FreeRTOS Version 9

Preamble

See the change history for full information on the differences between the final FreeRTOS V9.0.0 release and its preceding release candidates - especially relating to the prototype of the new xTaskCreateStatic() API function.

FreeRTOS V9 Highlights

Backward Compatibility

FreeRTOS V9.x.x is a drop-in compatible replacement for FreeRTOS V8.x.x that contains new features, enhancements, and new ports.

Completely Statically Allocated Systems

Two new configuration constants that allow FreeRTOS to optionally be used without the necessity for any dynamic memory allocation have been introduced. See the description of the configSUPPORT_STATIC_ALLOCATION and configSUPPORT_DYNAMIC_ALLOCATION constants for more information - noting in particular the two callback functions that need to be provided by the application writer when configSUPPORT_STATIC_ALLOCATION is set to 1.

The Win32 demo located in the /FreeRTOS/demo/WIN32-MSVC-Static-Allocation-Only directory is provided as a reference of how to create a project that does not include a FreeRTOS heap at all, and therefore guarantee no dynamic memory allocation is being performed.

Creating Tasks and Other RTOS Objects Using Statically Allocated RAM

[Also see the Static Vs Dynamic Memory Allocation page]

Each [object]Create() RTOS API function now has a new [object]CreateStatic() equivalent. The simpler Create() function will use dynamic memory allocation, and the more powerful CreateStatic() function will use memory passed into the function by the application writer. This allows tasks, queues, semaphores, software timers, mutexes and event groups to be created using either statically allocated or dynamically allocated memory. For example:

xTaskCreate() will dynamically allocate the memory necessary to create a task. xTaskCreateStatic() will not perform any dynamic memory allocation, and will instead use the memory passed into the function using the function's parameters.
xQueueCreate() will dynamically allocate the memory necessary to create a queue. xQueueCreateStatic() will not perform any dynamic memory allocation, and will instead use the memory passed into the function using the function's parameters.
Likewise, an event group can be created using either xEventGroupCreate() or xEventGroupCreateStatic(), a software timer can be created using either xTimerCreate() or xTimerCreateStatic(), binary semaphores can be created using xSemaphoreCreateBinary() or xSemaphoreCreateBinaryStatic(), counting semaphores can be created using either xSemaphoreCreateCounting() or xSemaphoreCreateCountingStatic(), and mutexes can be created using either xSemaphoreCreateMutex() or xSemaphoreCreateMutexStatic().

configSUPPORT_DYNAMIC_ALLOCATION must be set to 1 in FreeRTOSConfig.h (or left undefined, as it defaults to 1) for the "dynamic" versions of the create functions to be available.

configSUPPORT_STATIC_ALLOCATION must be set to 1 in FreeRTOSConfig.h for the "static" versions of the create functions to be available - also note the requirement for the application writer to provide two callback functions when configSUPPORT_STATIC_ALLOCATION is set to 1.

The StaticAllocation.c standard demo task is provided to demonstrate how the new CreateStatic() functions are used.

Forcing an RTOS Task To Leave the Blocked State

RTOS tasks enter the Blocked state to ensure they do not use any processing time while they are waiting for a time to pass, or an event to occur. For example, if a task calls vTaskDelay( 100 ) it will enter the Blocked state for 100 ticks. As another example, if a task calls xSemaphoreTake( xSemaphore, 50 ) then it will enter the Blocked state until either the semaphore becomes available, or it times out because 50 ticks pass without the semaphore becoming available. [Note: in a real application it is better to use the pdMS_TO_TICKS() macro to specify time in millisconds rather than ticks].

The new xTaskAbortDelay() RTOS API function makes it possible for one task to force another task out of the Blocked state immediately. This is desirable in situations where an event occurring elsewhere in the system means the task in the Blocked state should stop waiting for an event, or the task in the Blocked state has something more urgent to do.

INCLUDE_xTaskAbortDelay must be set to 1 in FreeRTOSConfig.h for the xTaskAbortDelay() function to be available.

The AbortDelay.c standard demo task is provided to demonstrate how xTaskAbortDelay() is used.

Deleting Tasks

In FreeRTOS versions prior to version 9, whenever a task was deleted, the memory allocated by FreeRTOS to the task is freed by the Idle task. In FreeRTOS version 9, if one task deletes another task, then the memory allocated by FreeRTOS to the deleted task is freed immediately. However, if a task deletes itself, then the memory allocated by FreeRTOS to the task is still freed by the Idle task. Note that, in all cases, it is only the stack and task control block (TCB) allocated to the task by the RTOS that get freed automatically.

Obtaining a Task Handle from the Task Name

The new xTaskGetHandle() API function obtains a task handle from the task's human readable text name.

xTaskGetHandle() uses multiple string compare operations, so it is recommended that it is called only once per task. The handle returned by xTaskGetHandle() can then be stored locally for later re-use.

Other Changes

See the change history for more detailed information.

Updates necessary to allow FreeRTOS to run on 64-bit architectures.
Enhancements to the GCC ARM Cortex-A port layer relating to how the port uses the floating point unit.
Update the ARM Cortex-M RTOS ports that use the memory protection using (MPU).
Added vApplicationDaemonTaskStartupHook() which executes when the RTOS daemon task (which used to be called the timer service task) starts running. This is useful if the application includes initialisation code that would benefit from executing after the scheduler has been started.
Added the pcQueueGetName() API function, which obtains the name of a queue from the queue's handle.
Tickless idling (for low power applications) can now also be used when configUSE_PREEMPTION is 0.
If a task notification is used to unblock a task from an ISR, but the xHigherPriorityTaskWoken parameter is not used, then pend a context switch that will then occur during the next tick interrupt.
Heap_1.c and Heap_2.c now use the configAPPLICATION_ALLOCATED_HEAP settings, which previously was only used by heap_4.c. configAPPLICATION_ALLOCATED_HEAP allows the application writer to declare the array that will be used as the FreeRTOS heap, and in-so-doing, place the heap at a specific memory location.
The TaskStatus_t structure, which is used to obtain details of a task, now includes the base address of the task's stack.
Added the vTaskGetInfo() API function, which returns a TaskStatus_t structure that contains information about a single task. Previously this information could only be obtained for all the tasks at once, as an array of TaskStatus_t structures.
Added the uxSemaphoreGetCount() API function.
Replicate previous Cortex-M4F and Cortex-M7 optimisations in some Cortex-M3 port layers.
General refactoring.
Multiple additional devices supported.