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3.5 USB API Programmer's Guide and Examples Guide

A complete programmer's guide is included in the developers package to answer your questions. It

describes every aspect of writing USB applications with the API.

A separate examples guide is provided. The MSP430 USB API Examples Guide is intended for the person

only evaluating and running the examples, while the MSP430 USB API Programmer's Guide focuses on

development.

An HTML-based API reference document set is also provided for detailed information on each API

function.

Figure 7. MSP430 USB API Documentation

3.6 MSP430 USB Field Firmware Upgrade Tools

A common use of USB is to enable end users to update the firmware. Among the advantages of this is

that bug fixes can be pushed proactively, increasing user satisfaction and reducing returns.

The vast majority of MSP430 derivative devices have an on-chip bootstrap loader (BSL). The BSL is a

program that resides in a special protected location in MSP430 flash memory and facilitates

communication with an external host. Like tools with JTAG access, it can read and write to the MCU's

flash memory. But unlike JTAG tools, it cannot be used to emulate code.

The BSL interface is often a UART, or sometimes I

C. On the USB-equipped derivatives listed in Table 1,

the BSL's interface is USB.

In addition to field updates, the BSL can be used for production programming. It also plays an important

role when JTAG access is not available. For example, it can be used to recover the device when

something has corrupted internal flash.

Starting a USB Design Using MSP430™ MCUs SLAA457A–September 2013–Revised May 2014

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