CHAPTER 17 - Getting Started with the Cortex-M3 Processor

Abstract

This chapter explains the use of a number of other factors that make one Cortex™-M3 product different from another. The Cortex-M3 design supplied by ARM contains a number of features that are configurable. To start using the Cortex-M3, a number of tools are needed. A compiler and/or assembler is a software to compile C or assembler application codes. Almost all C compiler suites come with an assembler. Many applications require an OS to handle multithreading and resource management. Many OSs are developed for the embedded market. The chapter differentiates between the earlier versions of Cortex-M3 products based on revision 0 of the Cortex-M3 processor; the ones based on Cortex-M3 revision 1, which have been available since the third-quarter of 2006; and products using revision 2, which arrived at the market in 2009. The benefits and effects of the new features of Revision 2 products are explained. The Cortex-M0 processor—based on ARMv6-M architecture, developed for ultralow-power designs and mixed signal applications—is discussed. A number of differences between the programmer's model of Cortex-M3 and Cortex-M0 processors, the exception operation of the Cortex-M0 processor, the memory maps, debug features, and compatibility are explored.