nRF Connect VS Code flash nrf52840 Dongle

RE: nRF Connect VS Code flash nrf52840 Dongle

Einar Thorsrud — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 09:18:52 GMT

[quote user="teeuu"]So did I miss this in the documentation? Is there a note somewhere which says that all this JLink stuff is not needed?[/quote]

I don't think it is mentioned anywhere as it is generally needed, as for any real development you want a debugger, and J-Link is the debugger family we support. It is just that the dongle is not a development board, and does not have an onboard debugger.

[quote user="teeuu"]

And is there some documentation which specifies that the nRF Connect Programmer should be used? (I only saw point 5 as optional.)

I would think that integrating the nRF Connect Programmer functionality into VS Code should be possible, that might be helpful...

[/quote]

You are right, that is a good feedback. But again, you will never get a full experience without a debugger so this probably a niche.

[quote user="teeuu"]And is VS Code recommended for the Dongle, seeing that it lacks support for it, or does it make more sense to just use the command line tools?[/quote]

That is up to you. It is not so that VS Code lack support for the dongle, it is just that the dongle does not have a debugger, and that limits what you can do with it. For coding and building, VS Code works well also for the dongle.

[quote user="teeuu"]What about the second example for the Dongle? Any idea what this could be?[/quote]

This refers to the zephyr blinky sample. Note that most samples that do not require more buttons can work on the dongle.

[quote user="teeuu"]And from nRF52840 Dongle site: "It is supported by most of the nRF Connect for Desktop apps and will automatically be programmed if needed." I wonder what all those apps are supposed to be?[/quote]

See the list of nRF Connect for desktop apps here.

[quote user="teeuu"]And is the infocenter page outdated? Or are the points 3 and 4 still a valid option?[/quote]

Step 3-5 are only relevant when working with the older nRF5 SDK.

RE: nRF Connect VS Code flash nrf52840 Dongle

teeuu — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 08:36:07 GMT

Thanks for the answer!

And thanks for clarifying the lack of support for the Dongle in VS Code.

So did I miss this in the documentation? Is there a note somewhere which says that all this JLink stuff is not needed?

And is there some documentation which specifies that the nRF Connect Programmer should be used? (I only saw point 5 as optional.)

I would think that integrating the nRF Connect Programmer functionality into VS Code should be possible, that might be helpful...

And is VS Code recommended for the Dongle, seeing that it lacks support for it, or does it make more sense to just use the command line tools?

What about the second example for the Dongle? Any idea what this could be?

And from nRF52840 Dongle site: "It is supported by most of the nRF Connect for Desktop apps and will automatically be programmed if needed." I wonder what all those apps are supposed to be?

And is the infocenter page outdated? Or are the points 3 and 4 still a valid option?

Thanks!

RE: nRF Connect VS Code flash nrf52840 Dongle

Einar Thorsrud — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 07:46:58 GMT

Hi,

The dongle does not have an onboard debugger, so the J-Link drivers and tools are not needed. Moreover, this means that you cannot debug it, nor program it from VS Code. The only way to program it (unless you use an external debugger) is to program via USB DFU. The simplest way to do this is using nRF Connect Programmer.

PS: The lack of debugger makes the dongle less than ideal for development, so if you intend to use it as a development platform I would recommend obtaining a DK instead (the dongle is still good for use with for instance nRF Connect Bluetooth or nRF Sniffer).