Seeking Advice on Implementing Client-Requested Plugin Functionality in Firmware with FreeRTOS

General
1

Hello Interrupt Community,

I am currently engaged in a firmware project for Cortex-M microcontrollers (NXP RT1175). As per a specific client request, I need to implement a “plugin” functionality, similar (I guess) to the Linkable Loadable Extensions (LLEXT) subsystem in Zephyr OS (Linkable Loadable Extensions (LLEXT) — Zephyr Project Documentation), which provides a dynamic way to extend application functionality with linkable loadable code. However, I am constrained to use FreeRTOS for this project.

My development stack includes FreeRTOS, LittleFS, and the gcc-arm-none-eabi toolchain. The core firmware is not compiled as Position-Independent Code (PIC) at the moment, but the plugins developed by the client could be PIC. A significant requirement is that these plugins might need to manage their code and data in different RAM locations, utilizing both fast memory (DTCM) and standard SRAM.

I am seeking advice on several fronts:

  1. Plugin File Format and Loading Strategy: Considering the diverse memory requirements and the non-PIC nature of the main firmware, what would be the most suitable file format for these plugins? Additionally, how should the system load and execute them?
  2. Function Entry Points for Non-PIC Firmware: How can I effectively manage the entry points for the plugins to interact with the non-PIC firmware, especially considering potential changes in function addresses upon recompilation?
  3. Handling Different Types of Memory: Are there best practices for allocating and managing different types of memory (DTCM and SRAM) for plugin code and data in a FreeRTOS environment?
  4. Security and Stability: What measures can I take to ensure the security and stability of the system when dynamically loading third-party plugins?
  5. Compilation and Linking Details: A fundamental aspect is understanding how both my firmware and the plugins should be compiled and linked. What parameters are useful or necessary for compiling and linking? Is there a need for an additional post-linking step for the plugin, as suggested by resources like udynlink?

I am intrigued by the LLEXT approach in Zephyr OS and am looking for ways to implement a similar plugin system in FreeRTOS. Any insights, suggestions, or references to similar projects would be immensely helpful.

Thank you for your time and assistance!

2

Does anyone have any suggestions?
I meanwhile have decided to use the elf format for plugins, so I’m answering question 1. This will force me to look for an elf interpreter that is viable in the bare-metal microcontroller context. Do you guys know of any (e.g., on github)?

regards
Max