Category Archives: OpenBLT

Blog articles related to the open source OpenBLT Bootloader.

OpenBLT 1.8.0 release notes

Posted on July 3, 2019 by voorburg

OpenBLT version 1.8.0 was officially released today, after another half year of development work. 21 tickets were processed, which resulted in 35 commits. Feel free to download the new version of the OpenBLT bootloader and give it a try. This … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, version 1.8.0 | Comments Off

Reading OpenBLT’s version number from your firmware

Posted on April 15, 2019 by voorburg

The goal of this blog article is to answer a support question that has been asked by several OpenBLT bootloader users: How can my own firmware read the version of the bootloader? The bootloader defines three macros that combined hold … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, version numbers | Comments Off

OpenBLT 1.7.0 release notes

Posted on January 8, 2019 by voorburg

OpenBLT version 1.7.0 was officially released yesterday, after another half year of development work. 37 tickets were processed, which resulted in 136 commits. Feel free to download the new version of the OpenBLT bootloader and give it a try. This … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, version 1.7.0 | Comments Off

Relationship between Feaser and OpenBLT

Posted on October 25, 2018 by voorburg

The company Feaser and the OpenBLT bootloader project are two separate entities with a co-dependence. The goal of this article is to zoom in on this relationship and to explain why this relationship results in both entities to thrive.

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged feaser, openblt | Comments Off

Security options of the OpenBLT bootloader

Posted on September 27, 2018 by voorburg

As a consequence of the strong rise of smart and internet connected devices, there is an increased demand for embedded system security. As a result, more and more customers ask Feaser about the security options that are available, when the … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged checksum, encryption, security | Comments Off

ROM footprint for different OpenBLT configurations

Posted on August 22, 2018 by voorburg

In a system that contains a bootloader such as the OpenBLT bootloader, there are essentially two software programs present in read-only memory (ROM): your own firmware and the bootloader. Even though a bootloader is typically only integrated towards the end … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, ROM footprint | Comments Off

Data exchange between OpenBLT and your firmware

Posted on July 26, 2018 by voorburg

Several OpenBLT bootloader users asked, if it is possible two exchange data between the bootloader and their firmware. Even though the bootloader and your firmware are two completely separate programs in flash memory, which never execute at the same time, … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged data exchage, openblt, shared parameters | Comments Off

LibOpenBLT Python bindings tutorial

Posted on July 10, 2018 by voorburg

This tutorial video contains a live Python coding session that demonstrates the creation of a custom firmware update tool in less than 30 minutes. To test the newly created firmware update tool, an ST Nucleo-F091RC board is used, but you … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged libopenblt, nucleo-f091rc, openblt, Python, tutorial | Comments Off

OpenBLT 1.6.0 release notes

Posted on July 6, 2018 by voorburg

OpenBLT version 1.6.0 was officially released yesterday, after another half year of development work. 42 tickets were processed, which resulted in 140 commits. Feel free to download the new version of the OpenBLT bootloader and give it a try. This … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, version 1.6.0 | Comments Off

Firmware updates in a network with multiple nodes

Posted on June 12, 2018 by voorburg

Internally, the OpenBLT bootloader is based on the XCP communication protocol. XCP is a point-to-point protocol for establishing a connection between a host PC and a microcontroller. Now consider a system with multiple nodes, where each node consists of a … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged CAN, multiple nodes, Olimex STM32-P103, openblt, RS485 | Comments Off

Reducing the bootloader’s ROM footprint

Posted on May 29, 2018 by voorburg

The recommended way to get started with the OpenBLT bootloader is to first find a demo program, which is based on a microcontroller similar to the one in your system. Once you have gotten familiar with your selected demo bootloader, … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged Olimex STM32-P103, openblt, ROM footprint | Comments Off

Introducing MicroBoot version 2

Posted on April 20, 2018 by voorburg

MicroBoot is the graphical user interface application for initiating and monitoring the firmware update procedure. It is part of the OpenBLT bootloader package and forms the counter-part to the BootCommander application, which is console based. The latest stable OpenBLT bootloader … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged Lazarus, linux, MicroBoot, openblt | Comments Off

Cross-platform IDE selection for MicroBoot 2.0

Posted on March 27, 2018 by voorburg

The OpenBLT host library (LibOpenBLT), developed in 2017, adds interesting functionality to the OpenBLT bootloader project. It makes it possible for all users to quickly and easily develop their own firmware update tool, in the programming language of their liking. … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged Lazarus, MicroBoot, openblt | Comments Off

Update on OpenBLT development efforts

Posted on February 23, 2018 by voorburg

After the OpenBLT version 1.5.0 release last month, development efforts for the next version were started right away. With the goal of having a transparent development process, this article provides an update on the ongoing development tasks. For those new … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged HAL, openblt, Python, STM32L4 | Comments Off

OpenBLT 1.5.0 release notes

Posted on January 4, 2018 by voorburg

After half a year of development work, OpenBLT version 1.5.0 was officially released yesterday. Feel free to download the new version of the OpenBLT bootloader and take it for a spin yourself. This release is on track with the standard … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, version 1.5.0 | Comments Off

TCP/IP support in LibOpenBLT and BootCommander

Posted on December 14, 2017 by voorburg

Goods news for all OpenBLT bootloader users that are interested in performing firmware updates on their microcontroller, via the Internet or from a local network. TCP/IP support was already available in the MicroBoot tool for Windows and is now also … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, TCP/IP, version 1.5.0 | Comments Off

Conversions between HEX and SREC files

Posted on November 22, 2017 by voorburg

The OpenBLT bootloader package includes two PC programs for initiating and monitoring firmware updates (MicroBoot and BootCommander). Both programs expect your firmware file to be in the Motorola S-Record (SREC) format. Several users have requested the additional support of the … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged hex, intel hex, motorola s-record, openblt, srec | Comments Off

Improved USB support in OpenBLT 1.4.2

Posted on October 24, 2017 by voorburg

OpenBLT version 1.4.2 was released last week. The majority of the changes in this patch release, were focused on the USB support on the host side. The OpenBLT bootloader already supported firmware updates using USB as the transport layer. There … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, USB, version 1.4.2 | Comments Off

OpenBLT versions and release schedule

Posted on September 18, 2017 by voorburg

In an on-going effort to provide more clarity and transparency into the OpenBLT bootloader development process, this article explains the idea behind the version numbers, the release schedule, and the difference between stable releases and the development trunk.

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged openblt, release schedule, version numbers | Comments Off

Improved CAN support in OpenBLT 1.4.1

Posted on August 28, 2017 by voorburg

Last week OpenBLT version 1.4.1 was released. Besides some code refactoring, this patch release features improved support for firmware updates via Controller Area Network (CAN). The improved CAN support is part of the roadmap to version 1.5.0. Several users reported … Continue reading →

Posted in OpenBLT | Tagged 29-bit identifiers, CAN, openblt, version 1.4.1 | Comments Off