Re: Insert version information into a boot stream

On 8/19/2011 10:49 AM, Don Y wrote:
Hi Vladimir,

On 8/19/2011 8:14 AM, Vladimir Vassilevsky wrote:

There is a system with ADI BlackFin DSP which boots up from SPI flash.
The flash contains the standard ADI boot stream.

I would like to insert hw/sw version number, build number, release date
and some other information into the flash. This information should be
accessible to a program running on Blackfin. Also, the flash programming
tools should be able to read this information from the flash hex file.

Is there a way to configure the VDSP toolset so this data would be
inserted automatically from a C source to a predefined location in the
flash?

Instead of requiring a "predefined location" (admittedly, easier to
*find*), could you wrap the information with a unique signature
such that anything else is unlikely to be (erroneously) recognized
as having that signature IN THAT REGION OF MEMORY?

E.g., add to the flash image:

"Copyright 08192011 Vladimir Vassilevsky, Build 12.3.4, v9A03"

(assuming this *context* is unlikely to randomly appear elsewhere
in your code image :> )

Surprisingly, on the Blackfin, that actually disassembles to code that erases the entire flash and then sets the chip on fire.

--
Rob Gaddi, Highland Technology
Email address is currently out of order
.

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