README for Astrobe

Astrobe

ARM Oberon Development System for Windows

Version 4.0
Copyright © 2006-2011 CFB Software
Last Updated 26 Nov 2011

E-Mail:		info@cfbsoftware.com
Website:		www.astrobe.com

Introduction
System Requirements
List of Files
Installation
Technical Support
Licence Agreement
Ordering Information
Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

Astrobe is a fast and responsive integrated development environment for Windows. It is designed to be used to write software to run on the powerful NXP / Philips LPC2000 family of ARM-based microcontrollers. The programming language supported by Astrobe is Oberon.

The Oberon Language

Oberon is a general-purpose, procedural programming language. Its type-safety, module consistency-checking and predictable code-generation features facilitate the development of secure and reliable software. Oberon is a refinement of Modula-2 which, in turn, was an improved version of Pascal. Programmers with experience of either of these languages should adapt to Oberon with minimal effort. In additional to the usual range of data types and programming language facilities Oberon features include:

Type-extension capabilities
Assertions for validating input / output parameters
Automatic array index checking
Type-checking / consistency validation across modules
Read-only access to external global variables
Support for 32-bit REAL data type
Optional read-only access to parameters
Direct assignment of structured types (arrays and records)
Nested procedures
Nested comments

The implementation of Oberon which targets the ARM-based microcontrollers includes additional features particularly designed for efficient code-generation, low-level programming, debugging and access to advanced capabilities of the devices without the need for assembly language or C.

Generation of regular 32-bit ARM native code
Leaf procedures store parameters and local variables in registers when execution speed is a priority
Explicit read / write access to memory-mapped peripheral device registers
Interrupt procedures
Runtime error trapping pinpoints faults by module name and line number
Debug trace statements output to UART0
Byte-level access to complex data-structures
Direct access to the program counter, frame pointer, link register and other special ARM registers

The standard library modules and linker included with Astrobe support a total of 24 different microcontrollers from the NXP (Philips) LPC2103, LPC2106, LPC2129, LPC2138, LPC2148, LPC2214 and LPC2378 families.

Astrobe Features

Astrobe has the following features:

Editing

Standard Windows, programmer-oriented, text-editing features
Fast and responsive interactive operation
Tabbed multi-document interface for editing multiple source files
Split-screen editing
Regular expression support in Find / Replace
Bookmarks
Line modification indicators
Optional line numbers, printing features etc. etc.

Language Syntax-oriented Editing

Automatic syntax colouring of Oberon language elements as you type
Auto-indexing of procedures and imports of each source file for code navigation
Auto-capitalisation of Oberon keywords when typing source code

Development

Control Editing, Compiling, Linking / Building generation cycle from the menu
Capture compilation errors in a separate window
Click on an error line to take you to the actual line in the source
The automated Build feature ensures outdated modules are recompiled before linking without the need for complicated make files, command line parameters etc. etc.
The Upload feature programs the flash memory of the target ARM microcontroller using its In-System Programming (ISP) commands
Automatically starts the bootloader via UART control signals if supported by the development board
Built-in serial communication terminal window to display text output, receive user input and display assertions and runtime error messages
Generates standard HEX files for optional use with 3rd-party tools
Module disassembler to help fine-tune the size or performance of a module
Optional command-line compiler and linker for use with batch files and 'make' tools.

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2. System Requirements

Astrobe is supported on 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP

Windows 7, Vista and XP systems:

Adobe Acrobat Reader (or other software that can read PDF files)
Although not a requirement, the Microsoft Consolas font is recommended for use in the IDE. It is designed for programming environments and other circumstances where a monospaced font is useful. It is the font used in the Astrobe screenshots, syntax diagrams and Oberon Quick Reference. If the font is not already installed on your system download the Consolas Font Pack for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or 2008 from the Microsoft Download Center.

Windows XP systems only:

If you are using Windows XP and do not yet have the .NET Framework version 2.0 installed on your system you need to download it from Microsoft's website:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa731542.aspx

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3. List of Files

After running the Astrobe setup installation setup program the following files are created in the folder that you are asked to specify:

Astrobe.exe		Main program
Astrobe.chm		Help file
Syntax.chm		Oberon Quick Reference
Oberon.Report.pdf		Oberon Language Report
Oberon.LPC2000.pdf		Oberon for LPC2000 Microcontrollers
ReadMe.htm		This file
WhatsNew.htm		A summary of new features since v3.0
UnistallAstrobe.exe		Uninstall program
UnistallAstrobe.log		Uninstall support file
Professional Edition only:
AstrobeCompile.exe		Command-line compiler
AstrobeLink.exe		Command-line linker

The subfolders Examples and Lib are created in your Windows Documents\Astrobe folder.

NOTE: The Examples and Lib subfolders are sent to the recycle bin and recreated whenever Astrobe is reinstalled. You should ensure you have backup copies of any source code files you have modified that you want to keep.

All Editions
Examples\ReadMe.htm		Description of examples
Examples\\.mod		Example source code files
Lib\.def*		Library module definition files
Lib\LPC2.mod*		Source code of LPC2xxx peripherals etc. modules
Lib\.smb*		Library module symbol files
Lib\.arm*		Library module object files

Personal and Professional Editions:
Lib\Source\.mod*		Oberon source code of library and startup modules
Lib\Source\Startup.s		Assembler source code of startup module

The library modules are described in the Library Modules chapter in the Oberon for LPC2000 Microcontrollers document on the Windows Start > Astrobe menu and the Astrobe Help menu.

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4. Installation

Astrobe is distributed as a self-installing file:

AstrobeEvalSetup.exe (Evaluation Edition)
AstrobeStarterSetup.exe (Starter Edition)
AstrobePersonalSetup.exe (Personal Edition)
AstrobeProfSetup.exe (Professional Edition)

Install Astrobe as follows:

Login to your system using an account with Administrator privileges that you will use when running Astrobe.
If you are using Windows XP make sure that the prerequisite software (see System Requirements above) is installed on your system.
If you are reinstalling Astrobe make sure that you have backup copies of any files in the Documents\Astrobe\Examples and Documents\Astrobe\Lib folders that you want to keep as these folders are sent to the recycle bin and then recreated.
Exit all Windows programs.
Run the Astrobe setup file e.g. AstrobeEvalSetup.exe
Press the Next button, and follow the prompts.
When the installation program has completed, run Astrobe by selecting it from the Windows Start menu.

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5. Technical Support

Technical support is included with all Astrobe editions. If you have any technical questions related to Astrobe, the Oberon language, or programming NXP LP2000-family devices using Astrobe go to the Astrobe Technical Support webpage for details of how to get support.

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6. License Agreement

You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using this software. Your use of this software indicates your acceptance of this license agreement and disclaimer.

Evaluation Edition

You may use the Evaluation Edition for a period of up to 30 days. There are no restrictions to the number of computers on which the Evaluation Edition of Astrobe may be installed, or the number of people that can use it at any one time.

Starter and Personal Editions

A Starter or Personal Edition of Astrobe may be installed on one or more computers but may only be used by the single person in whose name it is registered. It is licensed for non-commercial / non-profit use only.

Professional Edition

A Professional Edition of Astrobe may be installed on one or more computers but may only be used by the single person in whose name it is registered. It is licensed for commercial use.

DISCLAIMER

Astrobe is used entirely at the risk of the user. Although great care has been taken to eliminate defects during the development of Astrobe, it is not claimed to be fault-free. No claims are made regarding its correctness, reliability or fitness for any particular purpose. The Author shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages, loss of data or personal injury in connection with furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

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7. Ordering Information

7.1 Evaluation Edition

You may use the evaluation edition of Astrobe for a period of up to 30 days to allow you to try it before you buy it. It has all of the IDE and library features of the Personal and Professional Editions except that applications are limited in size to 32kb of code and 2kb of data. These limits allow for the development of programs and their imported modules containing a total of approximately 2000 lines of Oberon source code.

You are allowed to distribute the evaluation edition. It may be given away to anyone, included on CD-ROM libraries, uploaded to WWW pages, ftp sites and bulletin boards, etc. as long as it is distributed in its complete original form.

7.2 Starter, Personal and Professional Editions

The Starter, Personal and Professional Editions can be used to produce applications which take advantage of the full code and data space of all the supported target LPC2000 microcontrollers. They also have additional features and benefits - see the Astrobe website for the latest details.

On-line credit card orders are automatically processed in realtime. When your credit card transaction has been successfully processed an email will be sent to you by the end of the next working day with details of how to download and install the full version of the software.

For details of prices and alternative payment options and to place an order click on Order Astrobe on-line or go to the Astrobe website at:

www.astrobe.com

and then select Order from the menu. Follow the instructions there.

Note: DO NOT distribute the Starter, Personal or Professional Editions of Astrobe without the expressed written consent of the author.

7.3 Refund Policy

CFB Software's products are provided as evaluation editions that can be downloaded via the CFB Software website. Use the Evaluation Edition to ensure that it is compatible with your computer systems and satisfy all of your requirements before purchasing a Starter, Personal or Professional Edition license. All sales are final. Once the access details for a Starter, Personal or Professional Edition has been issued they cannot be cancelled. Thus we are only able to provide refunds for accidental duplicate orders.

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8. Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Niklaus Wirth for providing the original Oberon source code of the compiler, linker, MAU and FPU libraries that formed the basis of the corresponding components of Astrobe; for his permission to include the Oberon Language Report with the distribution of Astrobe and for his valuable support and encouragement during its development.

Chris Burrows
Development Manager
CFB Software

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