Introduction to FreeRTOS and Basic Task Management

Course details

Unlock the fundamentals of real-time operating systems (RTOS) using freeRTOS, a leading solution for creating responsive and efficient embedded applications. Instructor Israel Gbati guides you through the process of multi-task creation, management, and communication, ensuring you understand how to maintain system reliability in high-stakes environments. Discover the importance of task priority and learn how to implement effective context switching to optimize your embedded system. Aimed at embedded systems developers with basic C programming knowledge, this course provides hands-on experience with practical examples. Explore the seamless integration of tasks, interrupts, and system resources under the guidance of an experienced instructor. Enhance your skill set and open up new opportunities in the field of embedded systems by mastering the essential features of freeRTOS.

Learning objectives
Grasp the fundamental concepts of RTOS, recognizing its significance in embedded systems and real-time applications.
Comprehend the crucial mechanism of context switching, which allows the system to manage multiple tasks efficiently.
Learn the advantages of RTOS over interrupt service routines (ISR) and busy wait systems in achieving multitasking and real-time responsiveness.
Explore the concept of threads as fundamental units of execution within an RTOS environment.
Gain insight into the role of FreeRTOS as a popular and versatile RTOS solution.
Understand FreeRTOS-specific naming conventions and macro names and how to facilitate effective interaction with the system.
Acquire practical skills in configuring embedded software projects to support FreeRTOS.
Get an overview of FreeRTOS thread management to manage and control tasks effectively.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Get started with FreeRTOS
02 - What you should know

1. Introduction to Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS)

03 - What is a real-time operating system (RTOS)
04 - Importance of RTOS in embedded systems
05 - The concept of a thread
06 - Understanding context switching in RTOS
07 - Introduction to ISR and busy-wait systems
08 - Comparing RTOS with ISR and busy-wait systems

2. Introduction to FreeRTOS

09 - History and evolution of FreeRTOS
10 - Key features of FreeRTOS
11 - Understanding FreeRTOS naming conventions
12 - Understanding FreeRTOS macro names

3. Configuring the System

13 - About the development board and setup
14 - Retargeting print()

4. FreeRTOS Task Management

15 - The task creation and deletion functions
16 - Creating Task Profilers and Task Functions
17 - Creating tasks in FreeRTOS
18 - Controlling hardware from different tasks
19 - Passing parameters to tasks
20 - The task priority functions
21 - Understanding preemption
22 - Experimenting with different task priorities
23 - Changing task priority at runtime
24 - Reading task priority
25 - The task suspension and resumption functions
26 - Suspending a task
27 - Resuming a suspended task
28 - Deleting a task in FreeRTOS

5. Setting Up the Development Tools

29 - Downloading STM32CubeIDE and STM32CubeMX
30 - Installing STM32CubeIDE and STM32CubeMX
31 - Installing the STM32F4 package
32 - Configuring a project with STM32CubeMX
33 - Cleaning up the project
34 - Setting up RealTerm for serial communication

Conclusion

35 - Next steps