Connect: What is SysConfig?
To help simplify configuration challenges and accelerate software development, we created SysConfig, an intuitive and comprehensive collection of graphical utilities for configuring pins, peripherals, radios, subsystems and other components. The SysConfig tool is integrated in Code Composer Studio (CCS), as a standalone installer, or can be used via the dev.ti.com cloud tools portal.
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Hello, everyone. My name is Adrian Fernandez.
I'm Nick.
And welcome to another episode of Connect. Today we're bringing back Henry Wiechman from our SimpleLink platform software team to talk a little bit about some enhancements to our SimpleLink SDK. So thanks for hanging out today, Henry.
Thanks for having me.
Yeah, yeah, totally. So last time you were here, you touched on the breadth of the platform, some of the capabilities that we have inside of our SDK. And I know that we've got a new capability, new tool, that's being introduced here called SysConfig. So really excited to learn more about it.
Yeah, sounds cool. Now, I don't know at all, what is SysConfig?
It's a good question. Few people know about it today, but we're hoping everybody's going to be using it very soon. SysConfig is short for system configuration. It's a new development tool that we're making available initially on our SimpleLink devices. It brings together all of the different configuration capabilities that a developer may need to use in one graphical user interface.
So prior to SysConfig, it's not that we couldn't configure anything, but customers had to do a lot more looking through code. They had to look up different registers, look at documentation, try to figure out how to put it all together. We've greatly simplified all of that. We've brought it all together in one UI. So you can go in and use dropdowns, just click through, make selections, and do all the initial configuration up front so that then you can focus much more on your actual application development.
Very cool. And where would you say this fits inside of the developer cycle?
Well, obviously to start with, it'd be at the beginning, your initial configuration. But one of the great things about SysConfig is that the files and the history are kept in such a way that you can actually go back. So you can actually later on, say, go in and iterate, so kind of continuous evolution there as you're going through the design, make changes and see the impacts, those types of things.
So almost fine tuning your application through the tool.
Exactly.
OK. Yeah, and you mentioned the SimpleLink devices. Can you maybe talk a little bit about the hardware support, which devices. And then additionally, if I have maybe my own board, how does SysConfig work there?
Great questions. Yeah, so we are focusing initially on the SimpleLink platform, and in particular, the CC13x2 and 26x2 devices, also the CC32XX and then the MSP432, the P4 and E4 series devices initially. The initial setup, we provide examples running on launch pads for all those devices. So we see customers beginning with a launch pad and starting with an example.
When you're ready to move to your custom hardware implementation, we do allow you to make use of the information that's there. So for example, if you've got some simple modifications, you can just take the existing file and reuse exactly what's there or the subsets of it. If you're going to do a little more involved development, you can actually switch from a board view to a device view and be free of the constraints of the launch pad and then be able to still take advantage of some of the solver capabilities and those things, but now working for the device view. So it makes that migration much easier as well.
That's awesome. And I know what sort of devices that you mentioned, they all have different capabilities, different features. What are some of the components that are configurable inside of SysConfig?
So initially, we have PinMux support, kind of fundamental for any sort of hardware device that you're working with. We also have TI driver configuration, so the setting up the peripherals and the different interfaces on the device. And then we have one of the unique advantages, frankly, for our tool versus some other tools that may be out there is the ability to configure the different wireless technologies, and in particular, the Stacks that we offer.
We have a number of different Stacks for the different wireless technologies, in our SDKs. And you can actually go in and configure those parameters. You can also go in and do some basic RF configuration as well, so really a broad set of capabilities there initially.
Gotcha. So we're talking about I guess Zigbee configuration, thread, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, so on and so forth.
Exactly. All of them are in there.
Awesome. Yeah, and so if-- where does somebody get started today? Where does somebody start with SysConfig?
So in order to get started, we actually have it available in three different ways. It is integrated in Code Composer Studio. So TI's Integrated Development Environment, if you're using that today, it's there starting with the new release that's coming out now, with 9.2 in particular.
The device is available as well in the cloud. So if you're using-- if you go to our dev.ti.com portal and are using CCS Cloud, you have the capabilities there. That's especially handy when you're doing some initial evaluation and you want to take advantage of to see what can be configured and set up initially.
And then for customers that are using some of our third party IDEs, such as IAR, we do have a standalone version of SysConfig that customers can download and do the configuration there and then migrate all those parameters into the respective IDE that they're using, for example, IAR.
Very good. And I think previously you mentioned something around solving. So I guess SysConfig has some intelligence built in maybe.
Yeah. We really have a concept of guided development that we're trying to introduce with the SysConfig tool. So in addition to providing the initial menus, there are a number of different tooltips. If you do mouse-overs on particular parameters, you'll get a pop-up that will show you more information, maybe helping to define a parameter.
You can also click on some of the icons that are in there, little question mark icons, and have those pop up specific sections of relevant technical documentation. So you can find out more detail when you need it, so no more searching through a bunch of random manuals, but getting the help that you need when you need it. Our development experts have actually provided a lot of this content. So you're getting access to those experts at the time that you need it in terms of your particular development.
And then from a solving perspective, the tool is pretty intelligent overall. So no more setting a configuration, going through a build process, and then at the last minute way late getting some cryptic error message. This particular tool now in real time will tell you immediately when there's a conflict.
So for example, if you're setting up your initial hardware configuration and you've actually already used a pin that you're trying to reuse here, you'll get a warning and an error right away there that'll pop up. So we're actually able to bring in that solving capability much sooner in the process overall. No more waiting to the end and then being frustrated later on.
OK. Yeah, so it'll help maybe not only with ease of use but actually shorten development times-- get to the right documentation, no longer have to pore through pages of PDFs as you're doing it. It sounds very cool. So we'll have the link below. Anything else, any resources, that they should know about to get started here?
Yeah, if you-- when you're on the TI site, we actually have a capability there that will let you have access not only to videos like this-- and we'll actually have some additional videos that go through more of a demonstration of the tool-- we also in our SimpleLink Academy portal, our online training portal, have a SysConfig Basics lab, which is a great way when you're starting with the tool to get up to speed. It walks you through different exercises, how to do some of those basic configurations, in a step-by-step manner. And it'll even quiz you a little bit at the end in terms of where you are from that standpoint.
Oh, quizzes-- I don't know.
And then one last question from me, so I know last time you were here, you were talking about the SimpleLink SDK following a quarterly release cadence, so this concept of evolution and continuous improvement. Does SysConfig kind of follow a similar model?
Exactly. Yeah, so SysConfig will have quarterly updates. So you'll be able to have those updates available with the CCS releases and then as well with the SDKs. So the nice thing about SysConfig is it's really a two-part type of a delivery model. You need the basic tool, but then the tool is going to be a shell unless it's got that metadata. Metadata comes with the SDK. So depending on what's going on, if there's new devices in the SDK, those get rendered in the new version of SysConfig.
So you'll see quarterly improvements. We'll be adding more capabilities into the tool itself, being able to configure additional parameters, being able to fine tune some of those parameters in a little more detail. We're also going to be adding in support for additional devices and components.
We are having discussions now with some of the other EP product lines, embedded processing product lines. Also TI analog devices-- there are a number of different analog products that are looking at SysConfig to be able to provide initial driver generation. So stay tuned. Those quarterly updates should have a lot broader portfolio of support in the coming months as well.
Cool. Can't wait.
Yeah, something tells me you might be back on again for a third time. So thanks, Noah. It's very exciting to hear about SysConfig. Thank you everybody for joining. Again, Henry, thanks-- a repeat offender here on the Connect series.
So guys, all of the links and documentation will be below. Be sure to check that out. As always, tweet at us, @sensortocloud, if you've got feedback or topics that you'd like us to cover.
And don't forget to join next week. We've got another great episode. We also have a demo of SysConfig. So if you're interested, this sparked your interest, check that out. Thanks, everybody.
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