Quick Start Guide for SimpleLink MSP432E4 SDK

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

This guide is intended to assist users in the initial setup and demonstration of running their first sample application. The guide explains how to install the SimpleLinkTM MSP432E4TM SDK and lists the various other tools required to get started with your first application.

2. Prerequisites

The user is expected to have the following:

3 SDK - Download and Installation

3.1 Using the SDK Online

A quick and easy way to start working with the SDK is to use TI Resource Explorer on dev.ti.com. This online tool lets you explore the contents of the SimpleLink MSP432E4 SDK. You can build the examples directly using the cloud version of Code Composer Studio. If you choose to use the SDK online, there is no need to download anything to your local computer or install any tools.

3.2 Installing the SDK

You can also download the SimpleLink MSP432E4 SDK from TI Resource Explorer or the software product page on TI’s website.

4. Quick Start for CCS IDE (CCS or GCC Projects)

This section is going to cover the required settings for a CCS installation and how to build and load examples

4.1 Download and Installation

Download CCS

During the installation, the following options are recommended:

www.ti.com/lit/pdf/slau575 has more details about MSP432E4 device

4.1.1 Discovering the SDK in CCS

Install the SDK in the default location pointed to by the installer - C:\ti and Re-start CCS. CCS will automatically detect the latest install.

4.2 Running Your First Example

This section will show how to import, build and load an example

4.2.1 TI Resource Explorer

A quick and easy way to start working with the SDK is to use the TI Resource Explorer on dev.ti.com/tirex. Step by step instructions are available here.

4.2.2 Import via CCS IDE

You may have to expand the project in the Project Explorer window to view the target configuration. If you are using the Launchpad, double click on MSP432E401Y.ccxml

Plug in your launchpad, Click the build and download icon in CCS. The RTOS build for the first time takes a couple of minutes.

www.ti.com/lit/pdf/slau575 has more details about MSP432E4 device

4.3 Create a new SDK based User Application

Do not use the New Project Creation Wizard

4.3.1 Non-RTOS Based Empty Project Template

4.3.2 TIRTOS Based Empty Project Template

4.3.3 FreeRTOS Based Empty Project Template

5. Quick Start for IAR IDE

This section is going to cover the required settings for a IAR installation and how to build and load examples.

5.1 Download and Installation

Download and install IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM. You can get IAR for ARM here.

IAR 8.11.3 requires a patch for proper debug support with the MSP-EXP432E401Y LaunchPad. The patch is provided in the SDK in the C:\ti\simplelink_msp432e4_sdk_4_20_00_12\tools\iar directory or at www.iar.com/mypages. This patch only works with IAR 8.11.3 and should not be used with any other IAR versions.

To install the patch, simple extract the zip where you have IAR Embedded Workbench installed within the \Embedded Workbench 8.0 directory.

For more information refer to the PatchReadme-8.11.3.14204.html file contained within the patch.

5.1.1 Configuring Custom Argument Variables

Before starting to work with any of the projects in the SDK, you need to load a set of variables that will be set for your current workspace:

5.2 Using SysConfig with IAR Workbench

If you are using the IAR toolchain, you can use SysConfig as a standalone desktop tool to generate the configuration files to be compiled and linked with your application. In order to do so you have to open SysConfig from the IAR EWARM IDE like described below. If you open device configurations with SysConfig otherwise some parameters provided by the IDE will be missing.

The steps that follow use the SysConfig standalone installer and IAR-EWARM - use the tool versions from release notes. The figures use the MSP432 SDK as an example, but other SimpleLink SDKs follow the same procedure. These steps assume the TI Code Generation Tools are installed in the default location.

  1. Install SysConfig as a standalone tool (download here) within the default location (C:\ti).

  2. Open IAR and follow these steps to configure it to use the correct viewer for *.syscfg files:

    a. Choose Tools > Configure Viewers from the menus, and click Import.(Possible with IAR EWARM 8.32.2 or higher)

    b. Navigate to the SDK installation directory (\tools\iar) and select the file ‘sysconfig_iar_setup.xml’ like in the image shown below. Click “Edit”to and make sure the string is displayed correctly.

    c. Alternatavily you can add the configuration manually by pressing the New button.

    i. In this case type .syscfg in the File name extensions field.

    ii. Select the Command line option and type the following into the field (this string can also be found in the tools/iar/sysconfig_iar_setup.xml files if you want to copy-paste it from there). $SYSCONFIG_ROOT$\nw\nw.exe $SYSCONFIG_ROOT$ –compiler iar –product $SIMPLELINK_SDK_INSTALL_DIR$.metadata\product.json –output $PROJ_DIR$ $FILE_PATH$

  3. Make sure you imported the custom argument variables (See chapter 5.1.1) and that the paths are correct
  4. Import an example project workspace like described in the previous chapters. Make sure to take it from the syscfg_preview folder.
  5. Double click on the *.syscfg file in your project
  6. This shall open SysConfig and offers you to adapt drivers, IO Pins and other settings
  7. Save your changes and switch back to IAR EWARM.
  8. ebuild the project to perform the custom build step, which uses command line scripts to adapt your IAR project to the changes made in SysConfig.

5.3 Running Your First Example / Importing Your First project

This section will show how to import, build and load an example

Directly accessing workspace from example folder All Code Examples that are shipped with the SDK come with an IAR workspace. Double-Clicking the specific template workspace allows you to open the project, save a copy of workspace and project in separately selected locations to disk and build it.

Browse the example list

Double click on the *.syscfg file in your project. This shall open SysConfig and offers you to adapt drivers, IO Pins and other settings. Save your changes and switch back to IAR EWARM. Saving the configuration in SysConfig does not yet generate new driver and other files; It just saves the configuration.

Rebuild the project to perform the custom build step, which uses command line scripts to adapt your IAR project to the changes made in SysConfig. If you later on do changes in SysConfig and don’t want to rebuild the whole project you can select the *.syscfg file in your IAR project explorer and compile only that one. This will trigger the creation of driver and other files with the changes you made in SysConfig. After that a simple “Make” will detect all changed files for the IAR compiler and linker tool chain.

Make/Build the Example Project. Make [(Project->Make) Shortcut F7]. For RTOS based Projects - Note that the RTOS(kernel) build is a dependent project which is automatically pre-built before the example project builds.

The RTOS kernel(TI-RTOS or FreeRTOS build) project is linked to the workspace but the Example Project is copied into the workspace. SO the RTOS kernel needs to be built only once within the scope of the SDK but each workspace has its own copy of the example project.

For noRTOS Projects - There is not RTOS(kernel) build dependent project imported into the workspace

www.ti.com/lit/pdf/slau574 has more details on IDE specific of MSP432E4

5.4 Create a New SDK Based User Application

This section will show how to create a new SDK user application

www.ti.com/lit/pdf/slau574 has more details on IDE specific of MSP432E4

Make/Build the Project Make [(Project->Make) Shortcut F7].

6 Quick Start for Keil

This section is going to cover the required settings for a Keil installation and how to build and load examples.

Keil support is available for some components of the SDK. The RTOS and Drivers components currently do not support Keil.

6.1 Download and Installation

6.2 Running Your First Example

This section will show how to import/build/load an example

Keil support is available for some components of the SDK

6.3 Create a New SDK Based User Application

Do not use the New Project Creation Wizard

www.ti.com/lit/pdf/SLAU590 has more details about Keil for MSP432E4

7. Quick Start for Makefile Users

The SDK examples and RTOS configuration projects ship Makefiles in addition to IDE specific projects.

7.1 Update imports.mak

Update the top level <SDK_INSTALL_DIR>/imports.mak to point to actual install locations on the user’s machine

7.2 Build RTOS config

Skip this step if you are not using an RTOS.

If the code example in use is an RTOS based example, the RTOS config must be built first. The makefile for RTOS config are available in

<SDK_INSTALL_DIR>\kernel\<tirtos/freertos>\builds\MSP_EXP432E401Y\<debug/release>\<ccs/gcc/iar>

For example: <SDK_INSTALL_DIR>\kernel\tirtos\builds\MSP_EXP432E401Y\release\ccs\makefile

7.3 Build the makefile