RTEMS on Nintendo DS port

[Matthieu Bucchianeri]

On Jan 16, 2008 2:25 AM, Chris Johns <chrisj at rtems.org> wrote:
> Matthieu Bucchianeri wrote:
> >
> > We recently had a project in the french school EPITA
> > (http://www.epita.fr) consisting in porting RTEMS onto the Nintendo
> > DS.
>
> This sounds like a fun project. Well done on getting this going.
>

Thank you. Of course we found it fun. We really enjoyed developping this BSP :-)

> I know nothing about the Nintendo DS so will any version be ok or do you need
> a specific model ?
>

There are only two models : the DS and the DSLite. Exactly the same
(only marketing difference). Both are supported.

> Do you need anything else to use RTEMS on the Nintendo DS ?
>

Just one more tool in the compile chain and of course a special
cartridge for the DS to access a micro-SD (around 50 $).

But this cartridge can be used to put other applications, MP3 etc.

> >
> > In group of 4 students, we made a BSP for the NDS. As the port is
> > currently running (but still under test), we were wondering if such
> > port could be integrated to the RTEMS repository.
> >
>
> Yes we are normally happy to add support for this type of device if the code
> has a suitable license.
>
> > Our BSP supports:
> >
> > - console
> > - clock
> > - RTC
> > - framebuffer (we can run MicroWindows/Nano-X)
> > - touch screen (as the mouse)
> > - character recognition (using the touch screen to write characters)
> > - sound
> >
> > The wifi driver is finished and under debug, it may work soon.
> >
>
> This is a great set of drivers. Any pics of MicroWindows online ?
>

WinMine working under MicroWindows on the DS Emulator
-- http://perso.epita.fr/~bucchi_m/mwin.png --

Since the DS have two screens, MicroWindows and Nano-X only run on one
not both. The touch screen is used as mouse and keyboard (with
graffiti recognition).

> > We based our BSP on the libnds and dsWifi (http://www.devkitpro.org).
> > Our code is only 2 000 lines long (sloccount) as we heavily use these
> > libraries.
>
> I have looked over the http://www.devkitpro.org and cannot see any license.
>
> What is the license of this code ?
>

I don't know, looks like there is no license. I will contact them for
information.

> Is this code also part of the RTEMS code for the BSP or do you link these
> libraries ?
>

We chose to link these libraries not to integrate them. This is a bit
more complicated for building RTEMS, since you need to install them
separately. But I think it is better for licensing problems and for
upgrade (even if libnds looks stable).

> >
> > We can run applications in emulator and on a real DS. We do not pass
> > the entire testsuite, but it is a matter of time.
> >
> > Are RTEMS developers & maintainers interested in this BSP? We would be
> > very happy to integrate our project to the official branch!
>
> I am and I am sure Joel will be. My kids would love it if I had to buy a DS. :-)
>

Great!

We are finishing the documentation right now. We also have to make a
few modifications since we worked with the CVS version without
updating regularily :-/ so for the moment it compiles with a 2 months
old version of branch 4.8.

And of course we are working on the wifi driver (code finished, just
debugging packet receving now!), one of the major interest in the
Nintendo DS.

We will discuss about all this with our teacher, and then I will get
back to you for more instructions about integrating the BSP to the
repository.

> Regards
> Chris
>

Thank you for your reply and your interest.

-- 
Matthieu ``buckman'' Bucchianeri