CLI Usage

You can use the tools from the command line in the same way whether you are on a native host or in a container. Below are some examples of the most common tasks that a Development Environment needs to handle.

Building the software

To build the software, run the following command from the root directory of your project:

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/work axemsolutions/make_gnu_arm make

Here's a breakdown of the command:

--rm: Removes the container right after the build is finished.
-v "$(pwd)":/work: Mounts the root directory of your project to /work in the container.
axemsolutions/make_gnu_arm: The tool image to run in the container.
make: The command to execute in the container.

Running the tests

To run the tests, use this command:

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/work axemsolutions/cpputest /bin/sh -c "cd app/test; make"

Here's what each part of the command does:

--rm: Removes the container right after the test cases have run.
-v "$(pwd)":/work: Mounts the root directory of your project to /work in the container.
axemsolutions/cpputest: The tool image to run in the container.
/bin/sh -c "cd app/test; make": The command to execute in the container.

Deploying to target

First connect the Nucleo board to your PC. If the board is connected, run the following command:

docker run --privileged --rm -v "$(pwd)":/work axemsolutions/stlink_org /bin/sh -c "cd build; 
st-flash write tutorial.bin 0x8000000"

Here's what each part of the command does:

--privileged: Give access to the USB devices.
Only use this flag for testing purposes. The safe way is to only give access for the actual ST-Link USB device.
--rm: Removes the container after writing to the flash.
-v "$(pwd)":/work: Mounts the root directory of you project to /work in the container.
axemsolutions/stlink_org: The tool image to run in the container.
/bin/sh -c "cd build; st-flash write tutorial.bin 0x8000000": The command to execute in the container.

Debugging

GDB is based on a client-server architecture. The client is in the axemsolutions/make_gnu_arm image, and the server is in the axemsolutions/stlink_org image. Therefore, you need both containers running.

Since you have two separate containers, you need a way to let them communicate with each other. Normally, the GDB client and server communicate over TCP/IP, so you need to create a network for them.

To create a bridged network called gdb-net, run the following command:

docker network create gdb-net

In the next step, you need to start the GDB server with access to this gdb-net.

Warning

The Nucleo board must be connected before starting the axemsolutions/stlink_org container.

Run this command:

docker run -it --privileged --rm --network=gdb-net axemsolutions/stlink_org

Here's what each part of the command does:

-it: Starts an interactive shell, which is useful to see what's going on in the container.
--privileged: Give access to the USB devices.
Only use this flag for testing purposes. The safe way is to only give access for the actual ST-Link USB device.
--rm: We can remove the container after the debug session.
--network=gdb-net: Connect to the gdb-net network.
axemsolutions/stlink_org: The tool image to run in the container.

Open another terminal and run the GDB client.

docker run -it --rm -v "$(pwd)":/work --network=gdb-net axemsolutions/make_gnu_arm

-it: With an interactive shell. We would like to use the GDB as a CLI application from this terminal.
--rm: We can remove the container after the debug session.
-v "$(pwd)":/work: Mount the root directory of you project to /work in the container.
--network=gdb-net: Connect to the gdb-net network.
axemsolutions/make_gnu_arm: The tool image to run in the container.

Now get back to the GDB server's terminal and get its IP address.

hostname -I

Start the server provided by stlink-org. If the command is successful, it will print Listening at *:{port} - note this port number.

st-util

For the GDB client, follow these steps:

Start the GDB client with the elf file as the parameter.
```
arm-none-eabi-gdb build/tutorial.elf
```
You should see GDB's own shell.
Connect to the server by providing its IP address and the noted port number for the GDB client.
```
target remote {server ip:port}
```
Load the binary to the NUCLEO.
```
load
```
Now you should be able to debug.