Release Note

Release v1.2.0 (9 September 2024)

Core and Library

• Adds Helium implementations for IIR-Blur operations
• Adds Canary to the scratch memory management
• Improves the porting user experience
• Adds a new API for colour-filling-with-A1-mask with/without opacity
• Fixes a potential issue found in the pixel-pipeline
  • In some rare case when the target region pointer is NULL, the operation behaviour is UNDEFINED
• Adds new series APIs for colour-filling-with-alpha-gradient
  • Adds variants for defining alpha gradient with 4-sample-points, 3-sample-points, vertial mode and horizontal mode
  • Adds varients for specifying a source mask
  • Adds varients for specifying an optional opacity
• Significantly improves the performance of transform operations
  • ~80% performance uplift for non-Helium powered Cortex-M processors
  • ~20% performance uplift for the helium version of colour-filling-with-mask-opacity-and-transform
  • Introduces an assumption that ALL masks and pictures should contains a 1-pixel width boarder when applied to the transform operations. The colour of the boarder should be same with the background of the picture or the corresponding alpha is always zero.
• Adds an experimental 2x Super-Sampling-Anti-Alias (2xSSAA) transform implementation
• Introduces new OOPC decorations ARM_PRIVATE_METHOD(), ARM_PROTECTED_METHOD() and ARM_PUBLIC_METHOD()

Helper Services

• Improves the Layout Assistant
  • Updates the layout assistant to improve the performance of user applications
  • Allows users to specify the layout alignment
• Adds a helper service for fonts and lcd display
  • Simplifies the support for user defined fonts.
  • Adds the scaling support to A1, A2 and A4 fonts
  • Improves the font display performance
  • Fixes some char size calculation issues
  • Adds a new API arm_lcd_puts_label to display a label with an user specified aligment requirement.
• Updates the scene player service
  • Adds a manual switching mode and allows user to cancel an on-going switching
  • Adds new switching mode, Fly-In, and adds an optional background blur effects to Fly-In mode
• Adds a helper services for user defined controls (user defined element tree)
  • Adds traversal algorithms: pre-order traversal, post-order traversal and bottom-up traversal
  • Adds a dedicated API for finding the top-most control with the coordinate of an user touch event
• Improves the helper service for list
  • Fixes some list-item-selection related issues
  • Adds the Non-Ring mode
• Improves the accuracy and behaviour of the PIHelper

Examples and Templates

• Adds a new scene template animate backgroundfor the new virtual resource background-image-loading mode
• Update the Benchmarks
  • Adds a 4-sample-point alpha gradient to the Generic Benchmark
  • Replaces the clock-pointer rotation transform operation from tile-transform-with-source-mask to colour-filling-with-mask-opacity-and-transform.
  • Updates the benchmark table
• Improves the overall performance and reduces the memory footprint
• Adds an background-only mode to the bubble charging scene template
• Updates the demo scene arm_2d_scene_basics to demonstarte the colour-filling-with-alpha-gradient operations.
• Improves the progress_bar_flowing, progress_bar_drill and progress_bar_simple
• Update list related controls
  • Adds a base class __simple_list_t
    
  • Re-factories the number_list_t to inherit from the __simple_list_t
  • Adds a new control text_list_t which is derived from __simple_list_t
  • Allows users to customize a number_list_t instance.
  • Adds new demos for list: Ruler and Hallow-Out List
  • Updates the scene template Fan to demonstrate the use of the text_list_t.
• Adds a new demo scene for testing tranform operations
• Updates the example control: nebula
  • Improves the performance
  • Adds support for the inside-out movement
• Improves the performance of the example Helium-ACI library
• Adds built-in fonts for a subset of the ASCII: ARM_2D_FONT_Arial14_A8, ARM_2D_FONT_Arial14_A4 ,ARM_2D_FONT_Arial14_A2 and ARM_2D_FONT_Arial14_A1
• Updates the asset c_tileSpinWheelMask to fulfill the requirement of the updated transform operations.
• Adds a new example control: spin_zoom_widget_t
  • Updates arm_2d_scene_fan and arm_2d_scene_watch to demonstrate the usage of spin_zoom_widget_t
• Adds a new example control: meter_pointer_t
  • Updates arm_2d_scene_meter to demonstrate the usage of meter_pointer_t
• Adds a new example control: cloudy_glass_t
• Adds a new demo: watch face 01

Documentation and Misc

• Improves python scripts in the tools folder.
  • Adds support for FT_PIXEL_MODE_MONO, FT_PIXEL_MODE_GRAY2 and FT_PIXEL_MODE_GRAY4 font in ttf2c.py
  • Allows adding an user defined header file in arm_2d_cfg.h by defining the macro __ARM_2D_USER_APP_CFG_H__.
  • Adds support for generating A1 mask to img2c.py
• Updates README.md and the doxygen script
• Updates the copy-right
• Improves the support for IAR

Release v1.1.6 (23 May 2024)

Core and Library

• Improves the compatibility with IAR and GCC
• Various fixes in the Helium library
• Adds new APIs for fill-colour-with-mirroring (with/without opacity)
• Adds new APIs for fill-colour-with-horizontal/vertical-line-masks (with/without opacity)
• Adds new APIs for tile-copy-with-source-mask-and-opacity
• Adds implicit conversion for ARGB8888 (ccca8888) in tile-copy APIs
  • Copy with Opacity
  • Copy with Source Masks (with/without Opacity)
• Adds experimental APIs for IIR blur
• Adds a Helium-ACI example library.
• Uses jinja scripts for generating source files
• Improves pixel-pipeline for processing masks

Helper Services

• Improves performance statistics
  • Allows frame-skipping when no valid dirty region
• Improves log services
  • Adds a dedicated channel for statistics
  • Adds a dedicated channel for example controls
  • Adds line number
• Improves scratch memory management
• Improves the layout assistant
  • Adds macro helpers for docking
  • Allows arm_2d_canvas to skip running when it is out of the partial-framebuffer valid region.
  • Improves the capability of the layout nesting.
  • Adds a layout assistant debug mode
• Improves the lcd printf service
  • Improves the scaling service
• Improves the Display Adapter service
  • Adds the support for screen rotation (90, 180 and 270 degrees) in the Display Adapter service
  • Adds colour information
  • Allows retargeting printf to LCD
  • Improves user application performance
  • Improves the support for UTF8
  • Adds arm_2d_helper_pfb_is_region_being_drawing
  • Adds a Tiny Mode for navigation layer
• Improves the Scene Player service
  • Adds the canvas colour to arm_2d_scene_t.
  • Adds an onLoad event to arm_2d_scene_t.
  • Adds a built-in dirty region helper service
  • Improves the scene switching effects
• Adds a helper service for byte FIFO: arm_2d_byte_fifo_t
• Adds __arm_2d_helper_time_elapsed
• Adds helper services for dirty regions
• Adds a code template for adding user defined OPCODE

Examples and Templates

• Improves the compatibility with CMSIS6
• Improves the complexity of the generic benchmark
• Adds an example control for drawing rounded corner images
• Allows changing the masks when
  • drawing rounded corner boxes
  • drawing rounded corner border
  • drawing progress wheel
• Adds built-in dirty region support to example controls
• Adds example project for csolution: [template][csolution]
• Improves code templates of the scene, the display adapter and the example control
• Adds demos
• Marks arm_extra_controls.h as deprecated. Please use arm_2d_example_controls.h instead.
• Adds new example controls:
  • console box
  • histogram
• Adds new scene templates:
  • alarm clock
  • bubble charging
  • fan
• Adds new assets
• Adds an onDrawParticles event handler to the dynamic nebular
• Fixes small issues in example controls
• Improve the PC template
• Reduces the memory footprint of example controls.
• Improves the performance of example controls

Documentation and Misc

• Improves python scripts in the tools folder.
• Adds a document for how-to-use-jinja-script-for-code-generation

Release v1.1.5 (01 Dec 2023)

Core and Library

• Improves the support for masks in the pixel-pipeline.
• Updates transform operations
  • Always generating a child tile for the target tile in transform operations.
  • Adds optimization for hollow out masks in C implementations
• Adds the support for adding Asynchronous acceleration, Synchronous acceleration and ACI acceleration.
• Adds the support for trace log
• Adds a new API: arm_2d_is_region_inside_target()

Helper Services

• Updates ttf2c.py for generating A1, A2 and A4 fonts.
• Updates the Display Adapter Service (the PFB Helper Service)
  • Introduces a Dry-Run mode in the PFB helper service.
  • Introduces the Dynamic Dirty Region, a new type of dirty region items that allows users to update its area during drawing and interact with the PFB. helper service.
  • Introduces the concept of virtual screen which is used to anchor the virtual screen in the PFB helper service.
  • Introduces the Dirty Region Optimization in the PFB Helper service.
  • Updates the performance statistic service in the Display Adapter service.
    • Introduces the CPU Usage info calculation.
    • Places the performance statistic to the Display Adapter class.
  • Simplifies the way of navigation layer customization.
  • Improves the robustness of the Asynchronous Flushing helper.
  • Improves the dirty region debug mode.
  • Updates the disp_adapter_task() to support Framerate-Locking in the bare-metal environment.
• Introduces helper macros for docking.
• Adds the char scaling support to A8 fonts.
• Updates the transform helper service.
  • Fixes an issue in region calculation.
  • Improves the performance.

Examples and Templates

• Adds a new example scene to demonstrate a curve-list-view.
• Adds a new example scene (arm_2d_scene_audiomark) to demonstrate the dirty region optimization
• Adds a new service, 3FB helper service for supporting the so-called Direct Mode.
• Updates example controls and scene templates.
  • Adds dirty regions to the Progress Wheel.
  • Adds a new API for drawing round corner image.
  • Updates the APIs for drawing round corner boxes and allows specifying user defined resources.
  • Updates the progress bars.
  • Adds a new scene template for fitness trackers.
• Updates benchmarks
  • Reduces the SRAM footprint of the tiny mode for the generic benchmark.
• Improve PC template

Documentation and Misc

• Adds an initial support for CMake.
• Introduces a header template arm_2d_user_arch_port.h and makes it easier to port arm-2d to a different architecture other than Cortex-M.
• Improves the support for C++ compilation.
• Fixes the support for the Arm Compiler 5.
• Improve the support for Arm Compiler 6.21.
• Adds a new document How To Accelerate Arm-2D
• Updates the document How To Deploy Arm-2D to introduce the supports for Asynchronous Flushing Mode and Direct Mode.
• Updates the benchmark generic result.
• Updates README.md.
• Adds ReleaseNote.md