5. Quick Start for Dialog DA148xx

5.1. Supported Environments

Operating System

Windows: Windows 10 / Windows 11

Linux: Ubuntu 22.04 / Ubuntu 24.04

macOS: macOS 14 Sonoma (Apple silicon)

VS Code version

1.96.0 (minimum)

VS Code can be downloaded and installed from this page https://code.visualstudio.com/.

5.2. Installation

To utilise the Renesas VS Code extensions on Windows, it’s necessary to install “CMake” and “Ninja Build” for project build operations.

You can install “CMake” and “Ninja Build” by downloading their latest installers.

Step 1: Install the latest “CMake” for Windows.

  1. Download the latest version of CMake for Windows.

    https://cmake.org/download/

  2. Install CMake for Windows.

    Important

    You must add the CMake folders to the “Path” environment variable. The Windows Installer of CMake has an option to modify the system’s environment variables and add the CMake folders to the “Path” variable. Please select this option during installation. If you are not using the installer or this option is not selected during installation, please use the following notes to manually add CMake’s bin folder to the Path variable.

Step 2: Install the latest “Ninja Build” for Windows.

  1. Download the latest version of Ninja for Windows.

    https://github.com/ninja-build/ninja/releases/

  2. Extract the downloaded zip file (ninja-win.zip) and place the ninja.exe into a folder.

    (e.g.: C:\Tools\ninja-build\ninja.exe).

Step 3: Configure the “Path” environment variable.

  1. Open the System Environment Variables configuration, and add the following variables:

    1. Add the path of CMake’s bin folder if it is not defined during the CMake installation.

      (e.g. C:\Program Files\CMake\bin).

    2. Add the path of the ninja.exe folder. (e.g. C:\Tools\ninja-build).

    Guide for managing System Environment Variables

    1. Use Windows Search to find and open “Edit the system environment variables”

      _images/installation-env-variables1.png

    2. In the “Advanced” tab, click on the “Environment Variables…” button to open the “Environment Variables” dialog.

    3. Select to edit the “Path”.

      _images/installation-env-variables2.png

    4. Add CMake’s bin folder to the “Path” environment variable, then perform the following steps:

    5. Add the path of CMake’s bin folder if it is not defined during the CMake installation. (e.g. C:\Program Files\CMake\bin).

    6. Add the path of the ninja.exe folder. (e.g. C:\Tools\ninja-build).

Alternatively, Windows Prerequisites can be installed with Windows Package Manager Command Line Tool winget (*). Please run the following commands in Windows Command Prompt:

winget install Kitware.CMake
winget install Ninja-build.Ninja

(*) The winget is a command line tool enables users to discover, install, upgrade, remove and configure applications on Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers. This tool is the client interface to the Windows Package Manager service. It is a straightforward process if you want to use winget package manager for CMake and Ninja Build installation. For more information about winget, please visit: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/

Installing Python 3.10:

  1. Install the 64-bit version of the Python 3.10 into your system.

    https://www.python.org/downloads/

  2. Add the path of the folder the Python 3.10 into the “Path” environment variable.

    Guide to add Python 3.10 folder into the “Path” environment variable

    1. Use Window search to find and open “Edit the system environment variables”

      _images/installation-env-variables1.png

    2. In “Advanced” tab, click on “Environment Variables…” button to open “Environment Variables” dialog

    3. Select to edit “Path”

      _images/installation-env-variables2.png

    4. Add the path of Python 3.10 folder

      _images/installation-env-variables3-python3.png

    5. Click OK to close the dialog

Installing the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)”:

For Dialog projects, it is recommended to use the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)”.

  1. Download and install the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)” toolchain:

    https://developer.arm.com/downloads/-/gnu-rm

  2. Configure the Path environment variable, and add the bin folder of the toolchain to the Path environment variables.

    Guide for configuring the “Path” environment variable

    1. Use Windows Search to find and open “Edit the system environment variables”

      _images/installation-env-variables1.png

    2. In the “Advanced” tab, click on the “Environment Variables…” button to open the “Environment Variables” dialog.

    3. Select “Path”, and then click to the “Edit” to edit the definition.

      _images/installation-env-variables2.png

    1. Add the bin folder of the toolchain to the “Path” environment variable, then save the changes.

Getting the Dialog Audio Development Platform:

For Dialog projects, it is recommended to use the “Dialog Audio Development Platform” during project development. Customers can have access the Audio Development Platform (ADP) software upon request.

Installing Emulator Drivers

You may need to download and install additional USB drivers for establishing a proper connection with the emulators and devices. Please install the latest SEGGER J-Link drivers before starting your debug session. Use the following link to download the J-Link drivers suitable for your operating system:

Installing the Dependent Packages:

  • Run the following commands to refresh the package lists, and install the dependent packages:

    sudo apt update
sudo apt install cmake ninja-build libusb-1.0-0-dev python3.10-dev

Installing the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)”:

For Dialog projects, it is recommended to use the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)”.

  1. Download and install the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)” toolchain:

    https://developer.arm.com/downloads/-/gnu-rm

  2. Configure the PATH environment variable, and add the bin folder of the toolchain to the PATH environment variables.

    Guide for configuring the “PATH” environment variable

    For configuring PATH environment variable, open .bashrc file in the home folder of the current user, then add the following line:

    export PATH="<bin folder of the Arm GNU Toolchain>:$PATH"

    For instance:

    export PATH="/home/renesas/gcc-arm-none-eabi-9-2019-q4-major/bin:$PATH"

Getting the Dialog Audio Development Platform:

For Dialog projects, it is recommended to use the “Dialog Audio Development Platform” during project development. Customers can have access the Audio Development Platform (ADP) software upon request.

Installing Emulator Drivers

You may need to download and install additional USB drivers for establishing a proper connection with the emulators and devices. Please install the latest SEGGER J-Link drivers before starting your debug session. Use the following link to download the J-Link drivers suitable for your operating system:

Installing the Dependent Packages:

  • Run the following commands to refresh the package lists, and install the dependent packages:

    sudo apt update
sudo apt install cmake ninja-build libusb-1.0-0-dev

Installing Python 3.10:

  • Install Python 3.10 libraries for debugging in device families Dialog, RA, RL78, RX and RZ. Python 3.10 is not directly accessible at the default APT repository of Ubuntu 24.04, you can use the 3rd party repository (ppa:deadsnakes/ppa) to install Python 3.10 by following the instructions below:

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3.10-dev

Installing the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)”:

For Dialog projects, it is recommended to use the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)”.

  1. Download and install the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)” toolchain:

    https://developer.arm.com/downloads/-/gnu-rm

  2. Configure the PATH environment variable, and add the bin folder of the toolchain to the PATH environment variables.

    Guide for configuring the “PATH” environment variable

    For configuring PATH environment variable, open .bashrc file in the home folder of the current user, then add the following line:

    export PATH="<bin folder of the Arm GNU Toolchain>:$PATH"

    For instance:

    export PATH="/home/renesas/gcc-arm-none-eabi-9-2019-q4-major/bin:$PATH"

Getting the Dialog Audio Development Platform:

For Dialog projects, it is recommended to use the “Dialog Audio Development Platform” during project development. Customers can have access the Audio Development Platform (ADP) software upon request.

Installing Emulator Drivers

You may need to download and install additional USB drivers for establishing a proper connection with the emulators and devices. Please install the latest SEGGER J-Link drivers before starting your debug session. Use the following link to download the J-Link drivers suitable for your operating system:

Note

Installation steps for macOS are using Homebrew (brew), which is an open-source software package management system that simplifies the installation of software for macOS. For installation and more information about Homebrew, please refer to https://brew.sh/.

To utilise the build and debug with Renesas extensions on macOS, it’s necessary to install:

  • CMake

  • Ninja Build

  • XZ Archive Utilities

  • Python 3.10: Specific version of the Python is required for debugging Dialog, RA, RL78 and RX device families on macOS

You can install these dependencies by performing the following steps:

  1. Install the required packages by using brew install cmake ninja xz python@3.10 command.

    $ brew install cmake ninja xz python@3.10

  2. Check CMake version: You can verify the current installed version of CMake by running cmake –version command as shown below:

    $ cmake --version

  3. Check Ninja Build version: You can also verify the current installed version of Ninja Build by running ninja –version command as shown below:

    $ ninja --version

Installing the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)”:

For Dialog projects, it is recommended to use the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)”.

  1. Download and install the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)” toolchain:

    https://developer.arm.com/downloads/-/gnu-rm

  2. Configure the PATH environment variable, and add the bin folder of the toolchain to the PATH environment variables.

    Guide for configuring the “PATH” environment variable

    For configuring PATH environment variable, open .zprofile file in the home folder of the current user, then add the following line:

    export PATH="<bin folder of the Arm GNU Toolchain>:${PATH}"

    For instance:

    export PATH="/Users/renesas/gcc-arm-none-eabi-9-2019-q4-major/bin:${PATH}"

Getting the Dialog Audio Development Platform:

For Dialog projects, it is recommended to use the “Dialog Audio Development Platform” during project development. Customers can have access the Audio Development Platform (ADP) software upon request.

Installing Emulator Drivers

You may need to download and install additional USB drivers for establishing a proper connection with the emulators and devices. Please install the latest SEGGER J-Link drivers before starting your debug session. Use the following link to download the J-Link drivers suitable for your operating system:

5.3. Using Audio Development Platform (ADP) for Dialog DA148xx device family

Renesas VS Code extensions support project development for DA148xx family of integrated audio processors. Customers can have access to the Audio Development Platform software upon request and start their Dialog project development by using Dialog Audio Development Platform (ADP). The ADP comes with ready to start, predefined project samples inside the package. Please follow the instructions below to start developing a Dialog device project:

  1. From the ADP sample projects, open a desired start up project in VSCode.

    Note

    Sample projects in the ADP can be found inside the following directories:

    • <ADP_ROOT>/Software/Source/projects/bare_metal

    • <ADP_ROOT>/Software/Source/projects/freertos

  2. After your project is opened in VSCode, open the settings file of the project in .vscode/settings.json path and check the cmake.configureSettings configuration. Make sure the BOARD, BOOT and DEVICE settings are correct for the targeted development. Configure them if necessary.

    _images/dialog-project-settings.png

  3. Then, open “Command Palette” (by using “View”” => “Command Palette” menu), and run the “CMake: Select a Kit” command.

  4. From the list, select the CMake Kit related to the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)” toolchain.

    Note

    Please note that:

    • Naming of the CMake Kit related to the “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)” toolchain can vary on local configuration, search and look for “GCC 9”.

    • If no CMake Kit for “GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 9 (2019-Q4)” toolchain is visible in the list, make sure the toolchain is already installed and the binaries folder of the toolchain is added to the “Path” environment variable. Then, open the VS Code Command Palette and run the “CMake: Scan for Kit” command to refresh the list of the CMake Kits.

    _images/dialog-cmake-select-kit.png

  5. In the VS Code Command Palette, run “CMake: Delete Cache and Reconfigure” command.

    _images/dialog-cmake-reconfigure.png

  6. Then, run the “CMake: Build” command.

    _images/dialog-cmake-build.png

  7. By default, the executable file (<project name>.elf) is generated into the “build/syscpu” folder.

5.4. Debugging the Project

A debug session can be started by selecting the created configuration and clicking the [Start Debugging] button in the [Run and Debug] tab, or pressing [F5] from the keyboard.

_images/vscode-debug-launch-generic-1.png

When VS Code starts the debug session, common debug control flow functions like resume, suspend, step into, step over, step out, restart, terminate debug session can be performed via the debug flow control buttons. Also, the [Debug Console] view will contain useful messages during the debug session.

_images/vscode-debug-launch-generic-2.png

During the debug session, details about the local variables, device registers, call stack, watched variables, states of the peripherals can be accessed at the primary sidebar of VS Code in the [Run and Debug] tab.

_images/vscode-debug-launch-generic-3.png