Raspberry Pi Pico FreeRTOS and C/C++ ready to go 🚀

This project provides a ready-to-use setup for developing with the Raspberry Pi Pico using FreeRTOS and C/C++. It includes scripts to automate the process of flashing the firmware and opening a serial terminal to monitor the output.

Cloning the Project

To get started, clone the project repository from GitHub:

git  clone  https://github.com/wikilift/rp2040-freertos-cpp-base.git

cd  rp2040-freertos-cpp-base

Requirements📚

• CMake: Used to generate build files for the project.

• Raspberry Pi Pico SDK: Includes necessary tools and libraries for Raspberry Pi Pico development.

• GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain: Required to compile firmware for Raspberry Pi Pico.

• FreeRTOS-Kernel: Make sure the FreeRTOS-Kernel directory is present in your Pico SDK. For example, the path should look like: bash pi-pico/sdk/FreeRTOS-Kernel

Building the Project

Before using the flash script, you need to compile the project manually. You can do this in one of two ways:

• Using make from the command line:

mkdir -p build
cd build
cmake ..
make

-Using the Raspberry Pi Pico Extension in VSCode:

• Open the root folder of the project as your workspace.
• Use the "Build" button from the Pico SDK extension toolbar.
• Make sure the Raspberry Pi Pico SDK and CMakeLists.txt are correctly set up in your environment.

You can use the provided Python script to automate the build process.

This script will create the build directory, run cmake, and then ninja to build the project.

Flash Script

The provided script flash.py automates the process of flashing the .uf2 firmware file to a Raspberry Pi Pico and then opens a serial terminal to monitor its output. This script is particularly useful for developers who want to speed up the testing and debugging process of their microcontroller projects.

Script Requirements📚

To run the script, ensure you have the following installed:

• Python 3.x: Required to run the script.

• Minicom: Serial communication tool. Install on Linux with:

``sh

sudo apt-get install minicom

``

• PySerial: Serial communication library. Install with:

pip install pyserial

Usage👁️

Script Parameters

The script accepts several parameters to customize its operation:

• -c, --cmake: Path to the CMakeLists.txt file. Default is CMakeLists.txt.

• -p, --port: Serial port of the Raspberry Pi Pico. Default is /dev/ttyACM0.

• -m, --mount: Mount point for the Raspberry Pi Pico in bootloader mode. Default is /media/dinux.

• -b, --build: Path to the directory containing the .uf2 file. Default is build/src.

• -B, --baud: Baud rate for the serial connection. Default is 115200.

Example Execution📚

python flash.py -c path/to/CMakeLists.txt -p /dev/ttyACM0 -m /media/dinux -b build/src -B 115200

This command will flash the .uf2 file to the Raspberry Pi Pico connected to the port /dev/ttyACM0, and then open minicom at 115200 baud to monitor the serial output.

Flashing Process Description📕

1. Get Project Name: The script looks for the line set(ProjectName <name>) in the CMakeLists.txt file to identify the project name.

2. Enter Bootloader Mode: The Raspberry Pi Pico is rebooted into bootloader mode by sending a serial command at 1200 baud.

3. Wait for Mount: The script waits until the Pico is mounted at the specified mount point (/media/userOS/RPI-RP2).

4. Copy Firmware: Once mounted, the .uf2 file is copied to the mounted directory.

5. Open Serial Terminal: Finally, the script opens minicom to monitor the serial output from the Pico.

Notes📜

• Ensure minicom is properly configured for your environment.

• If you experience issues with serial port permissions, you may need to add your user to the dialout group:

sudo usermod -aG dialout $USER

Adding Global Libraries:
To include a library globally, copy the library files to the pi-pico/sdk/lib directory and add its subdirectory path to your CMakeLists.txt file using:

add_subdirectory(${PICO_SDK_PATH}/lib/your_library_name)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.