Basic Usage¶

This section describes the basic usage of lib_xua and provides a guide on how to program USB Audio devices.

Library Structure¶

The code is split into several directories.

Table 5 lib_xua structure¶
core	Common code for USB audio applications
midi	MIDI I/O code
dfu	Device Firmware Upgrade code
hid	Human Interface Device code

Note, the midi and dfu directories are potential candidates for separate libs in their own right.

Using in an application¶

lib_xua is intended to be used with XCommon CMake , the XMOS application build and dependency management system.

To use lib_xua in an application, add lib_xua, to the list of dependent modules in the application’s CMakeLists.txt file.

set(APP_DEPENDENT_MODULES “lib_xua”)

All lib_xua functions can be accessed via the xua.h header file:

#include <xua.h>

“Codeless” programming model¶

Whilst it is possible to code a USB Audio device using the building blocks provided by lib_xua, it is realised that this might not be desirable for many classes of customers or products.

For instance, some users may not have a large software development experience and simply want to customise some basic settings such as strings, sample-rates, channel-counts etc. Others may want to fully customise the implementation - adding additional functionality such as integrating DSP or possibly only using a subset of the functions provided - just XUA_AudioHub, for example.

In addition, the large number of supported features can lead to a large number of tasks, hardware resources, communication channels etc, requiring quite a lot of code to be authored for each product.

In order to cater for the former class of users, a “codeless” option is provided. Put simply, a file main.xc is provided which includes a pre-authored main() function along with all of the required hardware resource declarations. Code is generated based on the options provided by the developer in xua_conf.h.

Using this development model the user simply includes a xua_conf.h with their settings and optional implementations of any ‘user functions’ as desired. This, along with an XN file for their hardware platform, is all that is required to build a fully featured and functioning product. This XN file should contain definitions of the ports used for the various lib_xua functionality, see Options.

This development model also provides the benefit of a full and verified codebase as a basis for a product.

This behaviour described in this section is the default behaviour of lib_xua, to disable this please set EXCLUDE_USB_AUDIO_MAIN to 1 in the application CMakeLists.txt or xua_conf.h and see Advanced usage.

Extending the “Codeless” application¶

The main.xc function allows insertion of extra code using the preprocessor. For example, you may wish to add some control code to control buttons or LEDs or DSP tasks for audio enhancement.

Adding globals¶

To add globals to your application, you may declare them in a dedicated source file in your project. They may then be referenced from other files using the extern keyword.

Alternatively, you may add an optional header file to your project called user_main_globals.h. If this file exists, its contents will be inserted into main.xc in global scope.

Example contents of user_main_globals.h:

unsigned my_global_var = 42;

Adding main function declarations¶

To add declarations to your application, for example channels or interfaces to connect between tasks, you can define the token USER_MAIN_DECLARATIONS from your xua_conf.h configuration file. This inserts the macro inside main.xc after main() but before the main par statement.

Alternatively, you may add an optional header file to your project called user_main_declarations.h. If this file exists, its contents will be inserted into main.xc before the main par statement.

Example contents of user_main_declarations.h:

chan c_usb_to_user_interface;

Adding main function tasks¶

To add extra tasks to your application, you can define the token USER_MAIN_CORES from your xua_conf.h configuration file. This inserts the macro inside main.xc after the main par statement meaning the compiler will run these tasks in parallel, either on a dedicated hardware thread or combine with other tasks if the task is marked as [[combinable]].

Alternatively, you may add an optional header file to your project called user_main_cores.h. If this file exists, its contents will be inserted into main.xc after the main par statement.

Example contents of user_main_cores.h:

on tile[1]: my_user_interface_task(c_usb_to_user_interface);

Configuring lib_xua¶

Configuration of the various build time options of lib_xua is done via the optional header xua_conf.h. To allow the build scripts to locate this file it should reside somewhere in the application src directory.

Such build time options include audio class version, sample rates, channel counts etc. Please see API reference for full listings.

The build system will automatically include the xua_conf.h header file as appropriate - the developer should continue to include xua.h as previously directed. A simple example xua_conf.h file is shown below:

#ifndef _XUA_CONF_H_
#define _XUA_CONF_H_

/* Output channel count */
#define XUA_NUM_USB_CHAN_OUT (2)

/* Product string */
#define XUA_PRODUCT_STR_A2 "My Product"

#endif

User functions¶

To enable custom functionality, such as configuring external audio hardware, bespoke behaviour on stream start/stop etc, various functions can be overridden by the user. (see API reference for full listings). The default implementations of these functions are empty.