SLAU646F September   2015  – June 2020

 

  1.   Read This First
    1.     How to Use This User's Guide
    2.     Related Documentation
    3.     If You Need Assistance
    4.     Trademarks
  2. 1Introduction
  3. 2Installing MSP430 GCC Toolchain
    1. 2.1 Installing MSP430 GCC in CCS Releases Before v7.2
    2. 2.2 Installing MSP430 GCC as Stand-Alone Package
  4. 3Using MSP430 GCC Within CCS
    1. 3.1 Create New Project
    2. 3.2 Debug Using MSP-FET, MSPFET430UIF, eZ-FET, eZ430
    3. 3.3 Build Options for MSP430 GCC
      1. 3.3.1  GNU Compiler
      2. 3.3.2  GNU Compiler: Runtime
      3. 3.3.3  GNU Compiler: Symbols
      4. 3.3.4  GNU Compiler: Directories
      5. 3.3.5  GNU Compiler: Optimization
      6. 3.3.6  GNU Compiler: Preprocessor
      7. 3.3.7  GNU Compiler: Assembler
      8. 3.3.8  GNU Compiler: Debugging
      9. 3.3.9  GNU Compiler: Diagnostic Options
      10. 3.3.10 GNU Compiler: Miscellaneous
      11. 3.3.11 GNU Linker
      12. 3.3.12 GNU Linker: Basic
      13. 3.3.13 GNU Linker: Libraries
      14. 3.3.14 GNU Linker: Symbols
      15. 3.3.15 GNU Linker: Miscellaneous
      16. 3.3.16 GNU Objcopy Utility
    4. 3.4 CCS Compared to MSP430 GCC
  5. 4MSP430 GCC Stand-Alone Package
    1. 4.1 MSP430 GCC Stand-Alone Package Folder Structure
    2. 4.2 Package Content
    3. 4.3 MSP430 GCC Options
    4. 4.4 MSP430 Built-in Functions
    5. 4.5 Using MSP430 GCC Support Files
    6. 4.6 Quick Start: Blink the LED
      1. 4.6.1 Building with a Makefile
      2. 4.6.2 Building Manually with gcc
      3. 4.6.3 Debugging
        1. 4.6.3.1 Starting GDB Agent
          1. 4.6.3.1.1 Using the GUI
          2. 4.6.3.1.2 Using the Command Line
        2. 4.6.3.2 Debugging With GDB
          1. 4.6.3.2.1 Running a Program in the Debugger
          2. 4.6.3.2.2 Setting a Breakpoint
          3. 4.6.3.2.3 Single Stepping
          4. 4.6.3.2.4 Stopping or Interrupting a Running Program
      4. 4.6.4 Creating a New Project
    7. 4.7 GDB Settings
      1. 4.7.1 Console Application
      2. 4.7.2 Optional Parameters for msp430.dat
      3. 4.7.3 GUI Application
      4. 4.7.4 Attaching the Debugger
      5. 4.7.5 Configuring the Target Voltage
      6. 4.7.6 Resetting the Target
      7. 4.7.7 Halting the Target
  6. 5MSP430 GCC Features
    1. 5.1 C/C++ Attributes
      1. 5.1.1 GCC Function Attribute Support
      2. 5.1.2 GCC Data Attribute Support
      3. 5.1.3 GCC Section Attribute Support
    2. 5.2 Hints for Reducing the Size of MSP430 GCC Programs
      1. 5.2.1 The -mtiny-printf Option
      2. 5.2.2 The -ffunction-sections and -fdata-sections Options
      3. 5.2.3 Making Large Programs Fit Across Upper and Lower Memory
      4. 5.2.4 NOP Instructions Surrounding Interrupt State Changes
    3. 5.3 C Runtime Library (CRT) Startup Behavior
    4. 5.4 Using printf with MSP430 GCC
    5. 5.5 Link-time Optimization (LTO)
    6. 5.6 The __int20 Type and Pointers in the Large Memory Model
  7. 6Building MSP430 GCC From Sources
    1. 6.1 Required Tools
    2. 6.2 Building MSP430 GCC (Mitto Systems Limited)
      1. 6.2.1 Building a Native MSP430 GCC Toolchain
      2. 6.2.2 Building the MSP430 GCC Toolchain for Windows
    3. 6.3 Building MSP430 GCC Stand-Alone Full Package
  8. 7MSP430 GCC and MSPGCC
    1. 7.1 Calling Convention
    2. 7.2 Other Portions of the ABI
  9. 8Appendix
    1. 8.1 GCC Intrinsic Support
    2. 8.2 NOP Instructions Required Between Interrupt State Changes
  10. 9References
  11.   Revision History

1 Introduction

The MSP430 GCC toolchain uses the MSP430 ABI and is compatible with the TI toolchain. This free GCC toolchain supports all MSP430 devices and has no code size limit. In addition, this toolchain can be used as a stand-alone package or used within Code Composer Studio (CCS) IDE v6.0 or later. Get started today in Windows, Linux, or macOS environments.

Table 1-1 compares the MSP430 TI and GCC toolchain.

Table 1-1 MSP430 TI and GCC Toolchain Comparison
Proprietary TI Code Generation ToolsMSP430 GCC ToolchainMSPGCC Toolchain
Code Size and Performance✓✓✓✓✓
ABITITICommunity
Integrated in CCS✓✓(1)✗
Stand-alone✗✓✓
SupportTITICommunity
Cost Free✓✓✓
(1) The combination of CCS and GCC is completely free of charge with no code size limit.

The MSP430 GCC supports the following:

  • MSP430 CPU 16-bit architecture
  • MSP430 CPUX 20-bit architecture
  • MSP430 CPUXv2 20-bit architecture
  • Code and data placement in the lower (<64K) and upper (>64K) memory areas and across the memory boundary
  • The hardware multiplier of the MSP430 microcontrollers

This manual describes the use of the MSP430 GCC toolchain with the MSP430 ultra-low-power microcontrollers. The MSP430 GCC toolchain can be used within CCS version 6.0 or later, or it can be used as a stand-alone package. The toolchain supports Windows®, Linux®, and macOS® operating systems. This manual describes only CCS for Windows operating systems. The versions of CCS for Linux and macOS operating systems are similar and, therefore, are not described separately.