Getting started with Blinky on mbed OS

This guide reviews the steps required to get Blinky working on an mbed OS platform.

Please install mbed CLI.

Import the example application

From the command-line, import the example:

mbed import mbed-os-example-blinky
cd mbed-os-example-blinky

Now compile

Invoke mbed compile, and specify the name of your platform and your favorite toolchain (GCC_ARM, ARM, IAR). For example, for the ARM Compiler 5:

mbed compile -m K64F -t ARM

Your PC may take a few minutes to compile your code. At the end, you see the following result:

[snip]
+----------------------------+-------+-------+------+
| Module                     | .text | .data | .bss |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+------+
| Misc                       | 13939 |    24 | 1372 |
| core/hal                   | 16993 |    96 |  296 |
| core/rtos                  |  7384 |    92 | 4204 |
| features/FEATURE_IPV4      |    80 |     0 |  176 |
| frameworks/greentea-client |  1830 |    60 |   44 |
| frameworks/utest           |  2392 |   512 |  292 |
| Subtotals                  | 42618 |   784 | 6384 |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+------+
Allocated Heap: unknown
Allocated Stack: unknown
Total Static RAM memory (data + bss): 7168 bytes
Total RAM memory (data + bss + heap + stack): 7168 bytes
Total Flash memory (text + data + misc): 43402 bytes
Image: .\.build\K64F\ARM\mbed-os-example-blinky.bin

Program your board

1. Connect your mbed device to the computer over USB.
2. Copy the binary file to the mbed device.
3. Press the reset button to start the program.

The LED on your platform turns on and off.

Export the project to Keil MDK, and debug your application

From the command-line, run the following command:

mbed export -m K64F -i uvision

To debug the application:

1. Start uVision.
2. Import the uVision project generated earlier.
3. Compile your application, and generate an .axf file.
4. Make sure uVision is configured to debug over CMSIS-DAP (From the Project menu > Options for Target '...' > Debug tab > Use CMSIS-DAP Debugger).
5. Set breakpoints, and start a debug session.

Troubleshooting

1. Make sure mbed-cli is working correctly and its version is >1.0.0

mbed --version

If not, you can update it:

pip install mbed-cli --upgrade

2. If using Keil MDK, make sure you have a license installed. MDK-Lite has a 32 KB restriction on code size.