In collaboration with Arm, micro:bit is releasing the first beta of the micro:bit V2.00 firmware built with the GCC open source toolchain. They need your help testing it out to find any bugs before its launched.
Download and test the beta firmware
What is the micro:bit firmware?
The micro:bit board contains two microcontrollers, one called the “target” which runs the user programs, and the “interface” chip responsible for the USB and flashing capabilities.
The DAPLink software runs on the Interface chip, and they call that the micro:bit firmware.
More info about the micro:bit firmware can be found in the microbit.org firmware page, and the tech.microbit.org firmware page.
What is the GCC toolchain and why does it matter?
The DAPLink project is open source, but until recently it required a proprietary toolchain to be able to build it, this made community contributions more difficult as the toolchain was not free.
During the past year the DAPLink team has ported the project to add GCC support as well, a free and open source toolchain, meaning that anybody can now install it to compile and collaborate with the DAPLink project.
What needs testing?
All micro:bit firmware features really but in particular:
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Serial communications and WebUSB serial
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Debugger
They tried to find and squash all the bugs that are usually introduced with a toolchain port but, as this change affects the entire code-base, bugs could be lurking anywhere. Which is why your help is so invaluable!
How to submit feedback?
If you find any issues or have any feedback about this beta release, please send them via Support, or via this GitHub Issue tracker.
The beta firmware can be found here.