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1.. _module-pw_boot_cortex_m:
2
3----------------
4pw_boot_cortex_m
5----------------
6
7The ARM Cortex-M boot module provides a linker script and some early
8initialization of static memory regions and C++ constructors. This is enough to
9get many ARMv7-M and ARMv8-M cores booted and ready to run C++ code.
10
11This module is currently designed to support a very minimal device memory layout
12configuration:
13
14- One contiguous region for RAM.
15- One contiguous region for flash.
16- Static, in-flash vector table at the default location expected by the SoC.
17
18Note that this module is not yet particularly suited for projects that utilize
19a bootloader, as it's relatively opinionated regarding where code is stored.
20
21.. warning::
22
23   This module is currently NOT stable! Depending on this module may cause
24   breakages as this module is updated.
25
26Sequence
27========
28
29The high level pw_boot_cortex_m boot sequence looks like the following
30pseudo-code invocation of the user-implemented functions:
31
32.. code-block:: cpp
33
34   void pw_boot_Entry() {  // Boot entry point.
35     // Set VTOR.
36     // Interrupts disabled.
37     pw_boot_PreStaticMemoryInit();  // User-implemented function.
38     // Static memory initialization.
39     // Interrupts enabled.
40     pw_boot_PreStaticConstructorInit();  // User-implemented function.
41     // C++ static constructors are invoked.
42     pw_boot_PreMainInit();  // User-implemented function.
43     main();  // User-implemented function.
44     pw_boot_PostMain();  // User-implemented function.
45     PW_UNREACHABLE;
46   }
47
48Setup
49=====
50
51Processor Selection
52-------------------
53Set the ``pw_boot_BACKEND`` variable to the appropriate target for the processor
54in use.
55
56- ``pw_boot_cortex_m:armv7m`` for ARMv7-M cores.
57
58- ``pw_boot_cortex_m:armv8m`` for ARMv8-M cores. This sets the MSPLIM register
59  so that the main stack pointer (MSP) cannot descend outside the bounds of the
60  main stack defined in the linker script. The MSP of the entry point is also
61  adjusted to be within the bounds.
62
63User-Implemented Functions
64--------------------------
65This module expects all of these extern "C" functions to be defined outside this
66module:
67
68- ``int main()``: This is where applications reside.
69- ``void pw_boot_PreStaticMemoryInit()``: This function executes just before
70  static memory has been zeroed and static data is intialized. This function
71  should set up any early initialization that should be done before static
72  memory is initialized, such as:
73
74  - Setup the interrupt vector table and VTOR if required.
75  - Enabling the FPU or other coprocessors.
76  - Opting into extra restrictions such as disabling unaligned access to ensure
77    the restrictions are active during static RAM initialization.
78  - Initial CPU clock, flash, and memory configurations including potentially
79    enabling extra memory regions with .bss and .data sections, such as SDRAM
80    or backup powered SRAM.
81  - Fault handler initialization if required before static memory
82    initialization.
83
84  .. warning::
85
86     Code running in this hook is violating the C spec as static values are not
87     yet initialized, meaning they have not been loaded (.data) nor
88     zero-initialized (.bss).
89
90     Interrupts are disabled until after this function returns.
91
92- ``void pw_boot_PreStaticConstructorInit()``: This function executes just
93  before C++ static constructors are called. At this point, other static memory
94  has been zero or data initialized. This function should set up any early
95  initialization that should be done before C++ static constructors are run,
96  such as:
97
98  - Run time dependencies such as Malloc, and ergo sometimes the RTOS.
99  - Persistent memory that survives warm reboots.
100  - Enabling the MPU to catch nullptr dereferences during construction.
101  - Main stack watermarking.
102  - Further fault handling configuration necessary for your platform which were
103    not safe before pw_boot_PreStaticRamInit().
104  - Boot count and/or boot session UUID management.
105
106- ``void pw_boot_PreMainInit()``: This function executes just before main, and
107  can be used for any device initialization that isn't application specific.
108  Depending on your platform, this might be turning on a UART, setting up
109  default clocks, etc.
110
111- ``PW_NO_RETURN void pw_boot_PostMain()``: This function executes after main
112  has returned. This could be used for device specific teardown such as an
113  infinite loop, soft reset, or QEMU shutdown. In addition, if relevant for your
114  application, this would be the place to invoke the global static
115  destructors. This function must not return!
116
117
118If any of these functions are unimplemented, executables will encounter a link
119error.
120
121Required Configs
122----------------
123This module has a number of required configuration options that mold the linker
124script to fit to a wide variety of ARM Cortex-M SoCs.
125
126Vector Table
127------------
128Targets using ``pw_boot_cortex_m`` will need to provide an ARMv7-M interrupt
129vector table (ARMv7-M Architecture Reference Manual DDI 0403E.b section B1.5.2
130and B1.5.3). This is done by storing an array into the ``.vector_table``
131section, and properly configuring ``PW_BOOT_VECTOR_TABLE_*`` preprocessor
132defines to cover the address region your SoC expects the vector table to be
133located at (often the beginning of the flash region). If using a bootloader,
134ensure VTOR (Vector Table Offset Register) is configured to point to the vector
135table, otherwise ensure that execution begins at ``pw_boot_Entry`` which will
136set VTOR as its first operation. If in doubt, refer to the hardware vendor's
137documentation to determine where the vector table and reset handler should be
138located.
139
140Example vector table:
141
142.. code-block:: cpp
143
144   typedef void (*InterruptHandler)();
145
146   PW_KEEP_IN_SECTION(".vector_table")
147   const InterruptHandler vector_table[] = {
148       // The starting location of the stack pointer.
149       // This address is NOT an interrupt handler/function pointer, it is simply
150       // the address that the main stack pointer should be initialized to. The
151       // value is reinterpret casted because it needs to be in the vector table.
152       [0] = reinterpret_cast<InterruptHandler>(&pw_boot_stack_high_addr),
153
154       // Reset handler, dictates how to handle reset interrupt. This is the
155       // address that the Program Counter (PC) is initialized to at boot.
156       [1] = pw_boot_Entry,
157
158       // NMI handler.
159       [2] = DefaultFaultHandler,
160       // HardFault handler.
161       [3] = DefaultFaultHandler,
162       ...
163   };
164
165Usage
166=====
167
168Publicly exported symbols
169-------------------------
170The linker script provided by this module exports a number of symbols that
171may be used to retrieve the locations of specific memory regions at runtime.
172These symbols are declared as ``uint8_t`` variables. The variables themselves
173do not contain the addresses, they only reside at the memory location they
174reference. To retrieve the memory locations, simply take the reference of the
175symbol (e.g. ``&pw_boot_vector_table_addr``).
176
177``pw_boot_heap_[low/high]_addr``: Beginning and end of the memory range of the heap.
178These addresses may be identical, indicating a heap with a size of zero bytes.
179
180``pw_boot_stack_[low/high]_addr``: Beginning and end of the memory range of the main
181stack. This might not be the only stack in the system.
182
183``pw_boot_vector_table_addr``: Beginning of the ARMv7-M interrupt vector table.
184
185Configuration
186=============
187These configuration options can be controlled by appending list items to
188``pw_boot_cortex_m_LINK_CONFIG_DEFINES`` as part of a Pigweed target
189configuration.
190
191``PW_BOOT_HEAP_SIZE`` (required):
192How much memory (in bytes) to reserve for the heap. This can be zero.
193
194``PW_BOOT_MIN_STACK_SIZE`` (required):
195The minimum size reserved for the main stack. If statically allocated memory
196begins to cut into the minimum, a link error will be emitted.
197
198``PW_BOOT_FLASH_BEGIN`` (required):
199The start address of the MCU's flash region. This region must NOT include the
200vector table. (i.e. if the VECTOR_TABLE is in flash, the flash region
201should begin *after* the vtable)
202
203``PW_BOOT_FLASH_SIZE`` (required):
204Size of the flash region in bytes.
205
206``PW_BOOT_RAM_BEGIN`` (required):
207The start address of the MCU's RAM region.
208
209``PW_BOOT_RAM_SIZE`` (required):
210Size of the RAM region in bytes.
211
212``PW_BOOT_VECTOR_TABLE_BEGIN`` (required):
213Address the target MCU expects the link-time vector table to be located at. This
214is typically the beginning of the flash region. While the vector table may be
215changed later in the boot process, a minimal vector table MUST be present for
216the MCU to operate as expected.
217
218``PW_BOOT_VECTOR_TABLE_SIZE`` (required):
219Number of bytes to reserve for the ARMv7-M vector table.
220
221Alternatively the linker script can be replaced by setting
222``pw_boot_cortex_m_LINKER_SCRIPT`` to a valid ``pw_linker_script`` target
223as part of a Pigweed target configuration.
224
225Dependencies
226============
227- :bdg-ref-primary-line:`module-pw_preprocessor`
228