AN204834
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
This application note describes a method to calculate a CRC/Checksum code both during development and at run-time
and compare them.
Contents
1
2
3
1
Introduction ...............................................................1
Motivation of CRC and Checksum Usage ................1
Implementation .........................................................2
3.1
Concept ...........................................................2
3.2
MCU code ........................................................3
3.3
CRC16/Checksum
Value
Calculation
on Windows .....................................................6
Appendix A – Error Messages of Calculator ........... 11
4.1
List of all Error Messages
of the CRC16/Checksum Calculator Tool ...... 11
5
Additional Information ............................................. 11
6
Document History ................................................... 12
4
Introduction
The content of the Flash memory can be checked for accidental alterations by adding a CRC code or a simple
checksum code. At run-time the CRC/Checksum code can be calculated again and compared against the previously
stored one. This allows detection of accidental alterations.
This application note describes a method to calculate a CRC/Checksum code both during development and at runtime and compare them.
There is an archive available that contains all software discussed in this application note. It contains both a project for
Softune Workbench and the utility CRC_calculator.exe for MS Windows. Please see chapter 4 for download link.
2
Motivation of CRC and Checksum Usage
CRC/Checksum codes can be used to check Flash memory for unintended alterations.
The reliability of an application depends amongst others on the correctness of the program memory. Any unintended
alteration of the program memory will inevitably lead to a malfunction of an application. Such an unintended alteration
may happen for example by a drop of supply voltage during programming or exposure to high temperatures of the
program memory. The program memory of a microcontroller is typically a built-in Flash memory. Several standards
for safety critical applications recommend using CRC checks for the program memory. Sometimes a (quicker) simple
Checksum test is sufficient.
One method to achieve a high confidence level of having the intended program data available is usage of a cyclic
redundancy check (CRC). In this method a CRC result is calculated over certain Flash memory areas. This result is
then also stored in the same Flash memory. At run-time the CRC result is calculated again and compared against the
pre-calculated result. If both results match, it can be assumed that the Flash memory content was not altered by
accident. The same is done for simple Checksum testing.
The CRC result is usually calculated by a polynomial division. Several different polynomials are in use and scientific
research has shown that some polynomials are better suited than others. Some of the better suiting polynomials was
appraised by the CCITT and are known as the CRC-CCITT. There are different CRC-CCITT available that differ in
their size and consequently in the error burst lengths that can be detected. In this application note, the CRC-CCITT
(CRC16) is used. The corresponding polynomial is x16+x12+x5+1, which represents the value 0x1021 in binary
notation (x16 ignored for 16 bit).
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
1
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
The start value of the CRC/Checksum calculation may be chosen arbitrarily. If it starts with zeros, it may happen that
errors in leading zeros in the data will not be discovered. In this application note and corresponding software, the start
value is set to 0xFFFF, which allows detection of alterations even for leading zeros. For simple Checksum calculation
the start value does not have such consequences.
The address location of the CRC/Cheksum result can be inside of the memory range that the CRC code is calculated
for. During calculation its address is skipped.
3
Implementation
Implementation of the Check Algorithms and Calculator Tool Usage
3.1
Concept
Checking the content of the Flash memory by a CRC16/Checksum code consists of several steps:
The application contains an algorithm to calculate a CRC16/Checksum result and compare it with a previously
calculated result.
An application to calculate the CRC16/Checksum during development.
During debugging, the previously calculated CRC16/Checksum result must be loaded into the debug system.
The CRC16/Checksum calculated during development must be stored at a well-defined location in Flash
memory.
The above mentioned items will be discussed in more detail in the following sections.
The CRC16/Checksum result is calculated usually over a certain Flash memory address range or ranges, no matter if
this area is actually used by the application. This allows easy modification of the application without always updating
the address range(s) manually. It must be ensured that there is a well-defined value used for the memory locations
where no actual code is stored. This can be achieved by using the adjuster from Softune Workbench. See 3.3.6 for
more details.
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
2
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
3.2
MCU code
An application can check the program memory for accidental alterations by cyclically performing a CRC16 code
calculation or simple Checksum code of a desired address range. The calculated CRC16 result can be compared to a
pre-calculated result and the matching result returned. A corresponding function may take pointers to the start and
end addresses as well as to the pre-calculated code as input parameters. It returns 0 if both results match, i.e. it is
assumed that the memory content is correct, and 1 if there is a mismatch detected.
unsigned char CalcCRC16(void)
{
// Define Flash Blocks
unsigned long flashblocks[] = FLASH_BLOCKS;
unsigned char blocks;
//
unsigned int checked_data = CRC16START; //
unsigned long start_address;
//
unsigned long end_address;
//
unsigned long address;
//
unsigned char data;
//
Flash block counter
Start value of CRC16/Check-Sum
start address of current block
end address of current block
current address to be calculated
current data to be calculated
// Go through all user Flash blocks to be calculated
for (blocks = 0; blocks < (sizeof(flashblocks) / (2 * sizeof(long)));
blocks++)
{
// Get start and end addresses of current Flash block
start_address = flashblocks[2 * blocks];
end_address
= flashblocks[2 * blocks + 1] + 1;
for (address = start_address; address < end_address; address++)
{
// skip CRC16/Checksum itself
if ((address != (unsigned long)ADDR_CRC16_CHECKSUM) &&
(address != (unsigned long)ADDR_CRC16_CHECKSUM + 1))
▼
▲
{
data
= *(__far unsigned char*)address;
#if (CHECK_ALGORITHM == CHECK_CRC16)
// Calculate CRC16 for each char data in current Flash block
checked_data = crc16calc(checked_data, data);
#elif (CHECK_ALGORITHM == CHECK_SUM)
// Calculate Checksum for each char data in current Flash block
checked_data = checksumcalc(checked_data, data);
#endif
}
} // for address
} // for blocks
// return 0: OK, 1: Error
return (checked_data != *(__far unsigned int*)ADDR_CRC16_CHECKSUM);
}
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
3
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
The pink background code is used, when a CRC16 calculation is selected, where green shows the Checksum
calculation.
The following code box shows the algorithms itself.
#if (CHECK_ALGORITHM == CHECK_CRC16)
unsigned int crc16calc(unsigned int crc16, unsigned char data)
{
signed char bit;
// Bit counter
// Go through all bits of 'data'
for (bit = 8; bit > 0; bit--)
{
// Higher bit of current 'crc16' value does not match to
//
current bit of 'data'?
if (((crc16 & 0x8000) ? 1 : 0)
!= ((data & (1 << (bit - 1))) >> (bit - 1)))
{
// Shift-left 'crc16', XOR with Polynomial
crc16 <<= 1;
crc16 ^= POLYNOMIAL;
}
else
{
// Shift-left 'crc16' only
crc16 <<= 1;
}
}
return crc16;
}
#elif (CHECK_ALGORITHM == CHECK_SUM)
unsigned int checksumcalc(unsigned int checksum, unsigned char
data)
{
checksum += data;
// overflow of adding is ignored
return checksum;
}
#endif
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
4
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
The following definition has to be set also in a appropriate header file:
// ---------------------------------------------------------------------// System definitions
// section preprocessor argument workaround for address
//
#define NESTED_MACRO(name) #name
#define SECTION_LOCATE(addr) NESTED_MACRO(addr)
// predefined macro values for used algorithm
//
#define CHECK_CRC16 0
#define CHECK_SUM
1
// -------------------------- User Edit --------------------------------// Define algorithm for Flash checking
//
#define CHECK_ALGORITHM CHECK_SUM
// Flash blocks start and end addresses
//
// Format {<start-address[0]>, <end-adress[0]>, <start-address[1]>, ...,
//
<end-address[n-1]>, <start-address[n]>, <end-address[n]>}
//
// Note, that the CRC16/CS calculation is done in the order of the blocks
// defined here. The addresses must be ascending to get the same results
// as from the DOS tool 'CRC_calculator.exe'. Up to 10 blocks are allowed.
//
#define FLASH_BLOCKS {0xF80000, 0xF8007F, \
0xF80100, 0xF801FF}
// Flash address of the CRC16/Checksum result (may also be included in Flash
// blocks!)
//
#define ADDR_CRC16_CHECKSUM 0xFF0008
// CRC16 Polynomial
//
#define POLYNOMIAL 0x1021
// CRC16/Checksum Start Value
//
#define CRC16START 0xFFFF
//
// ------------------------End of User Edit -----------------------------
The pre-calculated CRC16/Checksum code must be stored at a well-defined location in Flash memory. The
CRC16/Checksum used in this application note generates a 16-bit value.
The CRC16/Checksum result value is stored here by an assembly instruction, because the usual C #pragma
section directives do not allow to parameterize the address in the locate attribute. With the workaround of the
nested macro above, the .SECTION pseudo code allows this parameterizing for its locate attribute:
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
5
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
__asm("
__asm("
.SECTION CRC16, CONST, LOCATE=" SECTION_LOCATE(ADDR_CRC16_CHECKSUM) );
.DATA.W 0xFFFF");
The CRC16/Checksum can either be placed instead the 0xFFFF or the debug memory will be patched by the result
value by procedure file.
The CRC16/Checksum code can be calculated at runtime by calling function CalcCRC16().
void main(void)
{
...
if (CalcCRC16())
{
// Error handling here ...
}
else
{
// Everything fine here ...
}
...
}
3.3
CRC16/Checksum Value Calculation on Windows
The CRC16/Checksum result value must be calculated during development and stored in the application. A
command line program is available that can calculate the required CRC16/Checksum value by parsing the Motorola
S-format file that contains the application. The CRC16/Checksum value is either output on the command line or can
be placed automatically at the desired location in the Motorola S-format file. In addition, the program can generate a
procedure file that can be used to load the CRC16/Checksum value in the Softune Workbench simulator or the
emulation system.
The CRC16/Checksum value calculation program uses the CRC-CCITT (CRC16) polynomial x16+x12+x5+1 for CRC16,
a simple adding algorithm for simple Checksum and a start value of 0xFFFF.
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
6
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
3.3.1
Usage
The command line program has following syntax when using the parameters by command line itself:
CRC_calculator \
-ran <Flash Block 1 Start Address>,<Flash Block 1 End Address>\
[,<Flash Block 2 Start Address>,<Flash Block 2 End Address>\
[,<..>,<..>]]\
-mhx [Path]<MHX File Name>\
[-p <CRC16/Checksum Address>]\
[-d
[Path]<Procedure File Name>]\
[-a
<Check Algorithm: (default:CRC16/CHECKSUM)>]
Parameter
-ran <start address 1>,\
<end address 1>\
[,<start address 2>,\
<end address 2>,<…>,<…>]
Description
Start address n: Address of a Flash block to be
checked from that on the CRC16/Checksum will
be calculated
End address n: Last address of a Flash block that
the CRC16/Checksum will be calculated for
Must be larger than Start address and following
block addresses must be ascending.
Up to 10 blocks can be specified.
-mhx <MHX file name>
The name and path (optional) for the MHX file to
be calculated and patched by –p option.
Examples
-ran
0xDF0000,0xDF5FFF
-ran
0xDF7000,0xDF7FFF,
0xF80000,0xF9FFFF,
0xFF8000,0xFFFFFF
-mhx MyFile.mhx
-mhx
Z:\project\ABS\
Test.mhx
[-p <location of CRC>]
Do not output CRC value to command line but
insert it into Motorola S-format file at specified
address
-p 0xDF7FFE
[-d <procedure file
name>]
In addition to inserting the CRC value into
Motorola S-format file, generate a procedure file
that loads the CRC value in simulator or emulator
-d crc16_patch.prc
[-a <check algorithm>]
Use CRC16 for CRC16 calculation or CHECKSUM
for Checksum calculation
-a CRC16
Default is CRC16 when not specified
-a CHECKSUM
-p 0xF81111
The tool also can be called by an option file. This option file has to be specified as a single argument. The syntax of
the parameters is the same as for the command line.
Example:
CRC_calculator options.txt
The option.txt file could contain then the following parameters:
-ran 0xFF0002,0xFF000D -mhx abs\project.mhx -a CHECKSUM –p 0xFF0008 –b prc\crc16_patch.prc
Note: A <RETURN> character at the end of the line is not necessary.
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
7
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
3.3.2
Errors
The CRC16/Checksum tool may throw several error messages in case of wrong parameters and parameter
specifications. These errors and their root causes are listed in Appendix A (→4).
3.3.3
Integration in Softune Workbench tool chain
The CRC16/Checksum value generation tool can be run automatically by Softune Workbench whenever a new
software release is build. Open the dialog Customize Build… from the Project menu. This opens a new window,
which shows on its left hand side the individual tools of the build process. The CRC16/Checksum calculation tool
should be run after the converter. All paths should be specified relative to the tool location (e.g. root directory of
project).
Arbitrary name
Full path to
CRC calculation tool
Run CRC
calculator
after
converter
Options:
-ran <>
–p <> …
or options file
Please check
“Use output
window” to
integrate tool
messages to
Softune
3.3.4
Softune Workbench debugger
The Softune Workbench simulator and emulator debugger both load the absolute linker output file. The
CRC16/Checksum value calculation program however can only place the CRC16/Checksum value in the Motorola Sformat file. Hence, the CRC16/Checksum value must be loaded separately into a debug session. The calculator tool
offers the option to generate a procedure file that can be loaded in Softune Workbench debuggers. The procedure file
contains following content
set memory /word <CRC address> = <CRC value>
where <CRC address> is the address given by the –p parameter and <CRC value> is the calculated value.
Procedure files can be loaded manually by opening the Command Window and issuing the command batch
<procedure file>. It can also be loaded automatically whenever the target file is loaded. This can be achieved in
the Setup → Debug environment → Debug environment on tab Load. The procedure file should be loaded after
loading the target file:
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
8
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
If more than one procedure file should be executed, e.g. in addition the procedure file to simulate the ROM mirror in
the simulator, an additional procedure file must be used. This procedure file is executed by Softune Workbench and it
runs the other procedure files. Such an intermediate procedure file could look like this:
# file name: load_procedure_files.prc
# This loads several other procedure files
batch prc\romconst.prc
batch prc\crc16_patch.prc
3.3.5
EUROScope debugger
The EUROScope debugger offers different ways to load a new software compilation and program it into the Flash
memory of the MCU. The most common method is to use File → Open Application and Download or respective
button on the toolbar. This loads the absolute symbol file and programs the data stored in this file into the Flash
memory. This method unfortunately does not allow inserting the CRC16/Checksum value. If the CRC16/Checksum
value should be inserted, please load the new software into EUROScope using File → Open Application.
Programming the software into Flash memory can be done using the option Tools → Flash…. This opens a dialog
window that allows specifying the Motorola S-format file.
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
9
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
Specify MHX
file
3.3.6
Softune adjuster
The adjuster of Softune Workbench can be used to fill undefined memory areas or simply every ROM memory gap. It
can be configured in the dialog Project → Setup project → tab Converter. First, it must be enabled. Secondly, one
can choose a special fill value and address range. By default, all unused Flash memory is filled by 0xFF.
Enable
adjuster
Change fills
value to
0xFF
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
10
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
It is strongly recommended to use this adjuster, because the CRC16/Checksum calculator tool does not check, if
every address is actually contained in the MHX file. It assumes that the user took care of this requirement. The
adjuster grants this.
4
Appendix A – Error Messages of Calculator
Error Messages
4.1
List of all Error Messages of the CRC16/Checksum Calculator Tool
Error #
5
Error Text
Explanation
100
Procedure file name missing
The ‘-p’ option was specified without a following file name.
101
MHX file name missing
The ‘-mhx’ option was specified without a following file name.
102
MHX file not found: <name>
The specified MHX file was not found
103
MHX file error
An error occurred parsing the MHX file
104
MHX file does not contain all
Flash block data
The list of Flash blocks specified by ‘-ran’ option was not
processed completely after MHX file scanning
105
Cannot create procedure file
A system error occurred while writing the procedure file specified
by ‘-p’ option
106
Options file error
An error occurred trying to parse the options file
200
Unknown option: <option>
An unknown option was specified
201
Address range error
An address larger than 0xFFFFFF was specified
202
Wrong address separator in ‘-ran’
option
A different separator than ‘,’ was used in ‘-ran’ option’s Flash
blocks
203
Too many Flash blocks specified
There were more than 10 Flash blocks specified in ‘-ran’ option
204
To few Flash address blocks
The number of specified addresses are odd (not a block address
pair specified)
205
Addresses range error
Violation in ascending addresses in ‘-ran’ option
206
Unknown check algorithm option:
<option>
Neither CRC16 nor CHECKSUM was specified for ‘-a’ option
207
Too few options in options file
The options file contains less than 4 mandatory options
(-ran <list>, -mhx <file>)
300
CRC16/Checksum address not
contained in MHX file
The tool could not find the address specified by ‘-p’ option in the
MHX file
Additional Information
Information about Cypress Semiconductor can be found on the following Internet page:
http://www.cypress.com/cypress-microcontrollers
The software example related to this application note is:
Mcu-an-300253-e-vXX-16fx_CRC_calculation_for_Flash_memory.zip
It can be found on the following Internet page:
http://www.cypress.com/16lx
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
11
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
6
Document History
Document Title: AN204834 - F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
Document Number: 002-04834
Revision
**
*A
www.cypress.com
ECN
-
5084250
Orig. of
Change
NOFL
NOFL
Submission
Date
Description of Change
03/18/2010
Initial release
04/20/2010
Updated(SW version)
08/11/2010
Completely revised version
04/14/2016
Migrated Spansion Application Note MCU-AN-300253-E-V20 to Cypress
format
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
12
F²MC-16FX Family, CRC16/Checksum Calculation for Flash
Worldwide Sales and Design Support
Cypress maintains a worldwide network of offices, solution centers, manufacturer’s representatives, and distributors. To find
the office closest to you, visit us at Cypress Locations.
Products
PSoC® Solutions
ARM® Cortex® Microcontrollers
cypress.com/arm
cypress.com/psoc
Automotive
cypress.com/automotive
PSoC 1 | PSoC 3 | PSoC 4 | PSoC 5LP
Clocks & Buffers
cypress.com/clocks
Interface
cypress.com/interface
Lighting & Power Control
cypress.com/powerpsoc
Memory
cypress.com/memory
Technical Support
PSoC
cypress.com/psoc
cypress.com/support
Touch Sensing
cypress.com/touch
USB Controllers
cypress.com/usb
Wireless/RF
cypress.com/wireless
Cypress Developer Community
Community | Forums |Blogs | Video |Training
PSoC is a registered trademark and PSoC Creator is a trademark of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. All other trademarks or registered trademarks
referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.
Cypress Semiconductor
198 Champion Court
San Jose, CA 95134-1709
Phone
Fax
Website
: 408-943-2600
: 408-943-4730
: www.cypress.com
.
© Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, 2010-2016. This document is the property of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation and its subsidiaries, including
Spansion LLC (“Cypress”). This document, including any software or firmware included or referenced in this document (“Software”), is owned by
Cypress under the intellectual property laws and treaties of the United States and other countries worldwide. Cypress reserves all rights under such
laws and treaties and does not, except as specifically stated in this paragraph, grant any license under its patents, copyrights, trademarks, or other
intellectual property rights. If the Software is not accompanied by a license agreement and you do not otherwise have a written agreement with
Cypress governing the use of the Software, then Cypress hereby grants you under its copyright rights in the Software, a personal, non-exclusive,
nontransferable license (without the right to sublicense) (a) for Software provided in source code form, to modify and reproduce the Software solely for
use with Cypress hardware products, only internally within your organization, and (b) to distribute the Software in binary code form externally to end
users (either directly or indirectly through resellers and distributors), solely for use on Cypress hardware product units. Cypress also grants you a
personal, non-exclusive, nontransferable, license (without the right to sublicense) under those claims of Cypress’s patents that are infringed by the
Software (as provided by Cypress, unmodified) to make, use, distribute, and import the Software solely to the minimum extent that is necessary for you
to exercise your rights under the copyright license granted in the previous sentence. Any other use, reproduction, modification, translation, or
compilation of the Software is prohibited.
CYPRESS MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH REGARD TO THIS DOCUMENT OR ANY SOFTWARE,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Cypress reserves the right to make changes to this document without further notice. Cypress does not assume any liability arising out of the application
or use of any product or circuit described in this document. Any information provided in this document, including any sample design information or
programming code, is provided only for reference purposes. It is the responsibility of the user of this document to properly design, program, and test
the functionality and safety of any application made of this information and any resulting product. Cypress products are not designed, intended, or
authorized for use as critical components in systems designed or intended for the operation of weapons, weapons systems, nuclear installations, lifesupport devices or systems, other medical devices or systems (including resuscitation equipment and surgical implants), pollution control or hazardous
substances management, or other uses where the failure of the device or system could cause personal injury, death, or property damage (“Unintended
Uses”). A critical component is any component of a device or system whose failure to perform can be reasonably expected to cause the failure of the
device or system, or to affect its safety or effectiveness. Cypress is not liable, in whole or in part, and Company shall and hereby does release Cypress
from any claim, damage, or other liability arising from or related to all Unintended Uses of Cypress products. Company shall indemnify and hold
Cypress harmless from and against all claims, costs, damages, and other liabilities, including claims for personal injury or death, arising from or related
to any Unintended Uses of Cypress products.
Cypress, the Cypress logo, Spansion, the Spansion logo, and combinations thereof, PSoC, CapSense, EZ-USB, F-RAM, and Traveo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Cypress in the United States and other countries. For a more complete list of Cypress trademarks, visit cypress.com. Other
names and brands may be claimed as property of their respective owners.
www.cypress.com
Document No. 002-04834 Rev.*A
13