ARM Workflow with Interrupts Disabled

Disabling interrupts on an ARM processor can be useful in certain situations where real-time performance and determinism are critical. However, doing so requires careful planning and an understanding of the potential side effects. The key is managing workflow in such a way that time-critical code executes without interruption, while less time-sensitive operations occur around the

Is UART full duplex?

The short answer is yes, UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) is a full duplex serial communication protocol. This means UART can transmit and receive data simultaneously on a single communication line. What is UART? UART stands for Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter. It is a hardware communication protocol that allows serial data transfer between two devices. The UART

What is the difference between UART and SPI?

UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) and SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) are both serial communication protocols that are commonly used in embedded systems and microcontroller applications. However, there are some key differences between the two: Overview of UART UART is an asynchronous serial communication protocol, meaning there is no clock signal to synchronize the sending and receiving

How Unaligned Memory Access is Handled in ARM Cortex-M4

ARM Cortex-M4 microcontrollers have built-in support for unaligned memory access, allowing data to be accessed from memory addresses that are not aligned to the size of the data type. This provides flexibility for programmers and helps reduce code size by eliminating the need for explicit alignment in some situations. What is Unaligned Memory Access? Unaligned

What is the difference between aligned and unaligned access?

Accessing data from memory is a fundamental operation in computing. When a processor needs to read or write data, it sends a request to the memory subsystem, specifying an address to access. Whether this address is aligned or unaligned can have significant performance implications. What is memory alignment? Memory alignment refers to the positioning of

What is ARM reset handler?

The reset handler, also known as the reset vector, is the first code that runs when an ARM processor starts up or resets. It is responsible for performing essential low-level initializations and then transferring control to the main application. Understanding the reset handler is key to embedded software development on ARM platforms. ARM Processor Startup

How much memory does the Cortex-M4 have?

The Cortex-M4 is a 32-bit ARM processor core designed for embedded and IoT applications. It is part of ARM’s Cortex-M series of processor cores, which are optimized for low power consumption and high performance in microcontroller and other resource-constrained devices. The amount of memory available on a Cortex-M4 based microcontroller can vary significantly depending on

How to Enable the FPU in Cortex-M4 Microcontrollers?

The Cortex-M4 processor includes a single precision floating point unit (FPU) that can significantly improve performance for applications using floating point math. However, the FPU is disabled by default and must be explicitly enabled before it can be used. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to enable the FPU in Cortex-M4 based microcontrollers.

What is FPU in Cortex-M4?

The FPU (Floating Point Unit) in Cortex-M4 is a hardware unit that provides support for floating point arithmetic operations. It allows the Cortex-M4 processor to efficiently perform mathematical calculations involving floating point numbers. Overview of Floating Point Numbers Floating point numbers are used to represent real numbers in computing. They allow a wide range of