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If you have a question about the Flash Loader that is not answered in the User Manual or on this page, please contact ECROS Technology.
No configuration is necessary for the target microcontroller. The Flash Loader detects whether it is running on an original Z8F640x family device or an "enhanced" Z8F642x series device and adapts accordingly. Because the Flash Loader installs near the bottom of program memory, it can be used with devices with 64, 48, 32 or 16 Kbytes of Flash.
A small area of unprogrammed Flash is reserved inside the Flash Loader area for the addition of a product serial number. By default, the size of this area is sixteen bytes, but you can specify other sizes during configuration (subject to the overall memory budget). To program the serial number during the manufacturing process, load an application into the microcontroller designed for this purpose. An example of such an application is provided with Flash Loader distributions and you can adapt this to your needs. Serial number programming can usefully be combined with a test program that checks out the product hardware. After the serial number is programmed, erase this application and load the products actual application firmware.
ZiLOG publishes an Application Note (AN011802) Flash Loader for Z8 Encore! which describes and gives source code for a Flash Loader utility. It is quite likely that you can find the source code in machine readable format, possibly with errors corrected so that it compiles. Once you have code that you can compile, the ECROS Technology Flash Loader is different from the ZiLOG Flash Loader in the following ways. First, it occupies 1½ Kbytes of ROM as compared to about 13 KBytes. The benefit of this is obvious. Second, it is tested, field proven and supported. This means that you do not have to spend time verifying that every last feature works. There are also differences in features which will be apparent from reading the documentation. The ECROS Technology Flash Loader does not provide monitor-like services, whereas the ZiLOG Flash Loader does not provide features to test Intel Hex files prior to erasing memory nor can it compare a file to the current contents of Flash. The ZiLOG application note is instructive if you want to learn about how the Z8 Encore! can program its own Flash from an Intel Hex file. But if you want to build this capability into a product, an optimized, verified and supported Flash Loader, such as the one from ECROS Technology, is the more economical option.
ZiLOG publishes an Application Note (AN016401) Boot Loader for Z8 Encore! MCUs which describes and gives source code for a "Boot Loader" utility. Source code is available from the ZiLOG Web site. This is actually a Flash Loader. It does not "boot" the microcontroller in the sense of always loading software from an external source when it is powered up, but allows a user to activate a Flash-resident utility to erase and reprogram the application firmware. This boot loader is a close cousin to the ECROS Technology Flash Loader and, unlike the Flash Loader of AN011802, is of real practical use. A fair and quick comparison of the two would note that the ZiLOG boot loader is one third the size of the ECROS Technology Flash Loader (less than 512 bytes) but is also one third as functional (many fewer features). For a more complete analysis, please download and read the paper Flash Loader for ZiLOG Z8 Encore!™ Comparison with ZiLOG Flash Loaders (PDF, about 170 kbytes).
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