Getting Started with TI-RTOS

From zero to fluent in two days with on-demand or live workshops

ti-white-inassociation.png
 
 
 
 

25% off sale through April 30

Use code WINTER25

happy-coder-dark.jpeg
 
student.png

TOTAL STUDENTS
4000+ students (live or on-demand)

pricing-online.png

LECTURES
57 on-demand video lectures

video3.png

VIDEO
7 total hours video instruction

led-light.png

LABS
19 written
hands-on labs

PDF MANUAL
340+ total pages (downloadable)

access.png

AVAILABILITY
On-demand access for course lifetime

 
instructors.png

INSTRUCTORS
Eric Wilbur
Scott Specker

global.png

GLOBAL
Taught live in
14 countries

hardware.png

REQUIRED HW
TI LaunchPad for desired target

software.png

REQUIRED SW
CCS v9.1+ and target SDK

total-time.png

REQUIRED TIME
16-24 hours to completion

certificate.png

CERTIFICATE
Available upon completion

 

TI-RTOS Workshop Overview

 
TI-inassociationwith.png

Getting Started with TI-RTOS is an in-depth workshop developed in association with Texas Instruments that quickly teaches production-level skills to craft code on any platform that supports TI-RTOS. Whether live or on-demand, this workshop provides hands-on, accelerated learning that takes you from zero to fluent in just days, saving weeks or months of development time.

Eric Wilbur & Scott Specker, Workshop Authors/Instructors

Eric Wilbur & Scott Specker, Workshop Authors/Instructors

Featured

What is TI-RTOS?

Formerly known as SYS/BIOS, or just BIOS, TI-RTOS is a real-time operating system (RTOS) used on most Texas Instruments processor/MCU platforms—SimpleLink (MSP432X, CC13XX, CC26XX, CC32XX), Cortex M3/M4, Cortex A8/9/15, Multi-core (C66X), C6000, or C2000.

Workshop Background

While working for Texas Instruments, Eric Wilbur created and taught this workshop to customers worldwide. Since 2015, he continued to update and offer this course in association with Texas Instruments. In 2019, Eric Wilbur and Scott Specker, both former TI worldwide instructors, redesigned and updated this course with a new course framework, new student materials, and new professional quality videos.

About the Instructors

Eric Wilbur and Scott Specker co-authored this course and are the video and live instructors. Both Eric and Scott each have 10,000+ hours classroom experience training 4,000+ engineers at over 70 companies worldwide on DSPs, MCUs, MPUs, RTOS, and Linux O/S. As course developers, they have created over 30 multi-day workshops as well as thousands of pages of user manuals, start-up guides, app notes and wiki pages. They each have over 25+ years’ experience helping customers navigate hundreds of processors, development kits, software packages, and operating systems.

What you learn in this workshop

 

  • How to successfully install Code Composer Studio (CCS), Software Development Kit (SDK), and verify the tools have been installed properly

  • In-depth, extensive hands-on use of CCS and TI’s software driver libraries (driverlib, SDK, etc.)

  • Working knowledge of the TI-RTOS Kernel (aka SYS/BIOS, BIOS) and the various thread types—Hwi, Swi, Task, Idle—and why/when to use them

  • How the device hardware (interrupts and timers) interact with TI-RTOS

  • How to create a new TI-RTOS-based CCS project using dependent or independent TI-RTOS configuration projects

  • Program peripherals such as GPIO to toggle an LED on the target hardware

  • How to use additional TI-RTOS services such as Semaphore, Mailbox, Clock Functions, Event

  • Comprehensive use of instrumentation and visualization tools such as the RTOS Object Viewer (ROV), Unified Instrumentation Architecture (UIA) and RTOS Analyzer—CPU Load, Execution Graph, Task Load, Log_printf(), loggers

happy-learner.jpg
“For a 6-month development project, expect this training to save you 1-2 weeks up front and 2-3 weeks or more on the back end—easily paying for itself many times over.”
— Kurt Furlong, Engineering Manager, LSR, Cedarburg, WI
color-ea-aqua.png

Workshop Agenda

Click < > arrows to the right to view more chapters

CHAPTER 0

Workshop Intro, OOB

Embedded Advantage – Intro

TI-RTOS Workshop – Intro

Workshop Logistics

How to DO the Labs…

Lab 0: Out of Box Demo

CHAPTER 1

Tools/SDK Installation

What to Install

Code Composer Studio (CCS desktop)

Software Development Kit (SDK)

Workshop Files and Solutions

Verify Installation

Lab 1: Installation 

CHAPTER 2

Tools & Software Intro

CCS Overview

CCS Cloud IDE

Looking at the SDK

Embedded System Topology

Creating a New CCS Project

Lab 2A: Build and Debug an SDK example

Lab 2B: Create an Empty project

Lab 2C: Build and restore OOB to your board.

CHAPTER 3

Using TI’s GPIO Driver

GPIO intro

Using the TI GPIO Driver

Lab 3A: Using GPIO NoRTOS Driver

Extending the GPIO Driver

Lab 3B: Extending GPIO Drivers

CHAPTER 4

Drivers and Interrupts

Reading Input Pins

Lab 4A: Reading GPIO input pin

Interrupts

Lab 4B: GPIO interrupt

Timer Interrupts

Lab 4C: Timer interrupt

CHAPTER 5

TI-RTOS Intro (Concepts)

RTOS – Library of Services

Why use an RTOS Scheduler?

TI-RTOS DNA

Linux vs RTOS – Compare/Contrast

TI-RTOS Thread Types 

System Timeline & Scheduling Example

Quiz: TI-RTOS Threads

CHAPTER 6

TI-RTOS Mechanics

Creating a TI-RTOS Project

Lab 6A: Creating an Empty TI-RTOS Driver Project

Basic RTOS Configuration

Using IDLE

RTOS Object Viewer (ROV)

BIOS Footprint & Timing Benchmarks

Lab 6B: Using Idle

CHAPTER 7

Using Tasks

Task Topology and Signaling

Task API

How to Create Tasks

How to use Error Block

Scheduling Tasks

Scheduling Strategies

Labs 7A and 7B: Using Tasks

CHAPTER 8

TI-RTOS Instrumentation

Intro to RTOS Analyzer and UIA

Log_info()

Execution Graph

Load Analysis

Configuring UIA for your application

Benchmarking with Timestamp

Lab 8: Using UIA and RTOS Analyzer 

CHAPTER 9

Using Semaphores (Hwi)

Where Semaphores fit in

How PEND and POST Work

Object Creation

Lab 9: Using Semaphores

Advanced Topic: Semaphore Modes

CHAPTER 10

Using Clock (Timers)

Timers: Let me count the ways

TI-RTOS System “Tick”

Creating Clock Functions

Timer Usage – Summary

Lab 10: Using Clock Functions

CHAPTER 11

Using Mailbox

Passing Data between Threads

Creating and Using a Mailbox

Lab 11: Using Mailbox

CHAPTER 12

Using Events

Events – Intro

Pending on Multiple Semaphores

Creating and Using Events

Posting Events with Semaphores

Lab 12: Using Events

About on-demand workshops

 

What It Costs

The regular price per student for the on-demand workshop is $497. Click the button below to see any current promotions.

Each student must purchase individual course access.

Contact us for volume discounts when enrolling more than 10 students.

What You Get

On-demand price includes individual access to all course content, including:

  • 83 on-demand video lectures

  • 7 hours total video instruction

  • 19 hands-on written labs & solutions

  • 340+ total downloadable pages

  • Access for lifetime of course

  • All future course updates

programmer-thumbsup.jpg

What You Need

Hardware: Computer/laptop and Launchpad or EVM on desired target (purchase from TI eStore)

Software: Code Composer Studio (CCS) v9.1x and target software development kit (SDK)

Chapter 1 explains how to load all the software tools and libraries and connect to your hardware.

Support

For questions related to our content (solutions, videos, labs), email us or post a comment on the relevant video within the on-demand course. For extensive live or on-site consulting by the hour or day, please contact us.

About live workshops

 

What It Costs

CONTINENTAL US: For live onsite workshops in the continental U.S., cost per student is $1197 with a minimum of six students.

INTERNATIONAL: For international workshops, cost per student is $1497 with a minimum of eight students. Additional fees or taxes may apply based upon location and customer requirements.

What You Get

Live workshop fees include instructor travel expenses and live, onsite instruction by an experienced, master instructor who has taught this workshop worldwide. With a live instructor, you can ask live questions and get free help with your project.

Fees also include individual access for each paid student to the on-demand workshop, which includes all video lectures, downloadable lab documents, lab solutions, access for lifetime of course, and all future course updates.

EricTraining1.jpg

What You Need

Client provides onsite venue (including projector, white board, flip chart) and snacks, beverages, and lunch for workshop participants. Client may choose to print lab manual or use online access.

Each student must have a computer or laptop, LaunchPad or EVM, CCS 9.1x, and target SDK. Chapter 1 explains how to load all the software tools and libraries and connect to your hardware.

Support

During the workshop, your instructor can respond to live questions and provide free help for your projects. After the live workshop, if you have questions related to our content (solutions, videos, labs), email us or post a comment on the relevant video within the on-demand course. For extensive live or on-site consulting by the hour or day, please contact us.

“...clearly an expert in the subject matter and dynamic in his presentation skills, always keeping the audience engaged and interested. ”
— Brian Bell, Technical Sales Representative, Texas Instruments, Rochester, NY
color-ea-aqua.png

What our students say

 
Click < > arrows to the right to see more testimonials

worth every penny!

…has a phenomenal ability to make really complicated, hard-core engineering material simple and reliable. As a teacher, he has a unique capacity to keep the class as a whole moving while, at the same time, addressing the specific needs of individual students…After his classes, engineers know without any doubt that Eric just saved them months and months of aggravation…Worth every penny!

—Henry Sharpe, President, Bluewater Designworks, LLC

breath of fresh air

…the interactive way he runs his course is OUTSTANDING. His style of ‘Life is a blank page—so that’s where we will start,’ was a breath of fresh air. He also used varied mediums to get his points across…a passionate instructor who cares more about his audience than simply getting through the material…This method vs ‘death by powerpoint’ was day and night.

—Firmware Engineer, Denver, CO

facilitates maximum learning

…implements a methodical approach to developing and delivering technical training... providing a focused, content-rich immersion experience for the students...this environment facilitates maximum learning...saving time and money.

—Brandon Azbell, Applications Manager, Texas Instruments, Schaumburg, IL

up and running in TWO short days

…blew us away—he made the technical concepts come alive with analogies, stories, and WHY the topic was important. Not only was it fun to learn from him, he got us up and running in TWO short days which…helps us decrease our time to market and also gives us a context to learn other details not covered in the workshop. Most of the engineers commented “best workshop and instructor EVER.”

—Ardan Keohane, Design Engineer, Telephonics, Columbia, MD

deep insight into the mindset of an engineer

As an attendee in Eric’s workshops, I have observed his deep insight into the mindset of an engineer. When combined with authentic listening skills, he leverages his understanding of technical audiences with his skill as a seasoned instructor to nimbly adapt the content to meet the expectations of his students, even when those needs are highly variable within a single classroom.

—Rob Hillard, Instructional Designer, Texas Instruments, Germantown, MD

best instructor I have ever seen

The learning environment that Eric created was OUTSTANDING. He is the best instructor I have ever seen...I have never seen an engineer care so much that each of us learn the topics and have success.

—Max Noda, Engineer, LumaSensInc

course is laid out with a very logical progression

Eric is a very good communicator. His course is laid out with a very logical progression, just like a design engineer would take. He is organized, and has interesting stories that make a point and bring home the idea. He seemed to anticipate the kinds of questions we would ask and often had them answered before they were asked.

—Dave Siegler, Firmware Engineering Manager, Rockwell Automation, Mequon, WI

every student achieved what they expected

Eric taught at our facility numerous times and adapted his content to make sure that every student achieved what they expected out of the training. Eric is always one of the most prepared, most entertaining, and most enriching presenters.

—Jason Haedt, Field Applications Engineer, Avnet, Pewaukee, WI

shorter ramp-up time for students

…one of those rare engineers who has the ability to connect with a technical audience in a way that inspires and motivates…a fantastic teacher of technical information, and that means a shorter ramp-up time for students. I highly recommend for audiences who want an expert from the field who fundamentally knows how to relate to his students.

—William Hohl, Author of ARM Assembly, Senior Member IEEE

has this ability to speak our language

…an extremely knowledgeable instructor…kept us all engaged and entertained with great stories! I could not believe the amount of interaction he was able to get out of relatively quiet engineers—he has this ability to speak our language, identify where our confusion areas are, take the time to customize pieces dynamically and truly answer our questions. He made US the hero.

—Design Engineer, Houston, TX

encourage you to put new material to use

…outstanding presenter of technical material. His command of the material is always apparent, and brings immediate credibility with the audience. He has a razor sharp wit, which allows him to inject just the right amount of humor at just the right time, and thus keep everyone’s attention...You might think you could learn the same material just as well from a book. And you would be wrong. Eric is a master at creating hands-on exercises that encourage you to put new material to use right away…There is no better way to get a jump start.

—George Mock, Engineer, Texas Instruments, Houston, TX

extremely effective and valuable

…very experienced technical instructor and engineer...the combination makes this training extremely effective and valuable

—Joseph Stagnitto, Senior Design Engineer, X-ray Solutions, Carestream Health, Rochester, NY

dynamic, fluid, entertaining

…taught the workshop in a very dynamic, fluid, entertaining way. I have never seen a more knowledgeable and prepared instructor…methods of instruction are second to none—truly excellent. Throughout the workshop, he was truly concerned about meeting our specific needs...and did so.

— Software Engineer, Motorola, Phoenix, AZ

the gold standard

When it comes to technical training, Eric is the gold standard. Many instructors may understand the material they are presenting, but few possess Eric’s ability to keep the audience engaged so that the material is fully absorbed. Every audience is different, and Eric is able to adapt on the fly to ensure that everyone gets full value out of the session.

—John Stevenson, Applications Manager, Texas Instruments, Toronto, ON

clearly an expert on the subject matter

Eric is clearly an expert in the subject matter and dynamic in his presentation skills, always keeping the audience engaged and interested. Eric’s ability to deal with different personality types is also very impressive. I truly think Eric’s only agenda is helping others.

—Brian Bell, Technical Sales Representative, Texas Instruments, Rochester, NY

Try it for FREE

Experience the Embedded Advantage difference firsthand with FREE access to three workshop chapters:

  • Chapter 0—Workshop Introduction
    Get to know Embedded Advantage, see the workshop agenda, learn the specific software and CCS revisions supported

  • Chapter 1—Tools Installation
    A comprehensive walk-through of the tools installation (CCS, software libraries). This chapter alone will save you DAYS of frustration.

  • Chapter 5—Introduction to TI-RTOS
    Get answers these questions: What is an RTOS? Why use an RTOS? What types of services does TI-RTOS provide? Compare/contrast Linux vs RTOS. How does the TI-RTOS Scheduler work?

color-salmon.png

Enroll in on-demand TI-RTOS workshop

To enroll in an on-demand workshop for a single user, click on your desired target device below. You will go to the checkout page. Please note the following:

  • Each student must purchase individual access to the course.

  • Please contact us for volume discounts or to schedule live workshops.

  • Purchase an evaluation board from the TI eSTore. Links are listed here.

  • If your device is not listed, keep in mind that any user on any TI platform that supports TI-RTOS will learn a great deal about the kernel (SYS/BIOS) because most materials and labs focus on TI-RTOS, not architecture.

  • The MSP432P401R and MSP432P4111 processors are no longer recommended for new designs. However, the TI-RTOS courses for MSP432P401R and MSP432P4111 are available upon request. Simply click “Contact Us” and let us know you would like to purchase them.

  • The TI-RTOS course for the AM335x RTOS, C6000 Arch, C2000 will be available very soon in 2022.

Use code WINTER25 for 25% off any workshop thru April 30

 

Already purchased a workshop?

Noblue-tirtos-short.png

FREE Preview

MSP432E401Y

CC1352

Noblue-tirtos-short.png

CC3220

 
Noblue-tirtos-short.png

C6748

Noblue-tirtos-short.png

AM335x

Noblue-tirtos-short.png

F28388D

Noblue-tirtos-short.png

F28379D

 
Noblue-tirtos-short.png

MSP432P401R

Noblue-tirtos-short.png

MSP432P4111

 
 

List of Supported Devices & Evaluation Boards

The bolded device denotes the processor that is on the evaluation board we support in the workshop.

chip-msp432p4xx.png

MSP432P401M
MSP432P401R
MSP432P401V
MSP432P401Y
MSP432P411V
MSP432P411Y

Target Board
MSP-EXP432P401R LaunchPad™

chip-msp432p4x11.png

MSP432P4011
MSP432P4111

Target Board
MSP-EXP432P4111 LaunchPad™

chip-msp432e4xx.png

MSP432E401Y
MSP432E411Y

Target Board
MSP-EXP432E401Y LaunchPad™

chip-cc13xx.png

CC1310
CC1312R
CC1350
CC1352P
CC1352R

Target Board
LAUNCHXL-CC1352R1 LaunchPad™

chip-cc26xx.png

CC2640R2F
CC2642R
CC2652R
CC2652RB

Target Board
LAUNCHXL-CC1352R1 LaunchPad™

chip-cc32xx.png

CC3220MOD
CC3220R
CC3220S
CC3220SF
CC3235S
CC3235SF

Target Board
CC3220SF-LAUNCHXL LaunchPad™

Coming Soon: Bonus TI-RTOS Topics

The following topics will be released separately in 2022.

 
Noblue-tirtos-topics.png

Using Queues

Learn how to use queues to pass data between threads

Noblue-tirtos-topics.png

Using Mutexes

Learn how to handle critical sections and priority inversion using muteness

Noblue-tirtos-topics.png

Using Power Policies

Learn how to use power policies for low-power applications

Noblue-tirtos-topics.png

Reducing Footprint

Learn how to reduce your application’s footprint (step by step)

color-salmon.png

Questions? This workshop answers them.

Below are the questions this workshop answers, chapter by chapter.

 
Click < > arrows to the right to view more chapters.

CHAPTER 0

Workshop Intro, OOB

Embedded Advantage – Intro

Who is Embedded Advantage?

What services does Embedded Advantage provide?

How does Embedded Advantage structure their workshops?

Getting Started, Fundamentals and Bonus (or advanced topics)

What are the future workshop or training plans?

Does Embedded Advantage do consulting?

Can we contract with Embedded Advantage to write our software or augment our software engineering team?

TI-RTOS Workshop – Intro

What services does the TI-RTOS library provide?

Scheduler, Drivers, Synchronization, Real-time Analysis tools, memory management

What is the agenda for the overall TI-RTOS workshop?

Workshop Logistics

What is inside the workshop datasheet?

What rev of CCS and SDKs and software libraries are supported in the TI-RTOS workshop?

How to DO the Labs…

What is the preferred way to do the labs?

Can I just run the solutions?

Are the labs in the same order I should do them in?

How can I challenge myself more in these labs?

Lab 0 – Out of Box Demo

What is the link to SimpleLink Academy?

Where do I find the OOB – Out of Box demo example?

CHAPTER 1

Tools/SDK Installation

What to Install

CCS Desktop for Windows, Mac and Linux

CCS Cloud

Device Family Software libraries (or the SDK)

TI-RTOS workshop labs and solution files

Code Composer Studio (CCS desktop)

How do I download Code Composer Studio (CCS)?

How do I install Code Composer Studio (CCS)?

How do I check for CCS updates?

Software Development Kit (SDK)

How do I download and install a Simplelink Software Development Kit (SDK)?

How do I download and install SimpleLink Academy?

Workshop Files and Solutions

Where do I find the labs/solutions files for the TI-RTOS workshop?

How do I install the labs/solutions files for the TI-RTOS workshop?

Verify Installation

How do I verify that CCS and the SDK and labs/solutions files are properly installed?

How do I build the OOB demo successfully?

Lab 1 – Installation

The lab is actually all the steps in this entire chapter

How do I install Code Composer Studio (CCS)?

How do I install the SDK? Libraries? 

CHAPTER 2

Tools & Software Intro

CCS Overview

How do you edit code using CCS?

How does Code Composer Studio work?

How do you build code using CCS?

What is the difference between the edit and debug perspective in CCS?

How do you connect your target board to CCS?

What is the target configuration file?

CCS Cloud IDE

Where is CCS Cloud located? Dev.ti.com

What is the difference between CCS and CCS Cloud?

Looking at the SDK

What is contained in the TI SimpleLink SDK?

SDK Components, RTOS support in SDK

What are the supported software layers in the TI SDK, driver libraries?

Embedded System Topology

What are the basics of an embedded program?

What is the topology of an embedded system?

How does CCS differ from using Arduino?

Creating a New CCS Project

How do you create a NEW CCS project?

Don’t use Project->New CCS Project

Lab 2A — Build and Debug an SDK Example

How do you build a simple SDK example for TI Simplelink? (CCS step-by-step tutorial, training, and walkthrough)

How do you create an empty project with CCS?

Can you restore the LaunchPad or target board back to the default factory code for the OOB – Out of Box experience?

CHAPTER 3

Using TI’s GPIO Driver

GPIO intro

What is GPIO?

How does GPIO work?

How do you program a GPIO pin?

Using the TI GPIO Driver

How do you use a TI GPIO Driver from the SimpleLink SDK?

Please explain how a TI Driver works in SimpleLink?

What is a callback function?

Lab 3A – Using GPIO NoRTOS Driver

How do you use a TI NoRTOS Driver?

What is the difference between a NoRTOS a No RTOS and TI-RTOS drivers?

Extending the GPIO Driver

How do I extend the features of the TI GPIO Driver?

Lab 3B – Extending GPIO Drivers

How do I modify the contents of a TI Driver?

CHAPTER 4

Drivers and Interrupts

Reading Input Pins

How do I write code to read (poll) GPIO input from a push-button on the Launchpad?

How do I write code to configure GPIO to be input or output, set high or low and use pull-up resistors?

Lab 4A – Reading GPIO input pin

Interrupts

How do you write code to respond to a GPIO interrupt?

How do interrupts fit into the overall Embedded System Topology?

What is an interrupt and how do they work?

What is an event-driven system?

Lab 4B – GPIO interrupt

Timer Interrupts

How do you write code to respond to a timer interrupt using TI Drivers?

How are driver callback functions used in interrupt handlers? 

Lab 4C – Timer interrupt

CHAPTER 5

TI-RTOS Intro (concepts)

RTOS – Library of Services

Why use an RTOS?

Explain RTOS vs bare-metal programming

What is the difference between RTOS and Linux?

Compare/contrast Linux and RTOS

What are the TI-RTOS thread types?

What is the list of TI-RTOS Services?

Why use an RTOS Scheduler?

What is an RTOS Scheduler?

How does an RTOS Scheduler work?

What are the benefits of using an RTOS?

TI-RTOS DNA

What is the DNA of TI-RTOS and how does it behave in general?

Linux vs RTOS – Compare/Contrast

What is the difference between RTOS and Linux?

Compare/contrast Linux and RTOS

TI-RTOS Thread Types 

What are the TI-RTOS thread types?

What is the list of TI-RTOS Services?

System Timeline & Scheduling Example

What is the timeline of events when using an RTOS?

Can I see the TI-RTOS scheduler in action?

Quiz: TI-RTOS Threads

How do I assign thread types to my application?

CHAPTER 6

TI-RTOS Mechanics

Creating a TI-RTOS Project

How do you create a starter (empty) project when using TI-RTOS?

What is a step-by-step method for using an example out of TI Resource Explorer to create a starter TI-RTOS project?

Can someone help de-mystify all of the starter examples in the Simplelink SDK?

Lab 6A – Creating an Empty TI-RTOS Driver Project

Create an empty project using TI starting examples from TI Resource Explorer

Basic RTOS Configuration

How does the TI-RTOS configuration (.cfg) file work and what is contained inside of it?

How do you add services to TI-RTOS statically?

How do you add services to TI-RTOS dynamically?

Using IDLE

How do you add the Idle service to TI-RTOS?

How do you add a function to the Idle thread in TI-RTOS?

RTOS Object Viewer (ROV)

What is ROV? What is the RTOS Object Viewer?

How do you use the RTOS Object Viewer (ROV)?

What is the best tool to use to debug TI-RTOS application?

BIOS Footprint & Timing Benchmarks

What is the TI-RTOS Footprint?

How much program space does TI-RTOS take?

How much data RAM does TI-RTOS take?

How fast is TI-RTOS?

Can TI-RTOS be used in a real-time application?

Lab 6B – Using Idle

Add Idle function to an existing TI-RTOS application 

How do you use BIOS_start(); ?

How do you use BIOS_exit(); ?

CHAPTER 7

Using Tasks

Task Topology and Signaling

What is the topology of a TI-RTOS Task?

How does the signaling mechanism work to unblock a TI-RTOS Task?

How are TI-RTOS Tasks Scheduled?

What is a TI-RTOS Task’s group priority ranking among other thread types?

Task API

What are the Task API and their basic uses?

Can you describe the basic Task function calls that I might need in my application and the benefits of each?

How to Create Tasks

How do you create a Task statically? Dynamically using the heap?

How to use Error Block

What is Error Block and how do you use it properly?

What happens if you use NULL instead of a properly initialized Error Bock in a MOD_create() function call?

Is there an alternative to using Error Block?

How does Error_IGNORE work?

Scheduling Tasks

How are Tasks scheduled in TI-RTOS Scheduler?

When do Tasks start running?

Is there no Task_post()?

Scheduling Strategies

What are the common thread scheduling models in the industry?

Compare/Contrast the thread scheduling methods.

Lab 7A and 7B: Using Tasks

Program Tasks to blink an LED

Program Two Tasks to blink an LED

How does Task_create() work?

How do you use Task_sleep(); ?

CHAPTER 8

TI-RTOS Instrumentation

Intro to RTOS Analyzer and UIA

How do you set up UIA and the RTOS Analyzer?

What are the built-in TI-RTOS Instrumentation Tools?

What are the visualization and instrumentation tools in TI-RTOS?

Log_info() — What does Log_info() do? Is there a small, light-weight, fast version of printf() in TI-RTOS?

Execution Graph — What is the Execution Graph? Can you benchmark timing on the Execution Graph?

Load Analysis — Can you track overall Task loading? CPU Load? Thread Load?

Configuring UIA for your application

What is UIA? Unified Instrumentation Architecture?

What are the main function calls I can use in UIA to instrument my code for TI-RTOS?

How do you add Logging and instrumentation tools to TI-RTOS configuration (.cfg) file?

How much space and time does UIA take in my application?

Where do you set the buffer sizes for data collection for the RTOS Analyzer?

Can I track Hwis? Can I track Tasks? Can I track SWIs?

Benchmarking with Timestamp

What is the Timestamp service in TI-RTOS?

How do you add Timestamp service to the TI-RTOS configuration (.cfg) file?

Lab 8 – Using UIA and RTOS Analyzer 

Configure UIA

Use RTOS Analyzer to debug the application

Use ROV to debug my application

CHAPTER 9

Using Semaphores (Hwi)

Where Semaphores Fit In

What is a semaphore in TI-RTOS?

How is a semaphore used in TI-RTOS?

How PEND and POST Work

How does Semaphore_pend() work in TI-RTOS? BIOS? SYS/BIOS?

How does Semaphroe_post() work in TI-RTOS? BIOS? SYS/BIOS? TI-RTOS kernel?

Object Creation

How do you create a semaphore statically using .cfg file? 

How do you create a semaphore dynamically?

What is a binary semaphore? What is a counting semaphore?

Lab 9 – Using Semaphores

How do I program semaphores coming from an HWI to unblock a Task?

How does Semaphore_create() work?

How do HWIs work?

How do you use TI Drivers and callback functions with TI Simplelink MCUs?

Advanced Topic – Semaphore Modes

What is a FIFO semaphore?

What is a priority-based semaphore?

Compare/contrast FIFO vs. priority-based semaphores

CHAPTER 10

Using Clock (Timers)

Timers – Let me count the ways

How do hardware timers interact with TI-RTOS?

Does BIOS, TI-RTOS kernel use hardware timers?

Which timer is used by BIOS, TI-RTOS by default? 

Which timer should I use on my target and why?

What are the default timers used by TI-RTOS, BIOS? SYS/BIOS?

Can you combine timers for use as tick rate and Timestamp?

TI-RTOS System “Tick”

How do you configure the RTOS heartbeat or system tick or tick rate on BIOS, TI-RTOS?

What is the system tick used for?

How do you trigger functions to run periodically based on the tick rate?

If I have a low-power application, is there a way to suppress the interrupts or the ticks that are not necessary?

Creating Clock Functions

How do you create a clock function statically in the .cfg file?

How do you create a clock function dynamically via the heap? Clock_create()?

Timer Usage – Summary

What are the default timers used in TI-RTOS? BIOS? SYS/BIOS?

Can I combine timers in TI-RTOS?

What timer is used for the BIOS tick rate?

What timer is used for Timestamp?

What timer is used for Seconds module? RTC?

Lab 10 – Using Clock Functions

How do I create a clock function and use it to blink an LED?

What is a TI-RTOS Swi? What is the Swi priority?

CHAPTER 11

Using Mailbox

Passing Data between Threads

What are common ways to pass data between TI-RTOS threads and Tasks?

Is it safe to use globals to pass data between threads?

Explain the producer-consumer model.

What about priority-inversion? This is handled in an advanced/bonus chapter.

Creating and Using a Mailbox

What is a TI-RTOS, BIOS, SYS/BIOS Mailbox?

How does a TI-RTOS Mailbox work? 

How do you create a TI-RTOS Mailbox?

How do you use a TI-RTOS Mailbox to pass data between Tasks?

Does TI-RTOS Mailbox have built-in signaling between sender and receiver?

Please compare a TI-RTOS mailbox to a TI-RTOS queue.

Lab 11 – Using Mailbox

How do you program a TI-RTOS Mailbox to pass data between two Tasks?

How do you program Mailbox_post();?

How do you use Mailbox_pend();?

CHAPTER 12

Using Events

Events – Intro

What is an event?

Define event?

How is an event different than an interrupt or a BIOS event?

What is the strict definition of a TI-RTOS, BIOS, SYS/BIOS Event?

How does a TI-RTOS Event work?

How do you program a TI-RTOS Event?

Pending on Multiple Semaphores

Can you use multiple semaphores to unblock a TI-RTOS Task?

What is the Event Object?

Creating and Using Events

How do you create an Event object statically?

How do you create an Event object dynamically?

What does an Event Object contain?

How does the Event mask work?

What is an OR mask and what is an AND mask?

Posting Events with Semaphores

Can a Sempahore_post() also post an EVENT?

Can Mailbox_post() also post an Event?

How does Event_post() work?

How does Event_pend() work?

Lab 12 – Using Events

How do you program an Event to blink an LED?

How do you program and use Event_post()?

How do you program and use Event_pend()?