Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

Meera Shah — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 12:43:59 GMT

This is my flash_placement.xml file.

<!DOCTYPE Linker_Placement_File>
<Root name="Flash Section Placement">
  <MemorySegment name="$(FLASH_NAME:FLASH)">
    <ProgramSection alignment="0x100" load="Yes" name=".vectors" start="$(FLASH_START:)" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".init" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".init_rodata" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".text" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".dtors" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".ctors" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".rodata" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" keep="Yes" load="Yes" name=".dfu_trans" inputsections="*(SORT(.dfu_trans*))" address_symbol="__start_dfu_trans" end_symbol="__stop_dfu_trans" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".ARM.exidx" address_symbol="__exidx_start" end_symbol="__exidx_end" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" runin=".fast_run" name=".fast" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" runin=".data_run" name=".data" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" runin=".tdata_run" name=".tdata" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" keep="Yes" load="Yes" runin=".fs_data_run" name=".fs_data" />
  </MemorySegment>
  <MemorySegment name="$(RAM_NAME:RAM);SRAM">
    <ProgramSection alignment="0x100" load="No" name=".vectors_ram" start="$(RAM_START:$(SRAM_START:))" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" name=".fast_run" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" name=".data_run" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" name=".tdata_run" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" keep="Yes" name=".fs_data_run" address_symbol="__start_fs_data" end_symbol="__stop_fs_data" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" name=".bss" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" name=".tbss" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" name=".non_init" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" size="__HEAPSIZE__" load="No" name=".heap" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="8" size="__STACKSIZE__" load="No" place_from_segment_end="Yes" name=".stack" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="8" size="__STACKSIZE_PROCESS__" load="No" name=".stack_process" />
  </MemorySegment>
  <MemorySegment name="$(FLASH2_NAME:FLASH2)">
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".text2" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name=".rodata2" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" runin=".data2_run" name=".data2" />
  </MemorySegment>
  <MemorySegment name="$(RAM2_NAME:RAM2)">
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" name=".data2_run" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="No" name=".bss2" />
  </MemorySegment>

</Root>

I am getting this error `UNPLACED_SECTIONS' overflowed by 1024 bytes. Can you help me with this?

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

Einar Thorsrud — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 07:59:37 GMT

Please open a new question as this thread is several years old. When you do, please provide more information about what you do and attach linker configuration etc.

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

Saad_Tariq — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 14:55:27 GMT

Hi. I am having an error like the one you had. Please can you tell me its solution. Following is the error:
"cyclic memory section dependency with section .fs_data_run"

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

awneil — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 11:00:36 GMT

Note that this modification to the standard thumb_crt0.s file will break all the examples that don't use fstorage!

See: https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/37535/ses-setup-advice-breaks-examples-undefined-reference-to-__fs_data_load_start__-etc

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

RK — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 10:39:50 GMT

fair enough. I didn't have a problem when I used that. I think if it's used it's kept and if it's not used it's not needed but I can see that the linker might need the symbols defined even if they aren't used so keep=yes seems very reasonable.

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

Håkon Alseth — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 10:32:28 GMT

@RK: Your answer is close to perfection. I injected "keep="Yes"" to allow KEEP(.symbol) to be propagated through the xml->ld conversion. If this wasn't present; SES v3 will drop the symbol.

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

ishaan — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 18:04:14 GMT

Hey RK, I added all the necessary codes mentioned by you and got past 7 linker errors. However, there's still one linker error left, for which I can't find any solution.

  Generating linker script ‘ble_app_hrs_pca10028_s130.ld’ (1 error)
    cyclic memory section dependency with section .fast_run

Any ideas, as to what the underlying problem might be? Thanks.

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

jfDEVmoto — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 09:48:34 GMT

RK, you saved my week end ! This shall be included in the Segger IDE porting tutorial.

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

Webmobi — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 05:53:28 GMT

cannot load section placement file,what is the solution for this?

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

Piotr Fiszer — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 15:02:33 GMT

Oh, OK! Thanks!

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

RK — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 13:29:02 GMT

You don't have to attach a hard-coded linker script to Segger Embedded Studio, it can generate it for you including the section variables __start_fs_data and __stop_fs_data.

Put the following in the flash_placement xml file, you nearly had it right, you were just missing two keywords

<ProgramSection alignment="4" keep="Yes" load="Yes" name=".fs_data" 
address_symbol="__start_fs_data"  end_symbol="__stop_fs_data" />

that will define those two linker symbols you need and set them to the start and end of the fs_data section.

It's better to do it this way and let Segger Embedded Studio make the .ld file each time with all the correct pieces in it than to give it one hard-coded one which is what it seems your current solution does.

Having looked at the linker file Nordic now has and realised this stuff is supposed to go in RAM it's more complicated. You import the flash_placement.xml file to your project and then add one line in the FLASH memory segment piece and one in the RAM memory segment piece

<MemorySegment name="$(FLASH_NAME:FLASH)">
....
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" keep="Yes" load="Yes" runin=".fs_data_run" name=".fs_data" />
</MemorySegment>

<MemorySegment name="$(RAM_NAME:RAM);SRAM">
....
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" keep="Yes" load="No" name=".fs_data_run" address_symbol="__start_fs_data"  end_symbol="__stop_fs_data" />
</MemorySegment>

Then you also need to import the standard thumb_crt0.s file and add, I suggest after the tdata copy the following code which copies the fs_data from FLASH into RAM.

ldr r2, =__tdata_end__
bl memory_copy
# ADD HERE ... 
ldr r0, =__fs_data_load_start__
ldr r1, =__fs_data_start__
ldr r2, =__fs_data_end__
bl memory_copy
# TO HERE ...

If you use my first version - the data ends up in flash, but it's not very useful there as fds needs to modify it, which I didn't realise.

RE: Segger Embedded Studio -`UNPLACED_SECTIONS' problem

Piotr Fiszer — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 00:09:30 GMT

I almost got it:

It was enough to add fs_data line in flash_placement.xml to get rid of UNPLACED_SECTIONS linker error:

<!DOCTYPE Linker_Placement_File>
<Root name="Flash Section Placement">
  <MemorySegment name="$(FLASH_NAME:FLASH)">
    <ProgramSection alignment="0x100" load="Yes" name=".vectors" start="$(FLASH_START:)" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" load="Yes" name="fs_data" />
    <ProgramSection alignment="4" los" name=".init" /> 
    (...)

That fallowed to lack of __stop_fs_data and __start_fs_data definitions. Then I found this:

Linker scripts

Keil does not require linker scripts. Named sections are generated automatically when registration macros are invoked.

For GCC compilations, you must add a definition for a linker script used in the compilation.This addition should be at the root level of the linker script file:

SECTIONS { .fs_data_out ALIGN(4):
{ PROVIDE( __start_fs_data = .); KEEP(*(fs_data)) PROVIDE( __stop_fs_data = .); } = 0 } This definition will add a named section fs_data that is aligned to a word and that has __start_fs_data and __stop_fs_data as symbols that are used from the code.

For IAR compilations, you must make additions to an ilink file.

in Nordic InfoCenter infocenter.nordicsemi.com/index.jsp

It should be super easy from this point. BUT I try to attach this simple linker script to Segger E. Studio without success... Help will be appreciated. How to do it properly?

EDIT + FINAL ANSWER:

devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../ finally solved the problem (notice the dot "." in front of fs_data section definition in this solution!)

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