[TriEmbed] ESP8266 Programming tip

Tue Jan 26 10:50:05 CST 2021

I wonder if your code used an interrupt that couldn't handle the 25 ms time
period.
~Carl

On Tue, Jan 26, 2021 at 11:10 AM John Vaughters via TriEmbed <
triembed at triembed.org> wrote:

> Pete,
>
> There is a debug port on the board for sure, not sure if it qualifies as
> JTAG. I've never actually used a debugger on a micro-processor, only on
> regular desktop/server programming. I never invested the time or money to
> get that up to speed. I will say it dumps a bunch of hex code to the serial
> port when it crashes and I did not really look at that either. The reason
> being that I never ran into a limitation that prevented my pragmatic
> application results and I'm more interested in the end result than the
> finer details. I just hack until I get it to work. Same goes for
> oscilloscopes and electronics, I just use basic concepts and practices and
> usually get it to work. However, I definitely want to gear up with
> oscilloscopes and logic analyzers one day. But until I have the time to
> play, no need in putting out the dough for it to sit on the shelf. This
> attitude is from experience of too many things sitting on the shelf.
>
> There are two timers on the board, but one is used for wifi. The other one
> is available, and I might be able to use that with better results, but the
> Ticker library does magic in the background and appears to act like a
> simple task scheduler. So in the code it appears you are setting tasks, but
> behind the scenes I have not investigated what it is actually doing. For
> sure if you use the single timer you are limited to one task or a tight
> management of tasks on that timer. I'm not quite sure because I did not go
> that route, I am just parroting my perception of what I read. So I opted
> for the code appearance of tasking through the Ticker library to make my
> code more readable. It seems to work great so far and I am close to being
> done with my wifi modbus device. The next application will be a very simple
> wifi serial to tcp converter to be able to use with micro-processors that
> have no network connections. This will allow modbus over TCP via serial
> conversion. You get the sense I like modbus? `,~) What I found so far is
> that the serial to tcp application is already solved and out there in
> multiple forms, so I just need to pick one and give it a go.
>
> I never really exposed my end applications; it is for my home SCADA system
> that monitors energy use for the goal of reducing energy while remaining
> comfortable. Basically, I am trying to use technology to "Stick it to the
> Man" `,~) Oh and have fun learning along the way. I'm pretty sure on just
> the electric controls implemented on the hot water heater alone I have
> saved enough to pay for my electronics. So anything above that is pay dirt.
>
> For Robotics, I am really liking the ESP32 combined with some nano
> arduinos as specialized processors. Top priority being a weed eater head
> remote controlled lawnmower to minimize allergen exposure. And for the
> record that has been on the task list for years and I wouldn't be surprised
> if it waits years longer, but hey the technology keeps making the idea
> easier as time flies by.
>
> Dreams are good, jobs are better! `,~)
>
> Bottom line is I am loving the ESP line of products.
>
> John Vaughters
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tuesday, January 26, 2021, 10:20:04 AM EST, Pete Soper via TriEmbed <
> triembed at triembed.org> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> Does ESP-12E support JTAG debugging? It might be interesting to figure
> out what the crash is about (maybe there isn't actually a task scheduler
> present and if you don't "yield" back you've violated the API
> contract?). But you've stuck with the pragmatic approach, John. Thanks
> for the tip.
>
> Getting  SparkFun "Micromod" boards with ESP32 and ESP8266 (no idea what
> flavors) and the "All the Pins" carrier board today. But these go on the
> shelf as I wait for the RP2040 Micromod board, and my stack is pushed
> anyway. Particle Land, here I come. :-)
>
> -Pete
>
> On 1/26/21 10:03 AM, John Vaughters via TriEmbed wrote:
> > In my playing around with the ESP-12e's that I have, I found something
> that may save someone some time. Using the Ticker library to schedule a
> task, I quickly found out that the task better be quick or it will crash
> the program. To define quick, my task was maybe 25ms, which was enough to
> crash the program. To get around this I found on the web a quick tip that
> made alot of sense. Just use the Ticker task to flip a bool and then have
> an if statement run the task and reset the bool.
> >
> > It's not what I consider a great programming technique, but I consider
> it a valid workaround on the limitation. And it still beats running the
> task on every loop cycle.
> >
> > I am certainly open to other suggestions, but it works quite well and I
> will be sticking with it for now.
> >
> > John Vaughters
>
> >
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