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Please review the following information to ensure ** the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.3 requirements ** will be met: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl-1.3.html. ** ****************************************************************************/ /*! \previouspage creator-developing-ios.html \page creator-developing-mcu.html \nextpage creator-developing-qnx.html \title Connecting MCUs Qt for MCU enables you to use subsets of QML and Qt Quick Controls to create user interfaces for devices that are powered by microcontroller units (MCU). It includes a new graphics rendering engine that has a low memory footprint and is optimized for MCUs and other resource-constrained devices. You can connect MCU boards to a development host to build applications for them using the GNU Arm Embedded GCC compiler, libraries, and other GNU tools necessary for bare metal software development on devices based on the Arm Cortex-M processors. You can deploy the applications on MCUs to run and debug them using \QC. The toolchains are available for cross-compilation on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS. However, the Qt for MCU SDK is currently only available for Windows. For a list of Qt for MCU reference implementations, see the \l{Qt for MCUs - Supported Target Platforms}{Qt for MCUs} documentation. You use the \l{Connecting Bare Metal Devices}{Bare metal plugin} to connect to a debug server provider for debugging on MCUs. \section1 Requirements To use \QC to develop QML applications for MCUs, you need the following: \list \li Qt for MCU SDK (only available for Windows) \li The Bare Metal plugin \li \l{https://developer.arm.com/tools-and-software/open-source-software/developer-tools/gnu-toolchain/gnu-rm} {GNU ARM Embedded Toolchain} \li The hardware-specific requirements vary depending on the hardware platform you are developing for. For more information see: \list \li \l{Getting Started on NXP} \li \l{Getting Started on STM} \li \l{Getting Started on Renesas} \endlist \endlist \section1 Setting Up the Development Environment You must download and install the required software and create connections between \QC and MCUs. For more information, see \l{Getting Started on Windows}. \section2 Enabling Bare Metal and MCU Plugins To be able to develop for MCUs, you must enable the Bare Metal and MCU plugins: \list 1 \li Select \uicontrol Help > \uicontrol {About Plugins} > \uicontrol {Device Support} > \uicontrol {Bare Metal} and \uicontrol {MCU Support} to enable the Bare Metal and MCU plugins. \li Select \uicontrol {Restart Now} to restart \QC and load the plugins. \li Create connections for debugging on the MCU board, as described in \l{Connecting Bare Metal Devices}. \endlist \section2 Specifying MCU Settings To configure a connection between \QC and your MCU board, select \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol Devices > \uicontrol MCU: \image qtcreator-mcu-options.png "MCU options" \list 1 \li In the \uicontrol {Qt for MCUs SDK} field, specify the path to the directory where you installed Qt for MCUs SDK. \li In the \uicontrol {Targets supported by the Qt for MCUs SDK} field, select your MCU board. \li In the \uicontrol {GNU ARM Embedded Toolchain} field, specify the path to the directory where you installed the tool chain. \li For STM32 boards: \list \li In the \uicontrol {STM32Cube SDK} field, specify the path to the directory where you installed the SDK. \li In the \uicontrol {STM32Cube Programmer} field, specify the path to the directory where you installed the tool. \endlist \li For NXP boards: \list \li In the \uicontrol {NXP EVKB-IMXRT 1050 SDK} field, specify the path to the directory where you installed the SDK. \li In the \uicontrol {SEGGER JLink} field, specify the path to the directory where you installed the tool. \endlist \li Select \uicontrol Apply to save the settings and to generate a MCU device and kit. \endlist \section2 Adding MCU Devices \note This optional step is not necessary if you have already set up the MCU SDK as outlined in \l{Specifying MCU Settings}. \QC automatically adds a default MCU device when you select \uicontrol Apply in the \uicontrol MCU tab after configuring the MCU tool chain. \image qtcreator-mcu-device.png "MCU devices" To add MCU devices, select \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol Devices > \uicontrol Add > \uicontrol {MCU Device} > \uicontrol {Start Wizard}: \list 1 \li In the \uicontrol Name field, give the device a name. \li In the \uicontrol Type field, select the board type. \li Select \uicontrol Apply to add the device. \endlist \section2 Adding MCU Kits \note This optional step is not necessary if you have already set up the MCU SDK as outlined in \l{Specifying MCU Settings}. \QC automatically adds kits for building applications and running them on the specified MCU boards when you select \uicontrol Apply in the \uicontrol MCU tab after configuring the MCU tool chain. \image qtcreator-mcu-kit.png "MCU kits" To add kits, select \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol Kits > \uicontrol Add: \list 1 \li In the \uicontrol Name field, specify a name for the kit. \li In the \uicontrol {Device type} field, select \uicontrol {MCU}. \li In the \uicontrol Device field, select the MCU board for the kit. \li In the \uicontrol Compiler field, select the Arm GCC compiler for the kit. \li Select \uicontrol Apply to add the kit. \endlist \section1 Running Applications on MCUs You can use a wizard to set up a project for developing an application that you can run on MCUs. The project uses a subset of QML and Qt Quick Controls that are supported by Qt for MCU. For more information about developing applications for MCUs, see the Qt for MCU documentation. To create an application and run it on a MCU board: \list 1 \li Select \uicontrol File > \uicontrol {New File or Project} > \uicontrol {Application (Qt for MCU)} > \uicontrol {MCU Support Application} > \uicontrol Choose. \li Follow the instructions of the wizard to create the project. \li Select \uicontrol Projects > \uicontrol {Build & Run}, and then select the kit for building the application and running it on the MCU board specified in the kit. \li Select \uicontrol Run to specify run settings. Usually, you can use the default settings. \endlist */