F7 will build the project, and F5 will execute the project).


Accessing the Command Console

The command console uses a UDP socket on IP address 127.0.0.1 and port 5001 to receive command line input, and a UDP socket on the same IP address and port 5002 for output. A UDP console program, such as the free YAT utility, can be used as a UDP interface. Note that 127.0.0.1 is the loopback IP address, so a live network connection is not required.

The required UDP command console configuration
The required YAT terminal settings


Creating a FreeRTOS+Trace Recording

To create a trace recording:
  1. Test the UDP connection between the UDP terminal and the running application by trying the "task-stats" and "run-time-stats" commands.

  2. Start the trace recorder by entering the "trace start" command in the UDP terminal. Leave the recording running for approximately five to ten seconds, then end the recording by entering the "trace end" command.

Screen capture after the RTOS trace has been started and stopped from the console
Screen capture after the RTOS trace has been started and stopped from the UDP console


Viewing the Trace Recording in FreeRTOS+Trace

To open and view the trace recording:
  1. Download FreeRTOS+Trace from the Percepio web site if you do not already have it installed.

  2. Open the trace file from within the FreeRTOS+Trace application. The trace file will have been saved as FreeRTOSPlusTrace.dump in the directory that contains the Visual Studio project.

  3. The trace data will be displayed in the main FreeRTOS plus trace window. Scroll the trace display down until you notice "Tx" and "Rx" markers on the left side of the screen. These are the times during which the queue send and queue receive tasks were executing respectively. Zooming in on that region will result in a display similar to the screen shot below. Note that the screen shot has all the visibility filters ticked, not all of which are available in the free FreeRTOS+Trace edition.
Viewing the RTOS trace in FreeRTOS+Trace
Viewing the recorded RTOS trace in FreeRTOS+Trace with explanatory annotation

The image above has been annotated with some green numbers to highlight points of interest. Referring to the image above:

  1. At (1) the CLI task is running. In a real scenario, on real hardware, the CLI task need only execute when there is input to process. In this simulated environment, the TCP/IP stack cannot be allowed to block, so the CLI task is always available to the scheduler.

  2. At (2) the Tx task (the queue send task) unblocks because it is time for it to send another message to the queue. The Tx task pre-empts the CLI task.

  3. At (3) the Tx task calls xQueueSend() to send a message to the queue named DemoQ. The higher priority Rx task (the queue receive task) was blocked on the queue, waiting for a message to arrive, so now unblocks and pre-empts the Tx task.

  4. At (4) the Rx task calls xQueueReceive() again, but the queue is once more empty so the Rx task re-enters the Blocked state (signified by the red colour of the xQueueReceive() label in the trace view) allowing the Tx task to enter the Running state again.

  5. At (5) the Tx task calls vTaskDelayUntil() to enter the Blocked state until once again it is time for it to send a message to the queue.

  6. At (6) the idle task is running.


Going Further

This simple example has only demonstrated the basic functionality. The FreeRTOS+Trace download contains a much more comprehensive FreeRTOS Windows simulator project, along with pre-recorded example trace log files. Visit the Percepio Website for more information.


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