Guidelines for Developing a Nios II HAL Device Driver

Download PDF
ID 683146
Date 6/12/2015
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Guidelines for Developing a Nios II HAL Device Driver
1. Guidelines for Developing a Nios II HAL Device Driver x
1.1. Prerequisites for HAL Device Driver Development 1.2. Developing the HAL UART Device Driver 1.3. Debugging the bit_bang_uart Project 1.4. The BitBangUartTransmit() Function 1.5. The BitBangUartReceive() Function 1.6. Creating Device Hardware Access Macros 1.7. Staging the HAL Device Driver Development 1.8. Understanding the Hardware-Specific INSTANCE and INIT Macros 1.9. Integrating a New HAL Device Driver in the BSP 1.10. Understanding HAL Mutual Exclusion Resources 1.11. Overview of Debugging Tools for HAL Device Drivers 1.12. Debugging the HAL UART Device Driver 1.13. Conclusion 1.14. Document Revision History
1.1. Prerequisites for HAL Device Driver Development x
1.1.1. Using the HAL Architecture and Services 1.1.2. Software Requirements for the Driver Example 1.1.3. HAL Device Drivers and Components
1.2. Developing the HAL UART Device Driver x
1.2.1. Preparing the bit_bang_uart Application and hal_my_uart BSP 1.2.2. Preparing the my_uart_driver Device Driver 1.2.3. Configuring the Altera_Avalon_UART Component 1.2.4. Importing Projects 1.2.5. Verifying Software Functionality 1.2.6. Preview: Customizing the Design
1.2.6. Preview: Customizing the Design x
1.2.6.1. Making Software Modifications 1.2.6.2. Making Hardware Modifications
1.12. Debugging the HAL UART Device Driver x
1.12.1. Setting Breakpoints in the my_uart_driver Device Driver 1.12.2. Setting Watchpoints in the HAL UART Device Driver 1.12.3. Reducing Driver Code and Memory Footprint 1.12.4. Interrupt Latency and Determinism 1.12.5. Debugging with the Altera Logging Functions
1.12.3. Reducing Driver Code and Memory Footprint x
1.12.3.1. Using the Reduced Device Drivers API Option 1.12.3.2. Using the Lightweight Device Drivers API Option
1.12.5. Debugging with the Altera Logging Functions x
1.12.5.1. Altera Logging Usage 1.12.5.2. Altera Logging Example
1. Guidelines for Developing a Nios II HAL Device Driver

1.1.3. HAL Device Drivers and Components

This application note discusses Nios II device drivers and components at several levels. To understand these levels, you need to be familiar with the following concepts:

  • HAL-compatible component—A design for a piece of hardware that can be incorporated into a Nios II system and supported by the HAL. A component is an abstract IP core that can be configured for a specific application. A component has abstract parameters, such as base address. These parameters have no specific value until a component instance is created. The Altera Avalon UART is an example of a component.
  • Component instance—A component that is instantiated in a system. Component instance parameters have specific values, assigned at the time of instantiation. For example, an instance of the Altera Avalon UART must have a specific base address. There can be multiple instances of a component in a system. Each instance has a unique name, such as uart1, assigned in Qsys.
  • HAL-device driver—A piece of software written to interface a component to the HAL. A device driver supports a specific component. A Nios II BSP contains a single device driver for each component found in the system. If there are multiple instances of one component, they are all supported by a single driver. In this application note, my_uart_driver is an example of a device driver.
  • HAL-generic device model class—A group of device drivers with similar characteristics and a common high-level API. Generic device models allow you to use a consistent set of API calls with a variety of hardware designs. The class of character-mode devices is an example of a HAL device class, and the printf() function is an example of a function call supported by this device class.

For more information about HAL device classes, refer to “HAL Architecture” in the Overview of the Hardware Abstraction Layer chapter of the Nios II Software Developer's Handbook.

Related Information
Level Two Title