Q : How can I use TI's downloader together with RIDE?


TI's downloader is a piece of software provided by TI together with the MSC evaluation board that allows to load an hex file in the memory of the MSC chip that is on the board, in view of executing it without any debug functionality.

In the first steps of your application you usually don't need the downloader: when you start a debug session with RIDE, and the MSC board is selected as the debug target (picture below), RIDE will automatically download your application to the board (+ everything needed for debug, typically the ROM monitor)



The downloader will typically be useful when your debugging is nearly finished and you want to run your "real" application, without the control of (and any interference from) RIDE.

The TI downloader can be configured to work in conjunction with RIDE in 3 different ways:

• as a separate tool, that can be invoked using the Tool|Run Tool.. menu
• the downloader is automatically invoked after the linker (last picture)
• the downloader is selected as the debug tool and is therefore executed when you start the debugger (picture below)

Note that, as the only purpose of the downloder is to download your application to the board without any debugging functionality, once the download is done, all you have to do is reset the board and see if it works as you expect. In view of this, the three ways of using the downloader presented above are largely equivalent, apart that, for the first and the last, you have to take action to execute the downloader, while the second way executes it automatically (but that also means that it will probably also extecutes it when you don't want it to, thus wasting time and shortening the life of the on chip flash memory)



Whatever way you want to use the downloader, the first thing to do is to install it using TI's installation program. You then need to configure the downloader as a RIDE external tool: this configuration is typically needed only once (if you check the "register for the application" button as explained below).

To configure the downloader follow these steps:

• In RIDE, select Option|Tools and then New. A window like the one in the picture below will appear
• Fill in the fields as shown in the picture (you can chamge the "Name" if you want to)
• Don't forget to check the "register for the application" button, or you will need to repeat these steps for every new project

• Click on "advanced options", the window below will appear
• If you want the downloader to automatically take the project you are working on and typical parameters for the com port and clock frequency, copy the content of the "Arguments" field shown in the picture
• Check the box "Prompt before running" if you want to see a message before the downloader is executed

Now the loader is configured and you can manually call it any time using the Tools|Run Tool.. menu, or by selecting it as the debug target and then starting the debugger. If you want the loader to be executed automatically after the linker, proceed as follows

• In the project window, right click on the project line (the first line in the window) and select Node Properties; the window below will appear
• Check the "Post Link" box and select the TI downloader as the tool to be executed automatically after link

Note that, if you follow this procedure and then go back to normal debugging using RIDE without unchecking the button, the application will be loaded twice for every debug session (once by the loader, the other by RIDE): this is a waste of time and risks to shorten the life of the flash memory inside the device.