CMake Manual Getting Started with CMake

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CMake manual for STM boards

The CMake build tool simplifies the build process for development projects. It automatically generates build systems, such as Makefiles and Visual Studio project files.

CMake is a third-party tool with its own documentation. This topic describes how to use CMake with Qt Quick Ultralite when developing applications for STM boards.

QUL_ROOT and QUL_TOOLS are used in the command line examples below as if they were set as environment variables. For example:

export QUL_ROOT=$HOME/Qt/QtMCUs/2.8.0
export QUL_TOOLS=$HOME/Qt/Tools/QtMCUs
set QUL_ROOT=C:\Qt\QtMCUs\2.8.0
set QUL_TOOLS=C:\Qt\Tools\QtMCUs

Command line setup

To get started from the command line, make the following changes to System PATH.

  • Add STM32CubeProg install directory to System PATH if it is not installed in the default location.
  • Add ST-LINK_gdbserver.exe directory to your System PATH
    <STM32_CUBE_IDE_INSTALL_PATH>\stm32cubeide_1.3.0\plugins\com.st.stm32cube.ide.mcu.externaltools.stlink-gdb-server.win32_1.3.0.202002181050\tools\bin

    where, <STM32_CUBE_IDE_INSTALL_PATH> is the Cube IDE install path.

    Note: STM32CubeIDE is optional and required only for on-chip debugging purposes.

Build configuration

Configure the following CMake variables when developing applications for STM boards.

VariableValue
Qul_ROOTSet the Qul_ROOT to the Qt for MCUs SDK install path.
-DQul_ROOT=%QUL_ROOT%

Note: This CMake variable is intentionally mixed-case since it needs to match the package name.

QUL_PLATFORMThe platform name must indicate the board and the OS you want to target. It's a combination of the chosen board's name and the OS you are targeting. The platform name in the following example indicates that your target is STM32F469I discovery on baremetal.
-DQUL_PLATFORM=stm32f469i-discovery-baremetal

Note: If you want to target another board or OS, refer to Supported platforms for more information.

FREERTOS_DIRAbsolute path to the FreeRTOS sources directory. It is required for FreeRTOS targets only. Refer to FreeRTOS platforms for more information about boards on FreeRTOS.
-DFREERTOS_DIR=< FreeRTOS directory path >
CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILEFor example, set it to the Arm GCC toolchain configuration file. 
-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$QUL_ROOT/lib/cmake/Qul/toolchain/armgcc.cmake
-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=%QUL_ROOT%\lib\cmake\Qul\toolchain\armgcc.cmake
QUL_TARGET_TOOLCHAIN_DIRQUL_TARGET_TOOLCHAIN_DIR CMake cache entry needs to be used to provide the location of the used toolchain.
-DQUL_TARGET_TOOLCHAIN_DIR=c:\path\to\the\toolchain
QUL_BOARD_SDK_DIRFor example, set it to the STM32F769I SDK install path
-DQUL_BOARD_SDK_DIR=%QUL_TOOLS%\STM\STM32Cube_FW_F7_<version>
QUL_COLOR_DEPTHThe color depth supported by the platform you have chosen. For example, set it to 16-bit.
-DQUL_COLOR_DEPTH=16

Note: If this variable is not set, default color depth is used while configuring for the platform.

Note: In a Qt Quick Ultralite project, CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE is set to MinSizeRel by default. MinSizeRel is the build type used for the prebuilt platform libraries shipped with Qt Quick Ultralite. To change the build type (to Release for example), invoke CMake with the -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release option. For more information, see CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE.

CMake Manual Getting Started with CMake

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