I'm happy to announce preliminary support for .NET Micro Framework 4.3.
This includes full support for Visual Studio 2012, both Express and Pro. The new SDK is backwards compatible with all Netduinos--including boards running older firmware.
Visual Studio 2012 support NOTE: VS2012 requires Windows 7 or newer.
If previously installed, uninstall any older versions of the .NET Micro Framework SDK
Netduino Go Firmware v4.3.0.0 -- coming soon, see below
Netduino Mini Firmware v4.3.0.0 -- coming soon, see below
Netduino 1 and Netduino Plus 1 -- see below
Upgrades for Netduino Go Netduino Go will be getting a few extra software upgrades to go along with .NET MF 4.3. We'll be running a special 4.3 beta program for Netduino Go users in the near future.
In the meantime the new SDK will work with Netduino Go boards running 4.2 firmware.
Upgrades for gen1 boards We hope to be able to upgrade all gen1 Netduinos to .NET Micro Framework 4.3. We currently have early firmware up and running on Netduino 1 and Netduino Plus 1, but it consumes a bit too much valuable flash/RAM.
We're working with Microsoft on a few updates to .NET MF 4.3 related to the newest lwIP networking stack. Once those updates are in place, we'll try to squeeze the NETMF 4.3 firmware down onto the gen1 boards. We hope and expect to be able to do so...but I can't commit anything until the revised firmware is tested and ready to go.
Netduino Mini should receive the update as well. We already have the firmware source ready for that...but there's some testing we need to do before making it official.
In the meantime the new 4.3 SDK works with gen1 boards running 4.2 or earlier firmware.
In Closing Enjoy the new firmware and VS2012 support! Please post any feedback here in this post.
1. In short, what would be the key benefits of using the 4.3 firmware?
The biggest benefits of NETMF 4.3 will be the bugfixes (checked in already) and the much newer lwIP networking stack (will be included by RTM). For Netduino Mini, the update to 4.3 is less important than for boards like Netduino Plus 2.
2. Can VS2010 still be used with boards carrying the 4.3 firmware or is VS2012 required?
The .NET Micro Framework 4.3 SDK requires VS2012, so if you upgrade your Netduino you'll also need to upgrade to VS2012 (Express or Pro).
By Upgrading to the 4.3 SDK am I bringing all the boards under one SDK and no longer requiring separate SDK's to use a specific board? Earlier I had 4.1 for the Netduino then got a Netduino GO and wanted to upgrade everything to 4.2 and I had to remove 4.1 to use it. Then discovered the original netduino didn't work with the upgraded firmware and had to flash it etc etc. All of that equals a big headache. Good learning experience though.
So by doing this upgrade are we removing all the compatibility issues? It would make for an excellent SDK if that is true. I saw that the other Netduinos are qeued for this upgrade so I realize that they are not "Plugged in " to this yet but the post stated that 4.2 boards will work.
I just don't want to download and install 4.3 only to discover that something won't work with it and all the work done on that something is now thrown out the window. Then I have to uninstall and reinstall each SDK to do work on a board compatible with it. lol. So I am reiterating the question :
Does this SDK bring all the boards under one SDK and firmware update?
By Upgrading to the 4.3 SDK am I bringing all the boards under one SDK and no longer requiring separate SDK's to use a specific board? Earlier I had 4.1 for the Netduino then got a Netduino GO and wanted to upgrade everything to 4.2 and I had to remove 4.1 to use it. Then discovered the original netduino didn't work with the upgraded firmware and had to flash it etc etc. All of that equals a big headache. Good learning experience though.
So by doing this upgrade are we removing all the compatibility issues? It would make for an excellent SDK if that is true. I saw that the other Netduinos are qeued for this upgrade so I realize that they are not "Plugged in " to this yet but the post stated that 4.2 boards will work.
I just don't want to download and install 4.3 only to discover that something won't work with it and all the work done on that something is now thrown out the window. Then I have to uninstall and reinstall each SDK to do work on a board compatible with it. lol. So I am reiterating the question :
Does this SDK bring all the boards under one SDK and firmware update?
To my knowledge each board still requires its own latest firmware version to be installed, however with in Visual Studio you can select which NETMF framework you wish to deploy the application to. I have tested a NP1 using 4.1 firmware and NETMF 4.1, NP1 with 4.2 firmware and NETMF, the NP2 with the latest 4.3, and the Netduino Go using 4.2 firmware and the 4.3 SDK. In all cases each board worked great in both Visual Studio 2012 Pro and Express.
Can you tell us specifically what is meant by "preliminary support"?
Some more details for you...
The Netduino 2 and Netduino Plus 2 4.3 firmware is built on the NETMF 4.3 core. But we're missing two things: [a] the ability to change your deployment port; [b] the newer lwIP networking stack.
There are two glitches in NETMF 4.3 related to those two items. We're working with Microsoft to address both of them. Once these enhancements are added in and field testing shows that the firmware is ready for prime time...we can remove the beta label.
The NETMF 4.3 SDK is RTM. The Netduino 4.3 SDK is RTM. Only the firmware is beta.
Just do not forget to test updating the firmware and application deployment in VS2012 from within virtual machines. I remember having troubles updating NP1 to 4.1 and 4.2 - It was working by chance in 1 of 10 attempts on VMWare player with Windows 7. You mentioned then, that it was something about the USB drivers been changed and not fully tested.
.NET MF 4.3 takes up more room than .NET MF 4.2, so I'm not sure if we can fit OneWire on gen1 boards with .NET MF 4.3. We'll know more as 4.3 gets farther along in the beta process for the gen1 boards.
Can I get some advice on the whole OneWire on 1st Gen thing. Should I just go ahead and get a Netduino Plus 2 so that I can have OneWire support? My reason for getting a Netduino in the first place was to use a OneWire temperature component (honestly did not know at the time, I am not an electronics guy) for a project.
I would rather just be told that it will not be included for 1st Gen and move on. So please tell me if you plan to do it or not. I am completely confused at this point with the whole saga.
You can get early OneWire support for the gen1 boards today through the special 4.1 release which includes OneWire support.
Otherwise, pretend like we're not going to bring CW2's implementation of OneWire to the gen1 boards. Then "if" it comes later, it'll be a pleasant surprise and give you one more thing you can do with your gen1 Netduino. Quite a few community members find it useful to have an extra Netduino to put in their permanent projects.
Please note that OneWire support for gen1 will be another one-time-build, so it's a special build we can commit to making for each new version of the Netduino gen1 firmware going forward. The gen2 boards are designed for OneWire support out of the box, with plenty of extra flash (useful since NETMF tends to grow a bit with each new release).
Onewire support is also available on NETMF 4.2 through ToniA's firmware here:
There was a problem deploying large software because the watchdog interupted the deploy. ToniA is looking into it and right now I am using the original boot-loader wihich disables the watchdog.
Hi Don,You can get early OneWire support for the gen1 boards today through the special 4.1 release which includes OneWire support.Otherwise, pretend like we're not going to bring CW2's implementation of OneWire to the gen1 boards. Then "if" it comes later, it'll be a pleasant surprise and give you one more thing you can do with your gen1 Netduino. Quite a few community members find it useful to have an extra Netduino to put in their permanent projects.Please note that OneWire support for gen1 will be another one-time-build, so it's a special build we can commit to making for each new version of the Netduino gen1 firmware going forward. The gen2 boards are designed for OneWire support out of the box, with plenty of extra flash (useful since NETMF tends to grow a bit with each new release).Chris
Onewire support is also available on NETMF 4.2 through ToniA's firmware here:
There was a problem deploying large software because the watchdog interupted the deploy. ToniA is looking into it and right now I am using the original boot-loader wihich disables the watchdog.
Thanks for the information. I will research. I am not even familiar with what a "watchdog" is exactly so I am at a disadvantage there.
I upgraded to VS2012 and 4.3 framework following instructions from here and now I can get 4.2 framework listed on project properties -> Target framework. It only shows only frameworks 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.3 !
