Pins Tool: is used to configure the MCU pins. The pins tool helps create, inspect, change, and modify any element of pin configuration and device muxing. To use the pins tool, one can divide it into 3 views.

a) Pins: As you can see in below pic, in this all the pins name of the Corresponding MCU are listed and what all functions that pin can configured to. Clicking on the Pin Name, open the pop-up window in which we can select which function we want to use for that pin.



b) Routing Details: In this view, we can see summary of all the pins that we have selected in step A. Also, we can do additional configuration like Interrupt configuration’s, Lock register configuration, Pull-up/down resistor configuration. We can also give custom names to pins under identifier column.

c) Package: This view is used to see all the pins of the MCU. The pins and ports that we had configured in step a & b, are also highlighted.

Clock Tool: This tool is used to configure the clock of our S32 Microcontroller. So as to use this tool, one should know about the clock module of corresponding S32 Microcontroller. In our case, we would be using S32K144 MCU, so one can get to know about its clock module from its reference manual or readers can read this blog on Clock peripheral in S32K144 MCU.

To use clock tool, we can divide it into 4 views:

a) Clock Diagram: This is the main clock view, where we configure the system clock and peripheral clock. We can see the clock diagram of our corresponding MCU from this view. To configure the clock, double click on the nodes and boxes where numbers are written, select the routing lines to select clock sources and then select configurations according to your need. In below pic, clock diagram of S32K144 MCU is shown.

b) Details View: In this view, we can configure the clock buses, clock sources ,clock prescaler and dividers. Select the clock from Clock diagram and corresponding options to select the prescaler and divider would be opened in Details view.

c) Registers View: In this view we can get information of hardware registers that are getting configured and modified as we do clock configuration in step A & B.

d) Clock Table: In this view we can get summary of what clock frequency we have done in Step A. The table is divided in terms of Clock Sources and Clock Outputs. 

Under clock sources we can see what frequency we have done for the different clock sources present in the corresponding MCU and underclock outputs we can see the value of the different clock outputs and from which clock source selected clock output has been derived.

e) Clock Consumers: In this view, we get information from which clock busses peripheral clock is being configured to derive according to configuration we have done in step A. The Clock Consumers view provides an overview of peripheral clocks. As peripherals are the consumers of the system clock, thus its name is clock consumers. This view is not editable and is for information only.

You can see in the above pic, that all peripheral’s clock summary is listed. Not only peripherals but of software stacks like FreeRTOS too.

f) Peripheral Clock View: This view is basically a combination of Steps d & e. This view is also not editable, and we get information on clock configuration that we have done in Step A. Information of clock frequency and clock busses of peripherals that we have selected in the clock diagram.

Peripheral Tool: This tool is used to configure the peripherals of the corresponding S32 Controllers. So as to configure the peripheral, it’s important to have a basic understanding of the corresponding S32K Microcontroller Peripherals and peripheral working. An depth understanding of how to do peripheral configuration will be done in subsequent blogs. There are 2 views in which this tool can be divided:

a) Components: This is the main and most important view in the Peripheral Tool. Via the component, we can configure peripheral components. Components like peripheral drivers, peripheral abstraction layer(pal), Operating Systems, External sensor/module libraries, and Middleware software stacks are provided by NXP.

Clicking on the + sign adjacent to different components, will pop up the window from which we can select which peripheral we want to configure.

After this corresponding peripheral windows will open, in which there are various configurations that we can do according to our needs. To understand these configurations, we need to be aware of the peripheral and its basic concepts.

These are some tools, that would be used from time to time in all the above Tools.

a) Code Preview:

If the settings are correct and no error is reported, the tool’s code generation engine instantly re-generates the source code. The resulting code is found in the Code Preview view.

c) Update Code: Clicking on Update the code in Menu bar, window will pop-up showing which all files are newly created or which files would be changed.

clicking on change, we can see what changes would be done in corresponding file, after code generation.

c) Overview: Using Overview View, we can get information about our project. Information like: Project name, project path, Hardware info like Microcontroller core, MCU packaging, MCU SDK attached, Which configuration tools have been used, and which files are generated as of now.