freecalypso-docs: Handset-UI-fw comparison

comparison Handset-UI-fw @ 31:2e9719074e79

Handset-UI-fw: update for FC Luna

author	Mychaela Falconia <falcon@freecalypso.org>
date	Wed, 23 Sep 2020 23:06:58 +0000
parents	fcd1cf531017
children

comparison

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-:658010a51ff4
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 to LCC's API functions.  The practical effect of this quirk is that there is no
 need to resurrect PWR or LCC in order to run TI's UI code in its pristine
 original form - using our own FCHG or no battery management driver at all is
 just as fine.
+FreeCalypso Luna handset UI development platform
+================================================
+As of 2020 we have a new hardware platform for running UI-enabled firmware
+configurations; this development platform is codenamed FC Luna.  Our FC Luna
+platform consists of a 176x220 pixel LCD (TFT color) and a 5x5 keypad connected
+to a Calypso core; the key feature is that the LCD size (176x220 pix), color
+depth (16 bits) and interface to Calypso (16-bit parallel with memory-mapped
+registers) are exactly the same as on TI's D-Sample.  This FC Luna platform is
+supported in FC Magnetite, and it finally allows us to run TI's handset UI code
+in its native form.  We can run all of the same configurations which existed in
+TI's original TCS211 fw on TI's original D-Sample platform:
+* The default configuration is 176x220 pixel UI with full color - this is the
+config which TI actually supported in TCS211 days.
+* Setting UI_CONFIG=bigbw (switching UI code config) and optionally
+DSAMPLE_FULL_COLOR=0 (switching R2D driver config) produces TI's 176x220 pixel
+black&white configuration.  This config is not particularly interesting: any
+practical phone LCD of this large size is also going to be color, thus it is
+better to use the full color config for this large size instead.  For this
+reason whatever bugs are specific to this 176x220 pix B&W config (and there
+definitely are some) will be ignored, as there is no point in investigating
+and fixing them.
+* Setting UI_CONFIG=84x48 and DSAMPLE_FULL_COLOR=0 produces the same C-Sample
+UI config which we've been running on Mot C139 phones, but without the
+ugliness of emulating C-Sample LCD hw at the driver level - instead in this
+config the small 84x48 pixel UI code runs on top of TI's D-Sample B&W R2D
+driver, with the small UI displayed in the upper left corner of the large
+physical Luna LCD.
+Running the UI_CONFIG=84x48 DSAMPLE_FULL_COLOR=0 config on Luna has already
+helped shed light on one UI issue that was more elusive when running on C139 hw:
+the disappearing time display.  When running this config on Luna, we can see
+that the UI code displays a text line with date and time outside of the 84x48
+pixel area, i.e., it is a bug in the !LSCREEN configuration - but when we run
+with driver-level C-Sample emulation on C139, this misplaced text line is
+invisible.
 The proper way to get proper support for Mot C139
 =================================================
-I (Mother Mychaela) feel very strongly that the best way to produce practically
+For many years the handset firmware project direction in FreeCalypso had been
-usable end user FreeCalypso firmware for the C139 target would be to do it
+blocked by the lack of a D-Sample-like development platform with a 176x220 pixel
-together with our own FreeCalypso Libre Dumbphone development, as opposed to
+LCD.  This blockage has finally been lifted in 2020 with the arrival of our Luna
-trying to support the C139 to the exclusion of our own FreeCalypso hardware.
+UI development platform, and now the only lacking factor is developer time and
-Specifically, I propose the following order of steps:
+motivation.  As of this writing (2020-09) I (Mother Mychaela) am not able to
+devote any significant time to handset firmware work because I need to focus on
-1) First build our own FreeCalypso UI development board, a derivative of the
+bringing FC Tango and Caramel2 hardware products to market, but once I get past
-FCDEV3B adding a 176x220 pixel color LCD and other miscellany to serve as a
+this current work, I may be able to refocus on handset fw.
-replacement for TI's D-Sample.
+When and if I start working again in the handset fw direction, my plan of action
-2) Retire the C-Sample UI configuration and our currently implemented C-Sample
+is as follows:
-emulation hack on the C139, and start running TI's UI code the way TI's own
-developers ran it on the D-Sample.
+1) Fix the most obvious bugs like the misplaced text line in the small UI config
+while staying in the Magnetite source tree, but working only in the hybrid UI
-3) Change the "small screen" UI layout from 84x48 to 96x64 pixels (from 6 rows
+code base - the old TCS2 version of BMI+MFW that sits on top of a blobs-only
-of 14 characters to 8 rows of 16 characters with TI's existing font), and
+old version of G23M PS will not be carried forward.
-fix the bugs related to displaying this "small screen" (!LSCREEN) UI on a
-physically larger LCD - we would like to display it on our 176x220 pixel UI
+2) Create a new firmware source tree based on Magnetite that keeps only the
-development board.
+hybrid config with old clutter removed, allowing bolder changes going
+forward.
-4) Extend the UI code to allow the possibility of COLOURDISPLAY && !LSCREEN,
-i.e., a small (96x64 pixels) color display like on the C139.  Have this
+3) Drop the driver-level C-Sample LCD emulation approach, and instead implement
-96x64 pixel color UI displayed on our 176x220 pixel UI development board.
+a 96x64 pixel B&W logical framebuffer config in R2D.  Display this logical
+96x64 pix B&W framebuffer on both Luna and C139 physical LCDs.  In both cases
-5) Work on getting the actual UI into shape, keeping the two configurations of
+the physical LCD color capability will remain unutilized, with all display
-176x220 pixel color (future FreeCalypso Libre Dumbphone) and 96x64 pixel
+images being black&white, but so be it.
-color (Mot C139) as actively supported ones.  Do all development on our
-176x220 pixel UI development board.
+4) Immediately after the previous step the 84x48 pixel UI will appear in the
+upper left corner of the 96x64 pixel B&W display, with the rightmost 12 and
-6) Once the UI-enabled firmware works decently on our development board in both
+bottommost 16 pixels remaining unused.
-176x220 and 96x64 configurations, add native C139 LCD support (not C-Sample
-emulation) to R2D, adapt Condat's display driver as necessary if we are still
+5) Drop the 176x220 pixel B&W UI config, leaving only large (176x220 pix) color
-using it (if we don't find a way to get rid of it by this point), and run
+and "small B&W".  Remove code stanzas specific to the
-our 96x64 pixel color UI config on real C139 hardware.  At this point we
+(LSCREEN && !COLOURDISPLAY) combination, and outside of that eliminated
-should have practically usable end user FreeCalypso fw on the C139.
+combination, make all conditionals based on LSCREEN and not COLOURDISPLAY.
-7) While the less demanding and more casual phone users will be happy with the
+6) Extend the "small B&W" UI config from 84x48 to 96x64 pixels, i.e., from 6
-feeble C139 if it runs our FreeCalypso fw, those of us who desire the
+rows of 14 characters to 8 rows of 16 characters with TI's existing font.
-Ultimate Awesome Libre Dumbphone will be able to take our 176x220 pixel UI
-development board and start turning it into an actual FreeCalypso Libre
+7) With the above gymnastics out of the way, work on whipping the actual phone
-Dumbphone handset.  This will be the point when we can move the ringtone
+UI into shape, supporting two configurations: large color and small B&W,
-output from the piezo buzzer to the loudspeaker (Melody E1) and start making
+with Luna hw platform supporting both configs, whereas the small B&W config
-other changes for better-than-C139 hardware.
+will also run on C139 hw.
-Of course the biggest difficulty with the above plan is that it requires
+It should be noted that this approach does NOT include any implementation of
-designing and building a new piece of hardware as its very first critical step.
+color UI for the small LCD size on Mot C139 and similar low-end platforms.  As
-My personal plan is to kill two birds with one stone: design the board in such
+the plan stands currently, this omission is intentional and is part of effort
-a way that it can be used both as a development board for the above plan and as
+minimization: I need to put some limits on the amount of time and effort I
-a close-to-final prototype for my desired FC Libre Dumbphone handset - although
+invest into project directions that are specific to low-end phones, i.e.,
-not completely final, as this board would absolutely need to be usable in its
+project directions that are intrinsically less worthy than my desired
-bare form on a lab bench without plastics, which calls for a somewhat different
+FreeCalypso Libre Dumbphone as in FreeCalypso handset hardware.
-design than a final handset product.
-Anyone who disagrees with my approach, anyone who is against designing and
-building new custom hardware at high cost and who is instead interested first
-and foremost in pre-existing hardware targets like Mot C139 is more than welcome
-to delve into the code themselves and try their own hand at fixing the code to
-make it practically usable on the C139.  However, I have to warn you: if you
-spend a significant amount of time working with TI's code and develop an
-affection for it, it is quite possible that you will start to feel the way I do
-in terms of desiring a D-Sample-like platform for development.
 Why Mot C139?
 =============
 Out of the known repertoire of pre-existing Calypso-based phones whose existence

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comparison Handset-UI-fw @ 31:2e9719074e79