nRF51 SDK - S120 SoftDevice
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Application Timer

Application timer functionality. More...

Macros

#define APP_TIMER_CLOCK_FREQ   32768
 
#define APP_TIMER_MIN_TIMEOUT_TICKS   5
 
#define APP_TIMER_NODE_SIZE   40
 
#define APP_TIMER_USER_OP_SIZE   24
 
#define APP_TIMER_USER_SIZE   8
 
#define APP_TIMER_INT_LEVELS   3
 
#define APP_TIMER_BUF_SIZE(MAX_TIMERS, OP_QUEUE_SIZE)
 Compute number of bytes required to hold the application timer data structures. More...
 
#define APP_TIMER_TICKS(MS, PRESCALER)   ((uint32_t)ROUNDED_DIV((MS) * (uint64_t)APP_TIMER_CLOCK_FREQ, ((PRESCALER) + 1) * 1000))
 Convert milliseconds to timer ticks. More...
 
#define APP_TIMER_INIT(PRESCALER, MAX_TIMERS, OP_QUEUES_SIZE, SCHEDULER_FUNC)
 Macro for initializing the application timer module. More...
 

Typedefs

typedef uint32_t app_timer_id_t
 Timer id type.
 
typedef void(* app_timer_timeout_handler_t )(void *p_context)
 Application timeout handler type.
 
typedef uint32_t(* app_timer_evt_schedule_func_t )(app_timer_timeout_handler_t timeout_handler, void *p_context)
 Type of function for passing events from the timer module to the scheduler.
 

Enumerations

enum  app_timer_mode_t {
  APP_TIMER_MODE_SINGLE_SHOT,
  APP_TIMER_MODE_REPEATED
}
 Timer modes. More...
 

Functions

uint32_t app_timer_init (uint32_t prescaler, uint8_t max_timers, uint8_t op_queues_size, void *p_buffer, app_timer_evt_schedule_func_t evt_schedule_func)
 Function for initializing the timer module. More...
 
uint32_t app_timer_create (app_timer_id_t *p_timer_id, app_timer_mode_t mode, app_timer_timeout_handler_t timeout_handler)
 Function for creating a timer instance. More...
 
uint32_t app_timer_start (app_timer_id_t timer_id, uint32_t timeout_ticks, void *p_context)
 Function for starting a timer. More...
 
uint32_t app_timer_stop (app_timer_id_t timer_id)
 Function for stopping the specified timer. More...
 
uint32_t app_timer_stop_all (void)
 Function for stopping all running timers. More...
 
uint32_t app_timer_cnt_get (uint32_t *p_ticks)
 Function for returning the current value of the RTC1 counter. More...
 
uint32_t app_timer_cnt_diff_compute (uint32_t ticks_to, uint32_t ticks_from, uint32_t *p_ticks_diff)
 Function for computing the difference between two RTC1 counter values. More...
 

Detailed Description

Application timer functionality.

It enables the application to create multiple timer instances based on the RTC1 peripheral. Checking for timeouts and invokation of user timeout handlers is performed in the RTC1 interrupt handler. List handling is done using a software interrupt (SWI0). Both interrupt handlers are running in APP_LOW priority level.

Note
When calling app_timer_start() or app_timer_stop(), the timer operation is just queued, and the software interrupt is triggered. The actual timer start/stop operation is executed by the SWI0 interrupt handler. Since the SWI0 interrupt is running in APP_LOW, if the application code calling the timer function is running in APP_LOW or APP_HIGH, the timer operation will not be performed until the application handler has returned. This will be the case e.g. when stopping a timer from a timeout handler when not using the scheduler.

Use the USE_SCHEDULER parameter of the APP_TIMER_INIT() macro to select if the Scheduler is to be used or not.

Note
Even if the scheduler is not used, app_timer.h will include app_scheduler.h, so when compiling, app_scheduler.h must be available in one of the compiler include paths.

Macro Definition Documentation

#define APP_TIMER_BUF_SIZE (   MAX_TIMERS,
  OP_QUEUE_SIZE 
)
Value:
( \
((MAX_TIMERS) * APP_TIMER_NODE_SIZE) \
+ \
( \
APP_TIMER_INT_LEVELS \
* \
(APP_TIMER_USER_SIZE + ((OP_QUEUE_SIZE) + 1) * APP_TIMER_USER_OP_SIZE) \
) \
)

Compute number of bytes required to hold the application timer data structures.

Parameters
[in]MAX_TIMERSMaximum number of timers that can be created at any given time.
[in]OP_QUEUE_SIZESize of queues holding timer operations that are pending execution. NOTE: Due to the queue implementation, this size must be one more than the size that is actually needed.
Returns
Required application timer buffer size (in bytes).
#define APP_TIMER_CLOCK_FREQ   32768

Clock frequency of the RTC timer used to implement the app timer module.

#define APP_TIMER_INIT (   PRESCALER,
  MAX_TIMERS,
  OP_QUEUES_SIZE,
  SCHEDULER_FUNC 
)
Value:
do \
{ \
static uint32_t APP_TIMER_BUF[CEIL_DIV(APP_TIMER_BUF_SIZE((MAX_TIMERS), \
(OP_QUEUES_SIZE) + 1), \
sizeof(uint32_t))]; \
uint32_t ERR_CODE = app_timer_init((PRESCALER), \
(MAX_TIMERS), \
(OP_QUEUES_SIZE) + 1, \
APP_TIMER_BUF, \
SCHEDULER_FUNC); \
APP_ERROR_CHECK(ERR_CODE); \
} while (0)

Macro for initializing the application timer module.

It will handle dimensioning and allocation of the memory buffer required by the timer, making sure that the buffer is correctly aligned. It will also connect the timer module to the scheduler (if specified).

Note
This module assumes that the LFCLK is already running. If it isn't, the module will be non-functional, since the RTC will not run. If you don't use a softdevice, you'll have to start the LFCLK manually. See the rtc_example's lfclk_config() function for an example of how to do this. If you use a softdevice, the LFCLK is started on softdevice init.
Parameters
[in]PRESCALERValue of the RTC1 PRESCALER register. This will decide the timer tick rate. Set to 0 for no prescaling.
[in]MAX_TIMERSMaximum number of timers that can be created at any given time.
[in]OP_QUEUES_SIZESize of queues holding timer operations that are pending execution.
[in]SCHEDULER_FUNCPointer to scheduler event handler
Note
Since this macro allocates a buffer, it must only be called once (it is OK to call it several times as long as it is from the same location, e.g. to do a reinitialization).
#define APP_TIMER_INT_LEVELS   3

Number of interrupt levels from where timer operations may be initiated (only for use inside APP_TIMER_BUF_SIZE()).

#define APP_TIMER_MIN_TIMEOUT_TICKS   5

Minimum value of the timeout_ticks parameter of app_timer_start().

#define APP_TIMER_NODE_SIZE   40

Size of app_timer.timer_node_t (only for use inside APP_TIMER_BUF_SIZE()).

#define APP_TIMER_TICKS (   MS,
  PRESCALER 
)    ((uint32_t)ROUNDED_DIV((MS) * (uint64_t)APP_TIMER_CLOCK_FREQ, ((PRESCALER) + 1) * 1000))

Convert milliseconds to timer ticks.

Note
This macro uses 64 bit integer arithmetic, but as long as the macro parameters are constants (i.e. defines), the computation will be done by the preprocessor.
Parameters
[in]MSMilliseconds.
[in]PRESCALERValue of the RTC1 PRESCALER register (must be the same value that was passed to APP_TIMER_INIT()).
Note
When using this macro, it is the responsibility of the developer to ensure that the values provided as input result in an output value that is supported by the app_timer_start function. For example, when the ticks for 1 ms is needed, the maximum possible value of PRESCALER must be 6, when APP_TIMER_CLOCK_FREQ is 32768. This will result in a ticks value as 5. Any higher value for PRESCALER will result in a ticks value that is not supported by this module.
Returns
Number of timer ticks.
#define APP_TIMER_USER_OP_SIZE   24

Size of app_timer.timer_user_op_t (only for use inside APP_TIMER_BUF_SIZE()).

#define APP_TIMER_USER_SIZE   8

Size of app_timer.timer_user_t (only for use inside APP_TIMER_BUF_SIZE()).

Enumeration Type Documentation

Timer modes.

Enumerator
APP_TIMER_MODE_SINGLE_SHOT 

The timer will expire only once.

APP_TIMER_MODE_REPEATED 

The timer will restart each time it expires.

Function Documentation

uint32_t app_timer_cnt_diff_compute ( uint32_t  ticks_to,
uint32_t  ticks_from,
uint32_t *  p_ticks_diff 
)

Function for computing the difference between two RTC1 counter values.

Parameters
[in]ticks_toValue returned by app_timer_cnt_get().
[in]ticks_fromValue returned by app_timer_cnt_get().
[out]p_ticks_diffNumber of ticks from ticks_from to ticks_to.
Return values
NRF_SUCCESSCounter difference was successfully computed.
uint32_t app_timer_cnt_get ( uint32_t *  p_ticks)

Function for returning the current value of the RTC1 counter.

Parameters
[out]p_ticksCurrent value of the RTC1 counter.
Return values
NRF_SUCCESSCounter was successfully read.
uint32_t app_timer_create ( app_timer_id_t p_timer_id,
app_timer_mode_t  mode,
app_timer_timeout_handler_t  timeout_handler 
)

Function for creating a timer instance.

Parameters
[out]p_timer_idId of the newly created timer.
[in]modeTimer mode.
[in]timeout_handlerFunction to be executed when the timer expires.
Return values
NRF_SUCCESSTimer was successfully created.
NRF_ERROR_INVALID_PARAMInvalid parameter.
NRF_ERROR_INVALID_STATEApplication timer module has not been initialized.
NRF_ERROR_NO_MEMMaximum number of timers has already been reached.
Note
This function does the timer allocation in the caller's context. It is also not protected by a critical region. Therefore care must be taken not to call it from several interrupt levels simultaneously.
uint32_t app_timer_init ( uint32_t  prescaler,
uint8_t  max_timers,
uint8_t  op_queues_size,
void *  p_buffer,
app_timer_evt_schedule_func_t  evt_schedule_func 
)

Function for initializing the timer module.

Note
Normally initialization should be done using the APP_TIMER_INIT() macro, as that will both allocate the buffers needed by the timer module (including aligning the buffers correctly, and also take care of connecting the timer module to the scheduler (if specified).
Parameters
[in]prescalerValue of the RTC1 PRESCALER register. Set to 0 for no prescaling.
[in]max_timersMaximum number of timers that can be created at any given time.
[in]op_queues_sizeSize of queues holding timer operations that are pending execution. NOTE: Due to the queue implementation, this size must be one more than the size that is actually needed.
[in]p_bufferPointer to memory buffer for internal use in the app_timer module. The size of the buffer can be computed using the APP_TIMER_BUF_SIZE() macro. The buffer must be aligned to a 4 byte boundary.
[in]evt_schedule_funcFunction for passing timeout events to the scheduler. Point to app_timer_evt_schedule() to connect to the scheduler. Set to NULL to make the timer module call the timeout handler directly from the timer interrupt handler.
Return values
NRF_SUCCESSSuccessful initialization.
NRF_ERROR_INVALID_PARAMInvalid parameter (buffer not aligned to a 4 byte boundary or NULL).
uint32_t app_timer_start ( app_timer_id_t  timer_id,
uint32_t  timeout_ticks,
void *  p_context 
)

Function for starting a timer.

Parameters
[in]timer_idId of timer to start.
[in]timeout_ticksNumber of ticks (of RTC1, including prescaling) to timeout event (minimum 5 ticks).
[in]p_contextGeneral purpose pointer. Will be passed to the timeout handler when the timer expires.
Return values
NRF_SUCCESSTimer was successfully started.
NRF_ERROR_INVALID_PARAMInvalid parameter.
NRF_ERROR_INVALID_STATEApplication timer module has not been initialized, or timer has not been created.
NRF_ERROR_NO_MEMTimer operations queue was full.
Note
The minimum timeout_ticks value is 5.
For multiple active timers, timeouts occurring in close proximity to each other (in the range of 1 to 3 ticks) will have a positive jitter of maximum 3 ticks.
When calling this method on a timer which is already running, the second start operation will be ignored.
uint32_t app_timer_stop ( app_timer_id_t  timer_id)

Function for stopping the specified timer.

Parameters
[in]timer_idId of timer to stop.
Return values
NRF_SUCCESSTimer was successfully stopped.
NRF_ERROR_INVALID_PARAMInvalid parameter.
NRF_ERROR_INVALID_STATEApplication timer module has not been initialized, or timer has not been created.
NRF_ERROR_NO_MEMTimer operations queue was full.
uint32_t app_timer_stop_all ( void  )

Function for stopping all running timers.

Return values
NRF_SUCCESSAll timers were successfully stopped.
NRF_ERROR_INVALID_STATEApplication timer module has not been initialized.
NRF_ERROR_NO_MEMTimer operations queue was full.