Create new solution
This section explains how to create a CMSIS solution-based project that is using CMSIS-Packs.
In the CMSIS view, click Create a New Solution. If you already have a
solution opened, use the menu (...) item Create a Solution.
The Create new solution dialog allows to start projects based on a Target Board or Target Device selection.
Examples, templates, and reference applications depend on the selected board or device and on installed CMSIS-Packs.
- Examples are created for a specific hardware or evaluation board. These are typically complete projects that directly interface with board and device peripherals.
- Reference Applications use defined interfaces (APIs) and are therefore hardware agnostic. These projects require the installation of related CMSIS-Packs and additional software layers for an evaluation board.
- Templates are stub projects that help you getting started. Some CMSIS-Packs may contain device-specific templates.
The Solution Sub Folder is typically a sub-directory in your workspace.
The Solution Base Folder specifies your workspace location that may contain multiple projects.
With Initialize Git repository the related .gitignore
file is created.
Show project opening options allows you to open the spolution a new instance of VS Code. By default, the solution is loaded into the current VS Code instance.
Work with examples
Click the Target Board (Optional) drop-down list. Enter a search term (here: "U5"), and then select a board (here: "B-U585-IOT02A"). The details of the selected board are displayed.
Click Select.
Next, select the example project. There are two types of example projects:
-
Csolution Examples are using Keil Studio's native project format.
-
uVision Examples are in
*.uvprojx
format and are converted automatically.
Note
You may see examples from Local packs and/or from the Web.
To verify the Keil Studio installation, select a Blinky project for example.
Specify a Solution Base Folder and click Create.
Continue to "build the project".
Work with reference applications
Reference applications show the usage of middleware, software libraries, and custom code that can run on many different target hardware boards. Examples display only if you selected a board and a software layer is available for that board. Reference applications are not dependent on specific hardware. You can deploy them to various evaluation boards using additional software layers that provide driver APIs for specific target hardware. Layers are provided using CMSIS-Packs.
Reference applications are available with these CMSIS-Packs:
-
MDK-Middleware: use software components for IPv4 and IPv6 networking, USB Host and Device communication, and file system for data storage.
-
SDS Framework: record real-world data off a device and playing it back on Arm Virtual Hardware.
-
LiteRT: demonstrates the fundamental integration and usage of the LiteRT stack for ML inference on a microcontroller.
Once you have selected the reference application, continue to "build the project".
Work with templates
Templates help you to get started without application-specific code.
-
Blank solution: Start a project from scratch with an empty
main.c
file and the CMSIS device startup component selected -
TrustZone solution: If the board or device that you selected is compatible, you can use TrustZone and define whether projects in the solution use secure or non-secure zones
Continue to "build the project".
Project contents
Once you have selected an example/template/reference application, the solution is created automatically. If a uVision
example is converted, check the Output tab. Conversion errors and warnings are displayed in the CMSIS Solution
category. You can also check the uv2csolution.log
file.
Note
If you are using Keil Studio for the first time, the Arm Tools Environment Manager needs to download required tools from the Internet. While may take a couple of minutes (depending on your internet connection), it is only required once.
The following files are created for the solution:
-
A
<solution_name>.csolution.yml
file. -
One or more
<project_name>.cproject.yml
files, each available in a separate folder. -
A
cdefault.yml
file containing default toolchain setting for the selected toolchain. -
A
<solution_name>.cbuild-idx.yml
file which contains overall information for the application. -
A
<solution_name>.cbuild-pack.yml
file listing all the packs that are used by the application. Missing CMSIS-Packs are installed automatically. -
A
<solution_name>.cbuild-set.yml
file which specifies the context set of projects, target-types, and build-types that are used to generate the application image -
A
<solution_name>+<target_name>.cbuild-run.yml
file which contains a build description of a singlecproject.yml
input file for each context. -
A main
<filename>.c
template file for each project. -
A
vcpkg-configuration.json
file to download required tools automatically.
Caution
If you see this warning:
Click Show output to configure the solution. You can add board, shield, or socket layers to your reference
application. You can also select a compiler for reference applications and other solution types.
Depending on the selected example, you might need to configure the solution first.
First time users may need to confirm that the Arm Tools Environment Manager extension can automatically activate
the workspace and download the tools specified in the vcpkg-configuration.json
file included in a project.
Build
Before you can download the application on your target device, you need to build it. There are various ways to trigger a build:
-
In the Explorer view
, right-click the
*.csolution.yml
file and select Build solution. -
In the CMSIS view
, click
.
You can configure a build task in a tasks.json
file to customize the behavior of the build button. All the examples
on keil.arm.com include a tasks.json
file. See
Configure a build task for more details.
Continue to load and run the solution.
Build output
After you initiate the build process, a Terminal window opens and displays the build operation:
Execute: cbuild /Users/user/03_work/02_Projects/ST/Nucleo-F756ZG/Blinky/Blinky.csolution.yml --active NUCLEO-F756ZG --packs
+---------------------------------------------------
(1/1) Building context: "Blinky.Debug+NUCLEO-F756ZG"
Using AC6 V6.24.0 compiler, from: '/Users/user/.vcpkg/artifacts/2139c4c6/compilers.arm.armclang/6.24.0/bin/'
Building CMake target 'Blinky.Debug+NUCLEO-F756ZG'
[1/51] Building C object CMakeFiles/Group_Source_Files_retarget_stdio_c.dir/Users/user/03_work/02_Projects/ST/Nucleo-F756ZG/Blinky/retarget_stdio.o
[2/51] Building ASM object CMakeFiles/Group_CubeMX.dir/Users/user/03_work/02_Projects/ST/Nucleo-F756ZG/Blinky/STM32CubeMX/NUCLEO-F756ZG/STM32CubeMX/MDK-ARM/startup_stm32f756xx.o
Warning: A1950W: The legacy armasm assembler is deprecated. Consider using the armclang integrated assembler instead.
0 Errors, 1 Warning
[3/51] Building C object CMakeFiles/Group_CubeMX.dir/Users/user/03_work/02_Projects/ST/Nucleo-F756ZG/Blinky/STM32CubeMX/NUCLEO-F756ZG/STM32CubeMX/Src/stm32f7xx_hal_timebase_tim.o
...
[49/51] Building C object CMakeFiles/Keil_CMSIS_Driver_USART_3_0_0.dir/Users/user/.cache/arm/packs/ARM/CMSIS-Driver_STM32/1.1.0/Drivers/USART_STM32.o
[50/51] Building C object CMakeFiles/ARM_CMSIS_RTOS2_Keil_RTX5_Source_5_9_0.dir/Users/user/.cache/arm/packs/ARM/CMSIS-RTX/5.9.0/Source/rtx_thread.o
[51/51] Linking C executable /Users/user/03_work/02_Projects/ST/Nucleo-F756ZG/Blinky/out/Blinky/NUCLEO-F756ZG/Debug/Blinky.axf
Program Size: Code=31972 RO-data=1076 RW-data=512 ZI-data=38760
+------------------------------------------------------------
Build summary: 1 succeeded, 0 failed - Time Elapsed: 00:00:04
+============================================================
Completed: cbuild succeed with exit code 0
Build complete
The output directory usually contains an ELF (.axf
) and a HEX (.hex
) file.
Note
If the build fails with an ENOENT
error, follow the instructions in the pop-up message that displays in the
bottom right-hand corner to install CMSIS-Toolbox.
Load and Run
Make sure that your target is connected, before loading the application onto it. You can use pyOCD
to verify target
connectivity.
- Open a Terminal, and enter
pyOCD list
to check attached hardware: - In the CMSIS view, click
. This executes the "Load & Run application" command that flashes the project onto the target and issues a reset to start the application.
- To verify that the step has run correctly, check the Terminal output:
Notes
- When you have several solutions in one folder, VS Code ignores the
tasks.json
andlaunch.json
files that you created for each solution. Instead, VS Code generates new JSON files at the root of the workspace in a.vscode
folder and ignores the other JSON files. As a workaround, open one solution first, then add other solutions to your workspace with the File > Add Folder to Workspace option. - If you are using a multi-core device and you did not specify a
"processorName"
in thelaunch.json
file, select the appropriate processor for your project in the Select a processor drop-down list at the top of the window.
Monitoring printf messages
Keil Studio includes the Serial Monitor extension that connects to the target's serial output port. If your example
contains printf
statements, use the Serial Monitor to observe them.