ThreadX porting on ARM development board

Question

I've worked on Linux but i'm new to RTOS. I've following things:

1. Craneboard(AM3517) development board,below given link for that
2. Linux build for Craneboard
3. Application that runs on Craneboard

4. Downloaded ThreadX demo codes for AM3517

   • Now problem is that i want to install ThreadX(RTOS) on Craneboard and run demo code of ThreadX application on Craneboard.
   • I want to know that which IDE,toolchain can be used for for doing above thing.
   • How to build ThreadX for AM3517(Craneboard) ?

Craneboard : https://www.mistralsolutions.com/product-engineering-services/products/development-platforms/craneboard/

I'm new to ThreadX so need guidance.

Answer 1

Like most RTOS kernels, ThreadX is not "installed" on a board as you would a general purpose OS such as Linux. Rather it is a object code library that you statically link to your application code and target run-time start-up to produce a single monolithic binary image that is executed directly on the board either from the reset vector or from some form of bootstrap.

As a commercial RTOS, you should seek guidance from the vendors documentation and technical support. ExpressLogic's site lists ARM RealView, IAR Embedded Workbench, Wind River Workbench, Keil, Green Hills, Lauterbach, MetaWare, EPI, and GNU as supported toolchains. There is an AM3517 Experimenter Board demo on the ThreadX site that uses IAR tools , which may be a good place to start, however since you are using a different board, the demo may require some adaptation.

Unlike Linux, support for most of the peripherals on your board will be down to you to implement; and RTOS typically provides scheduling, multitasking, inter-process communication, synchronisation and timing and little else. File systems and networking etc. are normally add-on middleware at extra cost or from third-party sources.

Also unlike Linux, an RTOS cannot normally host its own development tools or debugger. You require a cross-compiler and debugger and JTAG debug adapter. I imagine that your board has a JTAG header, but since the site requires logging in to view the data sheet, I have not verified that.