{"id":1,"date":"2015-01-15T19:59:22","date_gmt":"2015-01-15T19:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siever.info\/blog\/?p=1"},"modified":"2015-03-19T21:58:24","modified_gmt":"2015-03-19T21:58:24","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siever.info\/home\/hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Logging events with on Nordic’s nRF series via Seger’s J-Link Real-Time Terminal"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most most common debugging techniques is “logging”, or creating a history of what happens while code runs. \u00a0Logging can be especially difficult in embedded systems, which often lack a natural way to log events, like a console. \u00a0Commonly UARTs are used to log messages via a serial port, but this approach can consume significant run-time that may undermine the timing constraints of the software. It also requires the use of additional pins to support development.<\/p>\n

I’ve found it especially difficult to debug applications using Nordic’s Bluetooth Low Energy products (nRF family). \u00a0Fortunately, due to some helpful hints by fellow Nordic developers (Thanks Jeremy<\/a>) and great products\u00a0from Segger<\/a>, I’ve got a solution that suits my needs fairly well. Segger’s Real-Time Terminal<\/a> is a perfect solution to the problem. I’ve taken the example’s provided by Segger and made a package from them (easier to configure on multiple projects). I’ve also added some wrapper functions that provide additional data I find helpful when debugging.<\/p>\n

The following explains how to setup a logger for the nRF series of chips, but assumes that:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You are using a Segger J-Link (I’m using the J-Link CortexM<\/a>)<\/li>\n
  2. You are using Keil MDK v5<\/a> or later,which uses Software Packs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This guide is broken into three distinct phases:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Installing the Logging Package and updating the Keil’s IDE to easily connect to Segger’s Log Viewer<\/a><\/li>\n
    2. Configuring a project to use the Logging functions<\/a><\/li>\n
    3. A quick demo of actual use<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \n

      Installing the Logging Package and updating the Keil<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

      These steps should only need to be performed once.<\/p>\n

        \n
          \n
        1. Install the latest version of Segger’s J-Link: https:\/\/www.segger.com\/jlink-software.html?step=1&file=JLink_496a<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Install the Software Package I created for Logging\n
              \n
            1. Download Siever.Segger_RTT_Logger.1.0.1.pack<\/a>. (It works with any system that Segger’s RTT supports, not just Nordic)<\/li>\n
            2. Double click on the package. It should automatically install via Keil’s Package Installer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
            3. Update Keil’s Tools menu to allow easy access to the Log Viewer (which is the window you will use to view log messages).\n
                \n
              1. Open Keil.<\/li>\n
              2. Select Tools \u2192 Customize Tools Menu... <\/tt> from the menu:
                \n

                \n                \"1_AddCustomEntry\"<\/a><\/center><\/li>\n
              3. Add a new entry for the Log Viewer. When done it should look something like:
                \n
                \"2_LogViewerEntryDetails\"<\/a><\/center>
                \nThere are a few things to notice here:<\/p>\n