Fourth Preview of TinyCLR OS Core Features

Press Announcements
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Today we are excited to release the fourth preview of our TinyCLR OS. This release fixes a few bugs, adds a few features like a more complete serial API and the Marshal class, and – most importantly – lays a lot of internal ground work for something big coming in a future release. So stay tuned!

All you need to do to get going is make sure you have Visual Studio 2017, install the latest extension, update your device’s firmware, and drop the new NuGet packages in your local feed. If you’re just now getting started with TinyCLR or just want a quick refresh, take a look at the first news post for more information.

Some of the things that exist today in TinyCLR OS:
[ul]Stable preview firmware for G30, G80, G120, G400, and products based on them
GPIO, UART, SPI, I2C, ADC, DAC, PWM, LCD, and signal generation and capture support
Full debugging capabilities including breakpoints, source stepping, and variable inspection
Support for Visual Studio 2017 and the new Roslyn compiler with an easy install
Practically unlimited max allocation size
Improved deployment and startup times
Better diagnostics support
Code in C# and Visual Basic[/ul]
While this preview includes the core features of TinyCLR OS, there is still a lot to do. Here are a few of the things in progress or under consideration:
[ul]USB host and client
File system
More graphics
Secure networking
Device updates
Generics
Controller Area Network
Runtime Loadable Procedures
Improved class library
… and many more![/ul]
TinyCLR OS 0.4.0 Download: [url=http://ghielectronics.com/downloads/TinyCLR/TinyCLR.0.4.0.zip]http://ghielectronics.com/downloads/TinyCLR/TinyCLR.0.4.0.zip[/url]
TinyCLR OS Release Notes: [url=https://www.ghielectronics.com/docs/350/tinyclr-os]https://www.ghielectronics.com/docs/350/tinyclr-os[/url]

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Hi,
looks interesting.
Can i use TinyCLR OS with FEZ Cerb40 (not II) with STM32F205RG chip ?

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As of now, we have " G30, G80, G120, G400" but you need to stay tuned for future announcements :wink:

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Great news. I’m staying tuned.

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@ Gus, he read my mind. :slight_smile:

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Does Cerb40 really have an F2 chip on it? I’m pretty sure it’s an F4.

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Yes the CERB40 uses the STM32F405RG. I’m currently using mine with Micropython.

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How do you like microphone?

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Microphone vs Micro Python

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@ Designer - a spell checker awesomeness!

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Not sure if “Secure Networking” is in progress or under consideration. I would like to support GHI products and TinyCLR with my product, but can only do so with Secure Networking support. We utilize Azure IoT Hub which requires SSL\TLS.

So, if you are interested, I am voting up… Secure Networking.

Thanks,
Greg

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@ Greg Terrell - I agree Greg, I am using IOT hub as well, so the big S letter is required.

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Agreed. TinyCLR is pretty worthless for anything I want to do without S. This has been an issue with NETMF and I would hope that fixing this is #1 on GHI’s list.

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@ ianlee74 - Aren’t there export restrictions for SSL? GHI would be committing treason if .net devices shipped out with that level of encryption enabled.

EDIT: Sorry not treason, I forgot the term.

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I’m no lawyer but I’d find it hard to believe that this level of encryption has restrictions since the entire web relies on it now.

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@ ianlee74 - As far as I am aware, only up to 128 Bit is exportable; but Azure requires 2048 bit or better.

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I too am not a lawyer, nor have I played on one daytime TV, but reading Wikipedia would lead me to think that SSL related cipher suites are not subject to ban, simply to a classification / registration process.

Ultimately we need SHA-2 certificate support, removal of all RC4 ciphers, and TLS1.2 as those things are now minimums for HTTPS communications

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@ Gus - The thing I like about MicroPython is that you can write your code directly on the device. There is no need to compile it first, run / debug it and then make changes based on the results. It certainly does have its limitations if you need to talk to external devices where timing is critical but it’s extremely helpful when you want to test new I2C/SPI/UART components. I used the BusPirate for many years but MicroPython is a lot more powerful for these tasks.

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@ cehlers - have you compiled it yourself? Or there was a pre compiled binary? I want to try it.

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I compiled it myself but I can provide a binary this evening if you want.

MicroPython supports several different hardware options, I’m mostly using the esp32 based modules from Pycom though they use their own fork under MIT license.

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