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STM32 Internals

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Shawon Shahryiar

STM32 micros as we know are high-end micros and this high-end tag is not only due to its memory, speed and hardware richness. An advanced micro like this also needs advanced internal supporting hardware. Most of us know about watchdog timers from previous experiences with common 8 bit MCUs like AVR and PIC. However when it comes to STM32 the idea of watchdog circuitry is elaborated. The options available for clock are also enhanced in the STM32 micros. In this post, we will see some of these supporting internal hardware. We will examine the use and operation of two different

STM32 External Interrupt

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Shawon Shahryiar

In my earlier post on STM32 GPIOs I showed how to flash a LED with variable delay times. That example was based on polling method where the code continuously monitored the logic state of a GPIO input pin attached to a push button to determine the delay amount. Obviously that won’t be an efficient technique when a program will be of a considerable size and complexity. This is simply so because the CPU will have to check the GPIO’s logic state every time the super-loop (while (1) loop in the main function) repeats and the push button will also not

STM32 Serial Communication

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Shawon Shahryiar

STM32 micros just like any other micro provide hardware for serial communication. As we all know serial communication is a very important tool for debugging, connecting with external hardware like RFID, GPS, GSM modems, etc. and for performing other communication-related tasks. STM32s have several hardware serial (USART) ports. The number of ports available in a STM32 micro is dependent on device family type and the device itself. Typically there are at least 5 serial ports. Apart from the basic serial communication needs, STM32’s USART hardware also have support for LIN, one-wire, smart card protocols, SPI and IrDA. We can even

Porting ST Standard Peripheral Library (SPL) with MikroC PRO for ARM

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Shawon Shahryiar

What is this Standard Peripheral Library (SPL)? It’s just a collection of hardware libraries that provide an easy approach to any STM32 ARM programmer. It has support for every peripheral a STM32 micro has like CAN, USB, ADC, Timers, etc. In short it’s a hardware abstraction layer fully covering the STM32. Why use the ST SPL? Reduce coding time by spending less time figuring out 32 bit register values and going through a near thousand page reference manual. Take the advantages of the built-in code library of MikroC which other compilers don’t offer. SPL is used by most STM32 ARM

STM32 – Prior to Start

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Shawon Shahryiar

STM32 ARM-based micros from STMicroelectronics pack high density resources than any other conventional microcontroller. They are also high speed devices, operating typically at 72MHz and beyond. Despite several advanced features and heavy resources, they turn out to be misfortunes for beginners who wish to play with them. Available in market are several cool STM32 boards but most of them are not well documented. The aim of this document is to address some common FAQs. Typically most people ask the following question: How to program the STM32 micro embedded in my development board? What tools do I need to get started?