Silicon Labs UG435.01 User Manual
UG435.01: About the Connect v3.x User's
Guide
The Connect stack is delivered as part of the Silicon Labs Proprietary Flex SDK v3.0 and higher. The Connect v3.x User's Guide
assumes that you have already installed the Simplicity Studio® 5
development environment and the Flex SDK, and that you are familiar with the basics of configuring, compiling, and flashing Connect-based applications. If you are new to Connect and the Proprietary Flex SDK, see QSG168: Proprietary Flex SDK v3.x Quick-
Start Guide.
The Connect v3.x User's Guide is a series of documents that provides in-depth information for developers who are using the Silicon Labs Connect Stack for their application
development. This chapter of the Connect v3.x User's Guide describes how to use Connect components, callbacks, and events to provide developer-configurable features and
application behavior.
Proprietary is supported on all EFR32FG devices. For others, check the device's data
sheet under Ordering Information > Protocol Stack to see if Proprietary is supported. In
Proprietary SDK version 2.7.n, Connect is not supported on EFR32xG22.
KEY POINTS
• Introduces the Connect v3.x User’s Guide
and its contents.
• Describes available software and hardware
tools.
• Provides an overview for Silicon Labs
Connect application development.
• Describes the Silicon Labs Connect
Application Framework.
silabs.com | Building a more connected world. Rev. 0.2
UG435.01: About the Connect v3.x User's Guide
Introducing the Silicon Labs Connect v3.x User’s Guide
1. Introducing the Silicon Labs Connect v3.x User’s Guide
Silicon Labs recommends that you review the Simplicity Studio 5 User's Guide (available in Simplicity Studio 5 and online at https://
docs.silabs.com) and QSG168: Proprietary Flex SDK v3.x Quick-Start Guide before proceeding with the more focused discussion pre-
sented in the Connect v3.x User’s Guide series. For an overview of Connect and its features, see UG103.12: Application Development
Fundamentals: Silicon Labs Connect. For the Connect API documentation, go to https://docs.silabs.com/connect-stack/latest. If you
previously worked with the Silicon Labs Flex v2.x SDK and Simplicity Studio 4, Silicon Labs recommends reading AN1254: Transition-
ing from the v2.x to the v3.x Proprietary Flex SDK.
The Connect v3.x User’s Guide series provides in-depth guidance in the following chapters:
• UG435.01: Developing Code with Silicon Labs Connect v3.x—Introduces the Connect v3.x User’s Guide and provides a general
overview of the code development process for Connect-based applications, and the hardware and software tools that support it.
• UG435.02: Using Silicon Labs Connect with IEEE 802.15.4 v3.x—Connect is based on the IEEE 802.15.4-2011 standard which defines various Physical (PHY) and Media Access Control (MAC) layer modes designed for short-range communication in Personal
Area Networks (PANs). UG235.02 gives a short introduction to the IEEE 802.15.4 features that are used in Connect, suitable to understand the Silicon Labs Connect MAC layer without reading the full specification.
• UG435.03: Architecture of the Silicon Labs Connect Stack v3.x—Presents a complete review of the Connect stack architecture and
capabilities: available modes of operation, supported network topologies, stack layers (PHY, MAC, Network), and features applicable to each configuration.
• UG435.04: Customizing Applications with Silicon Labs Connect v3.x—Simplicity Studio 5's Project Configurator selectively enables/
disables/configures components, callbacks, and events on top of the Application Framework to provide a developer-configurable sophisticated state machine for complex features and application behavior. UG235.04 describes how to apply this Connect Application
Framework to develop firmware optimized for your target application.
• UG435.05: Using Real Time Operating Systems with Silicon Labs Connect v3.x—Describes the process to implement a Connect-
based application on top of one of the supported Real Time Operating Systems (RTOS).
• UG435.06: Bootloading and OTA with Silicon Labs Connect v3.x—Explains the bootloader options (standalone, application, and
Over the Air (OTA)) available for use within Connect-based applications.
• UG435.07: Energy Saving with Silicon Labs Connect v3.x—Discusses techniques to reduce power consumption of network applications based on the Silicon Labs Connect Stack.
The Connect stack has a modular design, optional functionality blocks can be enabled or disabled. These software modules are called
components. An Application Framework is layered on top of the Connect stack, consumes the stack handler interfaces, and exposes its
own more highly abstracted and application-specific interface to developers. The Connect Application Framework is also structured in
components.
Provided as either a standalone pre-compiled library or a set of source code, each component adds a specific feature set to the project.
Unnecessary features can be disabled by removing the associated component(s), which removes the code from the build and reduces
the project's resource footprint. A component can have options, depend on other components, can provide callbacks, subscribe to, and
implement callbacks.
Connect stack APIs can be invoked directly by the application. Stack callbacks are implemented by the associated component and dispatched to the application and subscribing components using the Application Framework bookkeeping functionality.
silabs.com | Building a more connected world. Rev. 0.2 | 2
Loading...