[Oberon] Compiler that targets ARM

[Chris Burrows]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Oberon [mailto:oberon-bounces at lists.inf.ethz.ch] On Behalf Of
> Andreas Pirklbauer
> Sent: Sunday, 17 June 2018 4:36 AM
> To: ETH Oberon and related systems
> Subject: [Oberon] Compiler that targets ARM
> 
>      > http://microbit.org
> 
> Seems like a nice way to get started. Just one quick question:
> 
> Is it true that one simply needs to drag a .hex file (=code file)
> over to the MICROBIT USB drive and the code downloaded that way just
> starts running?
> 
> (because if that s the case, the code generator and/or linker just
> needs to output the generated ARM Thumb-1 code in THAT format)
> 

If, as it appears, the micro:bit uses the same scheme as the 'mbed enabled' boards then that would be true except that the file format is normally a raw BIN file not a HEX-format text file. There's some more info here:

https://os.mbed.com/platforms/Microbit/

The mbed-enabled boards are easier to flash-program than the old way of uploading a HEX file via a UART connection to a resident bootloader on the development board. E.g. when an Astrobe target is an mbed-enabled board, after it has compiled and linked the code to generate a BIN file all it has to do is save the output file directly to the drivename that is mapped to the development board. 

Regards,
Chris Burrows

CFB Software
http://www.astrobe.com