Serial Interface

Gecko OS provides a flexible serial interface. It supports various serial protocols and modes, and is easy to use for both humans and machines alike. Gecko OS supports two serial protocols, UART and SPI.

UART Protocol

A single or dual UART is available for use by the host MCU. If a host can support two UARTs, one UART may be used for control and data communication, and the other used for debug logging. If a single UART is available, control, data and debug logs (if enabled) are interleaved.

Issuing Commands and Streaming Data

Applications can use the Gecko OS Command API to send commands via a UART serial interface, or over a network using the Wi-Fi interface.

First the Gecko OS device is configured to connect to the network and to other hosts on the network. Then the Gecko OS device allows the local host to communicate with other hosts by exchanging data.

To exchange data with other hosts, you can stream data transparently between the Wi-Fi interface and the local serial interface. This bus mode is called Stream Mode .

Alternatively, you use Gecko OS commands to mediate the exchange of data.

Gecko OS commands can be issued via:

The Gecko OS terminal console on the local serial interface.
This bus mode is called Command Mode .
Remote terminal via Telnet.
See Networking and Security, Remote Terminal .
HTTP RESTful API.
See Networking and Security, HTTP Server .

To configure command mode and response, see Command Mode Configuration .

The local serial interface and the remote terminal are mutually exclusive: connecting a remote terminal disables the local serial interface to the command parser. See Serial Bus Mode .

The local serial interface can either stream data, or send commands and receive responses. It cannot do both simultaneously. See Serial Bus Mode .

Note : to guarantee that no characters are dropped when using the local serial interface, uart.flow must be turned on . This applies at any baud rate.

The HTTP RESTful API interface is available at all times, if the HTTP server is running and the RESTful API is enabled.

Access to the Gecko OS command parser is determined by:

serial bus mode
remote terminal status
HTTP RESTful server status

Serial Bus Mode

Serial bus mode concerns the local UART serial interface.

A module running Gecko OS can operate in two distinct local serial bus modes, determined by the bus.mode variable:

COMMAND mode — Gecko OS commands are issued via the serial UART interface. A module is in COMMAND mode if it booted with bus.mode set to command .
STREAM mode — data is transferred directly between the serial UART interface and the Wi-Fi interface. A module is in STREAM mode if it booted with bus.mode set to stream .

Gecko OS commands can also be issued via the local serial interface when in STREAM mode:

by sending the breakout sequence specified by the bus.stream.cmd_seq
by asserting the GPIO specified with the bus.stream.cmd_gpio function

The diagram below shows a schematic representation of access to the command parser via the serial interface and the Wi-Fi interface.

Note that this diagram illustrates access to the command parser only. Access via Gecko OS commands to Wi-Fi ports and other module features is unaffected by serial bus mode or remote terminal status.

Command configuration and protocols are as described in Command Mode and Command Protocol , whether commands are issued via the UART in COMMAND mode or COMMAND breakout, via the remote terminal, or via the HTTP RESTful API.

In STREAM mode, you can stream data between the UART and the Wi-Fi interface, as described in Stream Mode .

As the STREAM mode + Remote Terminal case in the above diagram suggests, you can stream data to a remote host, and at the same time issue commands to the Gecko OS device via the remote terminal or the HTTP Server RESTful API. A command issued to the command parser blocks commands from other interfaces until it is completed.

The state diagram below shows the transitions between serial bus modes.

Rebooting to COMMAND mode

To reboot to COMMAND mode, set the bus.mode variable to command , save , and reboot :

set bus.mode command
save
reboot

COMMAND breakout from STREAM mode

To issue commands in STREAM mode, send the breakout character sequence specified by the bus.stream.cmd_seq . This is by default $$$ .

Alternatively, set up a GPIO to enter command mode by enabling the bus.stream.cmd_gpio GPIO function.

On switching from STREAM mode to local COMMAND mode, Gecko OS responds with Command Mode Start .

You can then issue any Gecko OS commands.

You can set bus.mode to command and save , so that on the next reboot the Gecko OS device starts in local COMMAND mode.

When you have entered local COMMAND mode from STREAM mode via a breakout sequence or GPIO, you can return to STREAM mode by issuing the exit command.

Rebooting to STREAM mode

To switch to STREAM mode from command mode, set the bus.mode variable to stream and reboot:

set bus.mode stream
save
reboot

Exit from COMMAND Breakout

When you have entered local COMMAND mode, or remote COMMAND mode, from STREAM mode via a breakout sequence or GPIO, you can return to STREAM mode by issuing the exit command. Gecko OS responds with Command Mode Stop . For example:

Sequences and Commands	Description
`$$$ ver ... exit`	`Break out of STREAM mode Issue some Gecko OS commands Return to STREAM mode`

Using the Remote Terminal

When the remote terminal is enabled and connected via telnet, the local command interface is disabled. However the UART can still stream to the Wi-Fi interface if the module is in STREAM mode. When a Gecko OS device is in COMMAND mode and a remote terminal is connected, disconnecting the remote terminal switches back to COMMAND mode. You can then issue commands via the local serial interface.

Enabling and Connecting the Remote Terminal

Enable the remote terminal with remote_terminal_enabled :

set remote_terminal.enabled 1
save
reboot

Then connect a remote device via telnet to the Gecko OS device. The default port is 2000 . The host IP or name depends on the Gecko OS configuration.

For details, see the Wi-Fi Remote Terminal application note.

Command Mode

Command mode is the primary mode used to configure Gecko OS. Understanding how command mode works, and the options provided, is the key to mastering the use of Gecko OS. The serial interface is designed to cater for humans and machines alike, and the interface is configurable to suit the needs of both.

Note : When controlling Gecko OS via an MCU, we suggest using machine mode , described below.

Command Format Configuration

In command mode, Gecko OS and the Gecko OS device effectively provides a slave interface to the host. The host is the master and Gecko OS is the slave. The host initiates all transactions, which follow the sequence:

host issues a command
Gecko OS provides a response

Gecko OS commands are used by the host to read and write Gecko OS variables , send control information, and send and receive data across network connections.

The variable system.cmd.format is provided for convenience to make it easy to switch between human mode and machine mode.

Setting system.cmd.format conveniently changes the value of each of the following variables to configure the desired command mode.

Human Friendly Command Format

By default, the serial interface is configured to be human friendly with the following settings.

set system.print_level all       -> Turn on all debug & informational prints
set system.cmd.header_enabled 0  -> Disable a response header
set system.cmd.prompt_enabled 1  -> Turn on the user prompt
set system.cmd.echo on           -> Turn on echo to see what you're typing

See System Functions, Configuring Command Format and Response .

Machine Friendly Command Format

To configure the serial interface for machine friendly operation, use the following settings.

set system.print_level 0         -> Turn off all debug & informational prints
set system.cmd.header_enabled 1  -> Enable a response header (described below)
set system.cmd.prompt_enabled 0  -> Turn off the user prompt
set system.cmd.echo off          -> Turn off character echo

See System Functions, Configuring Command Format and Response .

Command Protocol

Gecko OS commands are formatted as shown below. <command name> <arguments>\r\n where:

<command name> is a Gecko OS command - see Commands
<arguments> may be required depending on the command

In the case of the get and set commands, the arguments are in the form: <variable name> <arguments> where:

<variable name> is a Gecko OS variable name. See Variables
<arguments> may be required depending on the variable.

The command is terminated by a carriage return and newline character ( \r\n ).

Response Format

Responses from Gecko OS follow the format shown in the text below.

RXYYYYY\r\n
<response data>

where ...

R denotes a Response header. NOTE! If the module is operating in Safe Mode , R is replaced with S .
X is the error code (response error codes are listed below).
YYYYY is the response data length in bytes including a trailing \r\n . The response data length is zero if no data is available, or >2 (including \r\n ) if data is available.
<response data> . If the response data length is >0, the <response data> is the data returned from Gecko OS in response to the command.

Response Error Codes

  0 = Success
  1 = Command failed
  2 = Parse error
  3 = Unknown command
  4 = Too few args
  5 = Too many args
  6 = Unknown variable or option
  7 = Invalid argument
  8 = Serial command line buffer overflow
  9 = Bounds error, command specific, bounds of the command were exceeded

Log Format

If system.print_level is greater than 0, a log header together with one or more informational debug logs may be returned in addition to a response header and response data when a command is issued. Log headers follow the format shown in the table below.

LXYYYYY\r\n
<log message>

where ...

L denotes a Log header.
X is the log level.
YYYYY is the log message length in bytes including a trailing \r\n . Log messages are always >2 bytes in length and including terminating \r\n characters.
<log message> . The log message returned by Gecko OS in response to the command.

Stream Mode

As depicted in the following diagram, stream mode provides a transparent connection between a serial port and a network stream such as a UDP or TCP client or server. It is perfect for implementing applications such as a wireless serial port .

Bytes or characters sent from the host to a serial interface are transparently pushed by Gecko OS to a network stream via a wireless interface. Conversely, bytes or characters received by a network stream (from a remote server) via a wireless interface are transparently pushed by Gecko OS to a serial interface connected to the host. A wireless serial port is a typical application that uses stream mode.

Stream mode is used primarily by host applications that can handle asynchronous data (with the optional use of hardware flow control). It is perfectly suited to applications that need to use only a single network stream at any one time.

For networking considerations, see Networking and Security, Serial STREAM Mode .

Stream Mode Configuration

The simplest way to setup a Gecko OS device to use Stream mode is to do all the Gecko OS configuration first using command mode , then reboot into stream mode. Configuration involves just a few simple steps:

Setup a wireless and network interface to use with stream mode e.g. wlan interface and TCP client. This typically requires setting up the wireless interface and network stream to auto-connect, or enable connection using a GPIO control pin.
Set the serial bus.mode to stream .
Then save and reboot the module.

For an example, see the application note Wireless Serial Port .

Both the wlan and softap interfaces have an auto-start on bootup capability using the wlan.auto_join.enabled and softap.auto_start variables. The TCP server has auto-start capability using the tcp_server.auto_start variable. Network clients can be started using a GPIO or manually by breaking out of stream mode as described below.

Breaking out of Stream Mode

When the serial bus is in Stream mode, commands are disabled and every character sent to the serial port is automatically forwarded to a network stream. There are two ways to break out of stream mode and enable command mode entry temporarily. The first method is to send a character sequence, configurable with the bus.stream.cmd_seq , after 3 seconds of inactivity on the serial interface. By default, the stream break out sequence is $$$ . The other option available to break out of stream mode is to use a GPIO configurable with the bus.stream.cmd_gpio variable. When you're done entering commands, return to stream mode by issuing the exit command.

On breaking out of Stream mode, additional network connections may be available.