Getting Started with the i.MX 8XLite Evaluation Kit Board

Install UUU on Linux Distro

Download the atest stable files from UUU GitHub page. An extensive tutorial for UUU can be found in UUU GitHub page.

• uuu
• libusb1(via apt-get or any other package manager)

Burn the NXP Linux BSP Image to the Board

By default, this procedure flashes the image to the eMMC flash. Check the UUU GitHub page for reference on how to flash the image to other devices.

Open a terminal application and change directory to the location where uuu and the latest Linux distribution for i.MX 8XLite EVK are located. Add execution permission to the uuu file and execute it. Uuu waits for the USB device to connect

$ chmod a+x uuu

$ sudo ./uuu <kernel_version>_images_<SOC>.zip

Turn on the board, uuu starts to copy the images to the board.

When it finishes, turn off the board, and consult Boot switch setup to configure the board to boot from eMMC.

Download the latest stable files from UUU GitHub page. An extensive tutorial for UUU can be found in UUU GitHub page.

• uuu.exe
• Serial USB drivers (depending on your board and Windows installation - check Windows Device Manager)

Burn the NXP Linux BSP Image to the Board

By default, this procedure flashes the image to the eMMC flash. Check the UUU GitHub page for reference on how to flash the image to other devices.

Open the command prompt application and navigate to the directory where the uuu.exe file and the Linux release for the i.MX 8XLite EVK are located.

uuu.exe <kernel_version>_images_<SOC>.zip

Turn on the board, uuu starts to copy the images to the board.

When it finishes, turn off the board, and consult Boot switch setup to configure the board to boot from eMMC

Download MCUXpresso SDK on Linux

Current releases of the MCUXpresso SDK and source code can be found at MCUXpresso SDK Builder.

To download the MCUXpresso SDK for i.MX 8DualXLite, follow these steps:

1. Click on “Select Development Board”.
2. Select EVK-MIMX8DXL under “Select a Device, Board, or Kit” and click on “Build MCUXpresso SDK” on the right.
3. Select “Host OS” as Linux.
4. Select “Toolchain/IDE” as GCC ARM Embedded.
5. Click on “Select Optional Middleware“, “Select All“ and hit “Save changes“.
6. Click on “Download SDK”.
7. Wait for the SDK to build and download the package.

Install toolchain

1. Download and run the installer from launchpad.net/gcc-arm-embedded. This is the actual toolchain. The toolchain includes the compiler, linker, and so on. The GCC toolchain should correspond to the latest supported version, as described in the MCUXpresso SDK Release Notes found in the package already downloaded.
2. Export the toolchain location as ARMGCC_DIR.

   $ export ARMGCC_DIR=/usr

   Note: The /usr is the usual install directory when you apt-get gcc-arm-none-eabi. Change the directory if this changes.

3. Ensure that cmake is installed:

   $ sudo apt-get install cmake

   $ sudo apt-get install gcc-arm-none-eabi

Build MCUXpresso SDK

1. Change the directory of the command window to the demo armgcc directory and run the build command:

   $ cd <install_dir>/boards/EVK-MIMX8DXL/demo_apps<demo_name>/armgcc

   $ ./build_all.sh

2. There are two project configurations (build targets) supported for each MCUXpresso SDK project:

   Debug

   Compiler optimization is set to low, and debug information is generated for the executable. This target is selected for development and debug.

   Release

   Compiler optimization is set to high, and debug information is not generated. This target is selected for final application deployment.

   Note

   There are script files provided to build both configurations. For this example, the Debug target is built and build_debug.sh is typed on the command line. If the Release target is desired, type build_release.sh instead.

3. The previous command generates the debug and release binaries (.bin). These files are in the debug and release folders.
4. Copy the bootable image hello_world.bin to the boot partition of the SD card.

Run Applications Using U-Boot

This section describes how to run applications using an SD card and pre-built U-Boot image for i.MX processor.

1. Following the steps on the Embedded Linux^® tab, prepare an SD card with a pre-built U-Boot + Linux image from Linux BSP package for the i.MX 8DualXLite processor. If you have already loaded the SD card with a Linux image, you can skip this step.
2. Insert the SD card in the host computer (Linux or Windows), and copy the application image (for example hello_world.bin) to the FAT partition of the SD card.
3. Safely remove the SD card from the PC.
4. Insert the SD card to the target board. Make sure to use the default boot SD slot and double check the [Boot Switch Setup]. The default configuration of the validation board boots from J12, and on MEK board there is only one SD slot which is used for boot.
5. Connect the DEBUG UART slot on the board with to the PC through the USB cable. The Windows OS installs the USB driver automatically, and the Ubuntu OS will find the serial devices as well. See [Serial Communication Console setup] section in Out of box for more instructions on serial communication applications.
6. Open a second terminal emulator on the i.MX 8XLite EVK board's second enumerated serial port. This is the Cortex®-M4's serial console. Set the speed to 115200 bit/s, data bits 8, no parity, and power on the board.
7. Power up the board and stop the boot process by pressing any key before the U-Boot countdown reaches zero. At the U-Boot prompt on the first terminal emulator, type the following commands to U-Boot.

   =>fatload mmc 1:1 0x88000000 hello_world.bin
   => dcache flush
   => bootaux 0x88000000

Download MCUXpresso SDK on Windows

Current releases of the MCUXpresso SDK and source code can be found at MCUXpresso SDK Builder.

To download the MCUXpresso SDK for i.MX 8DualXLite, follow these steps:

1. Click on “Select Development Board”.
2. Select EVK-MIMX8DXL under “Select a Device, Board, or Kit” and click on “Build MCUXpresso SDK” on the right.
3. Select “Host OS” as Windows.
4. Select “Toolchain/IDE” as GCC ARM Embedded.
5. Click on “Select Optional Middleware“, “Select All“ and hit “Save changes“.
6. Click on “Download SDK”.
7. Wait for the SDK to build and download the package.

Install Toolchain

Download and run the installer from GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain. This is the actual toolchain. The toolchain includes the compiler, linker, and so on. The GCC toolchain should correspond to the latest supported version, as described in the MCUXpresso SDK Release Notes found in the package already downloaded.

Install MinGW

The Minimalist GNU for Windows (MinGW) development tools provide a set of tools not dependent on third-party C-Runtime DLLs (such as Cygwin). The build environment used by the MCUXpresso SDK does not utilize the MinGW build tools, but does leverage the base install of both MinGW and MSYS. MSYS provides a basic shell with a Unix-like interface and tools.

1. Download the latest MinGW mingw-get-setup installer from: MinGW - Minimalist GNU for Windows Files
2. Run the installer. The recommended installation path is C:\MinGW, however, you may install to any location.

   Note: The installation path cannot contain any spaces.

3. Ensure that the mingw32-base and msys-base are selected under Basic Setup.

   Figure 13. MinGW files

4. Click Apply Changes in the Installation menu and follow the remaining instructions to complete the installation.

   Figure 14. Apply changes

5. Add the appropriate item to the Windows operating system PATH environment variable. It can be found under Control Panel → System and Security → System → Advanced System Settings in the Environment Variables… section. The path is:

   <mingw_install_dir>\bin

   Important

   Assuming the default installation path, C:\MinGW, an example is shown below. If the path is not set correctly, the toolchain does not work.

   If you have C:\MinGW\msys\x.x\bin in the PATH variable (as required by KSDK 1.0.0), remove it to ensure that the new GCC build system works correctly.

6. Create a system environment variable and name it ARMGCC_DIR. The value of this variable should point to the Arm^® GCC Embedded tool chain installation path, which, for this example, is:

   C:\Program Files (x86)\GNU Tools Arm Embedded\4.8 2014q3

   Reference the installation folder of the GNU Arm^® GCC Embedded tools for the exact pathname of the installation.

   

   Figure 15. Variable name

Install CMake

1. Download CMake 3.0.x from Get CMake
2. Before installing CMake, ensure that the option Add CMake to system PATH is selected. It is up to the user to select whether it is installed into the PATH for all users or just the current user. In this example, the assumption is that it is installed for all users.

   Figure 16. Install CMake

3. Follow the remaining instructions of the installer.

   Note: You may need to reboot the system for the PATH changes to take effect.

Build MCUXpresso SDK

1. Open a GCC Arm^® Embedded tool chain command window. To launch the window, from the Windows operating system Start menu, go to Programs → GNU Tools Arm Embedded <version> and select GCC Command Prompt.

   Figure 17. GCC command prompt

2. Change the directory of the command window to the demo armgcc directory and run the build command:

   > cd <install_dir>\boards\ EVK-MIMX8DXL\demo_apps<demo_name>\armgcc

   > build_all.bat

   Or double-click on the build_all.bat file in Explorer to perform the build. The expected output is shown in this figure:

   

   Figure 18. Build result

3. There are two project configurations (build targets) supported for each MCUXpresso SDK project:

   Debug

   Compiler optimization is set to low, and debug information is generated for the executable. This target is selected for development and debug.

   Release

   Compiler optimization is set to high, and debug information is not generated. This target is selected for final application deployment.

   Note

   There are script files provided to build both configurations. For this example, the Debug target is built and build_debug.bat is typed on the command line. If the Release target is desired, type build_release.bat instead.

4. The previous command generates the debug and release binaries (.bin). These files are in the debug and release folders.
5. Copy the bootable image hello_world.bin to the boot partition of the SD card.

Run applications Using U-Boot

This section describes how to run applications using an SD card and pre-built U-Boot image for i.MX processor.

1. Following the steps on the Embedded Linux^® tab, prepare an SD card with a pre-built U-Boot + Linux image from Linux BSP package for the i.MX 8DualXLite processor. If you have already loaded the SD card with a Linux image, you can skip this step.
2. Insert the SD card in the host computer (Linux or Windows), and copy the application image (for example hello_world.bin) to the FAT partition of the SD card.
3. Safely remove the SD card from the PC.
4. Insert the SD card to the target board. Make sure to use the default boot SD slot and double check the [Boot Switch Setup]. The default configuration of the validation board boots from J12, and on MEK board there is only one SD slot which is used for boot.
5. Connect the DEBUG UART slot on the board with to the PC through the USB cable. The Windows OS installs the USB driver automatically, and the Ubuntu OS will find the serial devices as well.

   See [Serial Communication Console setup] section in Out of box for more instructions on serial communication applications.

6. Open a second terminal emulator on the i.MX 8XLite EVK board's second enumerated serial port. This is the Cortex^®-M4's serial console. Set the speed to 115200 bit/s, data bits 8, no parity, and power on the board.
7. Power up the board and stop the boot process by pressing any key before the U-Boot countdown reaches zero. At the U-Boot prompt on the first terminal emulator, type the following commands to U-Boot.

   => fatload mmc 1:1 0x88000000 hello_world.bin
   => dcache flush
   => bootaux 0x88000000