mcbootflash
What
Mcbootflash is a Python tool for flashing firmware to 16-bit Microchip MCUs and DSCs from the PIC24 and dsPIC33 families of devices, which are running a bootloader generated by the MPLAB Code Configurator tool.
Mcbootflash is intended to be a drop-in replacement for Microchip's official tool, the Unified Bootloader Host Application (UBHA).
Why
Mcbootflash is:
Scriptable
As a command-line application, mcbootflash is easily scriptable.
Extensible
In addition to its command-line interface, mcbootflash can be used as a library by applications wanting to implement firmware flashing as part of a larger suite of features.
Free and Open Source
Mcbootflash is distributed under the MIT license.
Installation
pip install mcbootflash
Usage
Mcbootflash can be used as both a command-line application and a library.
Command-line
$ mcbootflash --help
usage: mcbootflash [-h] -p PORT -b BAUDRATE [-t TIMEOUT] [-v] [-q] [--version] hexfile
Flash firmware over serial connection to a device running Microchip's 16-bit bootloader.
positional arguments:
hexfile an Intel HEX file containing application firmware
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-p PORT, --port PORT serial port connected to the device you want to flash
-b BAUDRATE, --baudrate BAUDRATE
symbol rate of device's serial bus
-t TIMEOUT, --timeout TIMEOUT
try to read data from the bus for this many seconds before giving up
-v, --verbose print debug messages
-q, --quiet suppress output
--version show program's version number and exitExample
$ mcbootflash --port /dev/ttyUSB0 --baudrate 460800 firmware.hex
Connecting to bootloader...
Connected
Existing application detected, erasing...
Application erased
Flashing firmware.hex
100% 88.7 KiB |########################################| Elapsed Time: 0:00:05
Self verify OKLibrary
When using mcbootflash as a library, typical workflow looks something like this:
import mcbootflash as bf
import serial
# Connect to a device in bootloader mode.
connection = serial.Serial(port=<PORT>, baudrate=<BAUDRATE>, timeout=<TIMEOUT>)
# Query its attributes.
bootattrs = bf.get_boot_attrs(connection)
# Load the firmware image and split it into chunks.
total_bytes, chunks = bf.chunked(hexfile=<HEXFILE_PATH_STRING>, bootattrs)
# Erase the device's program memory area.
bf.erase_flash(connection, bootattrs.memory_range, bootattrs.erase_size)
# Write the firmware chunks to the bootloader in a loop.
for chunk in chunks:
bf.write_flash(connection, chunk)
# Optionally, check that the write is OK by checksumming.
if bootattrs.has_checksum:
bf.checksum(connection, chunk)
# At this point, you may want to give an indication of the flashing progress,
# like updating a progress bar.
# Verify that the new application is detected.
bf.self_verify(connection)See also the API Reference.
