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Standard BIOS drives next-generation real-time DSP analysis tools
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Standard BIOS drives next-generation real-time DSP analysis tools
Programmable DSPs have evolved over the past decade from dedicated number crunchers into more universal embedded processors, performing system control and communication tasks normally relegated to general-purpose microcontrollers. This trend first became apparent in 32-bit DSPs, but a similar architectural evolution has begun to take hold in the TMS320C2xx, ’C5x, and ’C54x DSP generations.
As these 16-bit DSPs become pervasive in more sophisticated applications, software complexity is becoming increasingly challenging. To help with this new code complexity, TI and Spectron Microsystems have announced a standard infrastructure to handle multitasking and I/O services for TI’s 16-bit, fixed-point DSPs. At the heart of this initiative is DSP/BIOS, a small, scaleable firmware kernel with an open application program interface (API). Coupled with this DSP/BIOS are visual utilities for real-time program analysis that are on a functional par with those available for the broader embedded market, yet efficient enough to address the resource constraints of 16-bit DSP systems. The DSP/BIOS kernel, which occupies less than 1 kWords of memory and consumes a fraction of one MIPS of DSP processing power while operating, provides basic run-time services to embedded application programs. The kernel supports real-time threads through its preemptive task scheduler, real-time I/O streams through core modules, that manage data flow, and real-time capture through functions that record information about the target program. The target application invokes BIOS services by making API calls that are embedded within the program source code. In addition to simplifying application development and enhancing real-time response, BIOS tasking and I/O facilities drive a companion set of host-based analysis utilities known as BIOScope that can be used to augment the real-time capabilities of standard debuggers. BIOScope developed by Spectron Microsystems, works hand-in-hand with the target BIOS kernel, facilitates real-time program analysis by providing a set of visual capabilities that enable developers to trace, monitor, and probe a DSP application during its course of execution. In fact, BIOScope uses the same physical DSP JTAG connection already employed by the debugger. Like a traditional debug monitor, the BIOS kernel manages real-time communications between the DSP target and the host-based BIOScope utilities. Unlike a monitor, however, the BIOS kernel provides run-time services as part of the application. When used in tandem with a standard debugger during software development, BIOScope’s real-time analysis capabilities provide critical visibility into target program behavior during program execution. Even after the debugger halts the program and assumes control of the target, information already captured by the BIOS kernel and transmitted to the BIOScope host utilities can provide invaluable insight into the sequence of events that led up to the current point of execution. In addition to TI and Spectron, companies endorsing DSP/BIOS include leading DSP software and hardware third-parties DSP Research, DSP Software Engineering, GO DSP, HotHaus, Spectrum Signal Processing and White Mountain DSP. |