STM32 Maple Library paths included in flash memory

Steamerzone · December 15, 2019, 1:35pm

Hello,

A lot of library path information looks to be programmed into the STM32 flash memory.
If I read back the programmed memory of the STM32 with the ST32 ST-Link utility I see a lot of the following entries:

Is there a build option that I can set to remove that information and decrease the flash memory footprint?

platformio.ini
----
[env:bluepill_f103c8_128k]
platform = ststm32
board = genericSTM32F103CB ;128k
framework = arduino
board_build.core = maple ; use Arduino STM32 (maple)
board_build.variant = maple ; use Arduino STM32 (maple)
upload_flags =

-c*
set CPUTAPID 0x1ba01477 ; Original STM32F103 parts*
debug_tool = stlink

Greetings,
Emile

maxgerhardt · December 15, 2019, 1:50pm

The output is generated from ASSERT() expressions in the code as a means of error-catching

github.com

rogerclarkmelbourne/Arduino_STM32/blob/9d46a1c27d4dc9dd4df06b76a1d81684519d8acc/STM32F1/cores/maple/HardwareTimer.cpp#L68


      
          
          
HardwareTimer::HardwareTimer(uint8 timerNum) {
              rcc_clk_id timerID = (rcc_clk_id)(RCC_TIMER1 + (timerNum - 1));
              this->dev = NULL;
              noInterrupts(); // Hack to ensure we're the only ones using
                              // set_this_dev() and friends. TODO: use a lock.
              this_id = timerID;
              this_devp = &this->dev;
              timer_foreach(set_this_dev);
              interrupts();
              ASSERT(this->dev != NULL);
          }
          
          
void HardwareTimer::pause(void) {
              timer_pause(this->dev);
          }
          
          
void HardwareTimer::resume(void) {
              timer_resume(this->dev);
          }

Whereas ASSERT() expands to

github.com

rogerclarkmelbourne/Arduino_STM32/blob/9d46a1c27d4dc9dd4df06b76a1d81684519d8acc/STM32F4/cores/maple/libmaple/util.h#L84-L96


      
          #ifndef DEBUG_LEVEL
          #define DEBUG_LEVEL DEBUG_ALL
          #endif
          
          
#if DEBUG_LEVEL >= DEBUG_ALL
          #define ASSERT(exp)                              \
              if (exp) {                                   \
              } else {                                     \
                  _fail(__FILE__, __LINE__, #exp);         \
              }
          #else
          #define ASSERT(exp) (void)((0))
          #endif

So this is where the __FILE__ and __LINE information come from and your path informatin is included.

This code also shows that this code can be deactivated when DEBUG_LEVEL < DEBUG_ALL aka DEBUG_NONE or DEBUG_FAULT (see surrounding code). So just add

build_flags = -D DEBUG_LEVEL=0

and it evaluates to an empty expression and your problem is solved…

Steamerzone · December 15, 2019, 2:09pm

Hello Max,

Thanks for the quick reply and the excellent explanation!
Adding build_flags = -D DEBUG_LEVEL=0 shaved ~3K off the memory usage.

Greetings,
Emile