User guide

3. Using the Flash Programmer from the

Command Line

The Nios II development tools provide command-line utilities which give you

complete control of the Nios II Flash Programmer features. You can create a custom

script file to automate a flash programming task.

Alternatively, you can use the flash programmer GUI. Chapter 2, Using the Flash

Programmer GUI describes the flash programmer GUI.

1 The Nios II Flash Programmer GUI programs flash memory by creating a script based

on the command-line utilities. The script is well-formed, customized to your project,

and human-readable. You can use it as a reference for flash programmer

command-line syntax. The GUI-generated script is particularly helpful if you need to

use the --instance parameter listed in Table 3–2.

After you successfully program flash memory using the Nios II Flash Programmer

GUI, you can find the flash programmer script in the directory you specified in the

Staging Directories dialog box, available on the Options menu. The flash

programmer script is a file named flash_programmer.sh.

Table 3–1 lists the Nios II Flash Programmer command-line utilities.

The main utility for programming flash memory from the command line is

nios2-flash-programmer. It requires industry-standard S-record input files. These

utilities ensure that the input is compatible with the Nios II Flash Programmer. Input

file names for all utilities must include an explicit extension, such as .elf or .flash.

On Windows computers, when you launch the Nios II Command Shell, the flash

programmer utilities are available in your default search path.

f For more information about the Nios II Command Shell, refer to the Getting Started

from the Command Line chapter of the Nios II Software Developer's Handbook.

The following sections list the utilities and their functions.

Table 3–1. Flash Programmer Command-Line Utilities

nios2-flash-programmer Programs an S-record file into flash memory. Can also read back data,

verify data, provide debug information about the flash chip, and more.

sof2flash Converts an SRAM Object File (.sof) to an S-record file.

elf2flash Converts a Nios II Executable and Linking Format File (.elf) to an S-record

file.

bin2flash Converts an arbitrary data file to an S-record file.