The QDP Module is designed to allow the user to implement a debug output over their chosen serial interface. The APIs essentially offer the same functionality as the stdio.h 'printf', but is tailored to the needs of embedded developerts. Instead of formatting the desired output string on the microcontroller side, this module outputs just a few bytes of data that are then decoded on the host PC. On the host PC, and application, using a look-up table, decodes the incoming messages and performs string formatting. The advanatage of this approach is that, regardless of the string of data to be output, the execution time of most of the APIs remains constant. The processing time for supporting this functionality should, in most cases, fit comfortably in the idle-time of the processor. The design of the QDP Module is generic i.e. it is not targeted at any specific processor architecture or family of microcontrollers, allowing it to be used anywhere. The efficiency of the code and its performance is, therefore, very much dependant on the C compiler used to compile the code. The hardware interface for transferring the data to the host PC needs to be implemented by the user, although it should be possible to provide some examples for key interfaces. This module relies upon the CBUFF Module for its functionality.
This module is at the very early stages of development, and no functional source code is currently available.
Support for up to 16 independent debug interfaces, output over up to 16 different interfaces
Support for outputting standard ANSI C data types (char, short, int, long, long long, float, double
Fully re-entrant on pre-emptive systems
PC Host software support for Linux, Windows and MAC
A fully tested release will always available under the downloads link on http://kenai.com/projects/qdp-module/downloads. Currently there is no stable release as this module is still under development
Return to QDPs project home page.
Updated 1st December 2010