General Purpose Timer¶
Introduction¶
The ESP32 chip contains two hardware timer groups. Each group has two general-purpose hardware timers. They are all 64-bit generic timers based on 16-bit pre-scalers and 64-bit up / down counters which are capable of being auto-reloaded.
Functional Overview¶
The following sections of this document cover the typical steps to configure and operate a timer:
Timer Initialization - covers which parameters should be set up to get the timer working, and also what specific functionality is provided depending on the timer configuration.
Timer Control - describes how to read a timer’s value, pause or start a timer, and change how it operates.
Alarms - shows how to set and use alarms.
Interrupts- explains how to use interrupt callbacks.
Timer Initialization¶
The two ESP32 timer groups, with two timers in each, provide the total of four individual timers for use. An ESP32 timer group should be identified using timer_group_t
. An individual timer in a group should be identified with timer_idx_t
.
First of all, the timer should be initialized by calling the function timer_init()
and passing a structure timer_config_t
to it to define how the timer should operate. In particular, the following timer parameters can be set:
Clock Source: Select the clock source, which together with the Divider define the resolution of the working timer. By default the clock source is APB_CLK (typically 80 MHz).
Divider: Sets how quickly the timer’s counter is “ticking”. The setting
divider
is used as a divisor of the clock source.Mode: Sets if the counter should be incrementing or decrementing. It can be defined using
counter_dir
by selecting one of the values fromtimer_count_dir_t
.Counter Enable: If the counter is enabled, it will start incrementing / decrementing immediately after calling
timer_init()
. You can change the behavior withcounter_en
by selecting one of the values fromtimer_start_t
.Alarm Enable: Can be set using
alarm_en
.Auto Reload: Sets if the counter should
auto_reload
the initial counter value on the timer’s alarm or continue incrementing or decrementing.
To get the current values of the timer’s settings, use the function timer_get_config()
.
Timer Control¶
Once the timer is enabled, its counter starts running. To enable the timer, call the function timer_init()
with counter_en
set to true
, or call timer_start()
. You can specify the timer’s initial counter value by calling timer_set_counter_value()
. To check the timer’s current value, call timer_get_counter_value()
or timer_get_counter_time_sec()
.
To pause the timer at any time, call timer_pause()
. To resume it, call timer_start()
.
To reconfigure the timer, you can call timer_init()
. This function is described in Section Timer Initialization.
You can also reconfigure the timer by using dedicated functions to change individual settings:
Setting |
Dedicated Function |
Description |
---|---|---|
Divider |
Change the rate of ticking. To avoid unpredictable results, the timer should be paused when changing the divider. If the timer is running, |
|
Mode |
Set if the counter should be incrementing or decrementing |
|
Auto Reload |
Set if the initial counter value should be reloaded on the timer’s alarm |
Alarms¶
To set an alarm, call the function timer_set_alarm_value()
and then enable the alarm using timer_set_alarm()
. The alarm can also be enabled during the timer initialization stage, when timer_init()
is called.
After the alarm is enabled, and the timer reaches the alarm value, the following two actions can occur depending on the configuration:
An interrupt will be triggered if previously configured. See Section Interrupts on how to configure interrupts.
When
auto_reload
is enabled, the timer’s counter will automatically be reloaded to start counting again from a previously configured value. This value should be set in advance withtimer_set_counter_value()
.
Note
If an alarm value is set and the timer has already reached this value, the alarm is triggered immediately.
Once triggered, the alarm is disabled automatically and needs to be re-enabled to trigger again.
To check the specified alarm value, call timer_get_alarm_value()
.
Interrupts¶
Registration of an interrupt callback for a specific timer can be done by calling timer_isr_callback_add()
and passing in the group ID, timer ID, callback handler and user data. The callback handler will be invoked in ISR context, so user shouldn’t put any blocking API in the callback function.
The benefit of using interrupt callback instead of precessing interrupt from scratch is, you don’t have to deal with interrupt status check and clean stuffs, they are all addressed before the callback got run in driver’s default interrupt handler.
For more information on how to use interrupts, please see the application example below.
Application Example¶
The 64-bit hardware timer example: peripherals/timer_group.
API Reference¶
Header File¶
Functions¶
-
esp_err_t
timer_get_counter_value
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, uint64_t *timer_val)¶ Read the counter value of hardware timer.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]timer_val
: Pointer to accept timer counter value.
-
esp_err_t
timer_get_counter_time_sec
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, double *time)¶ Read the counter value of hardware timer, in unit of a given scale.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]time
: Pointer, type of double*, to accept timer counter value, in seconds.
-
esp_err_t
timer_set_counter_value
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, uint64_t load_val)¶ Set counter value to hardware timer.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]load_val
: Counter value to write to the hardware timer.
-
esp_err_t
timer_start
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Start the counter of hardware timer.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]
-
esp_err_t
timer_pause
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Pause the counter of hardware timer.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]
-
esp_err_t
timer_set_counter_mode
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, timer_count_dir_t counter_dir)¶ Set counting mode for hardware timer.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]counter_dir
: Counting direction of timer, count-up or count-down
-
esp_err_t
timer_set_auto_reload
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, timer_autoreload_t reload)¶ Enable or disable counter reload function when alarm event occurs.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]reload
: Counter reload mode.
-
esp_err_t
timer_set_divider
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, uint32_t divider)¶ Set hardware timer source clock divider. Timer groups clock are divider from APB clock.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]divider
: Timer clock divider value. The divider’s range is from from 2 to 65536.
-
esp_err_t
timer_set_alarm_value
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, uint64_t alarm_value)¶ Set timer alarm value.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]alarm_value
: A 64-bit value to set the alarm value.
-
esp_err_t
timer_get_alarm_value
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, uint64_t *alarm_value)¶ Get timer alarm value.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]alarm_value
: Pointer of A 64-bit value to accept the alarm value.
-
esp_err_t
timer_set_alarm
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, timer_alarm_t alarm_en)¶ Enable or disable generation of timer alarm events.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]alarm_en
: To enable or disable timer alarm function.
-
esp_err_t
timer_isr_callback_add
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, timer_isr_t isr_handler, void *arg, int intr_alloc_flags)¶ Add ISR handle callback for the corresponding timer.
The callback should return a bool value to determine whether need to do YIELD at the end of the ISR.
- Note
This ISR handler will be called from an ISR. This ISR handler do not need to handle interrupt status, and should be kept short. If you want to realize some specific applications or write the whole ISR, you can call timer_isr_register(…) to register ISR.
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group numbertimer_num
: Timer index of timer groupisr_handler
: Interrupt handler function, it is a callback function.arg
: Parameter for handler functionintr_alloc_flags
: Flags used to allocate the interrupt. One or multiple (ORred) ESP_INTR_FLAG_* values. See esp_intr_alloc.h for more info.
If the intr_alloc_flags value ESP_INTR_FLAG_IRAM is set, the handler function must be declared with IRAM_ATTR attribute and can only call functions in IRAM or ROM. It cannot call other timer APIs.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
-
esp_err_t
timer_isr_callback_remove
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Remove ISR handle callback for the corresponding timer.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group numbertimer_num
: Timer index of timer group
-
esp_err_t
timer_isr_register
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, void (*fn)(void *), void *arg, int intr_alloc_flags, timer_isr_handle_t *handle, )¶ Register Timer interrupt handler, the handler is an ISR. The handler will be attached to the same CPU core that this function is running on.
If the intr_alloc_flags value ESP_INTR_FLAG_IRAM is set, the handler function must be declared with IRAM_ATTR attribute and can only call functions in IRAM or ROM. It cannot call other timer APIs. Use direct register access to configure timers from inside the ISR in this case.
- Note
If use this function to reigster ISR, you need to write the whole ISR. In the interrupt handler, you need to call timer_spinlock_take(..) before your handling, and call timer_spinlock_give(…) after your handling.
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group numbertimer_num
: Timer index of timer groupfn
: Interrupt handler function.arg
: Parameter for handler functionintr_alloc_flags
: Flags used to allocate the interrupt. One or multiple (ORred) ESP_INTR_FLAG_* values. See esp_intr_alloc.h for more info.handle
: Pointer to return handle. If non-NULL, a handle for the interrupt will be returned here.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
-
esp_err_t
timer_init
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, const timer_config_t *config)¶ Initializes and configure the timer.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]config
: Pointer to timer initialization parameters.
-
esp_err_t
timer_deinit
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Deinitializes the timer.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]
-
esp_err_t
timer_get_config
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, timer_config_t *config)¶ Get timer configure value.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index, 0 for hw_timer[0] & 1 for hw_timer[1]config
: Pointer of struct to accept timer parameters.
-
esp_err_t
timer_group_intr_enable
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_intr_t intr_mask)¶ Enable timer group interrupt, by enable mask.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1intr_mask
: Timer interrupt enable mask.TIMER_INTR_T0: t0 interrupt
TIMER_INTR_T1: t1 interrupt
TIMER_INTR_WDT: watchdog interrupt
-
esp_err_t
timer_group_intr_disable
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_intr_t intr_mask)¶ Disable timer group interrupt, by disable mask.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1intr_mask
: Timer interrupt disable mask.TIMER_INTR_T0: t0 interrupt
TIMER_INTR_T1: t1 interrupt
TIMER_INTR_WDT: watchdog interrupt
-
esp_err_t
timer_enable_intr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Enable timer interrupt.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index.
-
esp_err_t
timer_disable_intr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Disable timer interrupt.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index.
-
void
timer_group_intr_clr_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Clear timer interrupt status, just used in ISR.
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index.
-
void
timer_group_clr_intr_status_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Clear timer interrupt status, just used in ISR.
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index.
-
void
timer_group_enable_alarm_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Enable alarm interrupt, just used in ISR.
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index.
-
uint64_t
timer_group_get_counter_value_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Get the current counter value, just used in ISR.
- Return
Counter value
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index.
-
void
timer_group_set_alarm_value_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, uint64_t alarm_val)¶ Set the alarm threshold for the timer, just used in ISR.
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index.alarm_val
: Alarm threshold.
-
void
timer_group_set_counter_enable_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num, timer_start_t counter_en)¶ Enable/disable a counter, just used in ISR.
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index.counter_en
: Enable/disable.
-
timer_intr_t
timer_group_intr_get_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num)¶ Get the masked interrupt status, just used in ISR.
- Return
Interrupt status
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1
-
uint32_t
timer_group_get_intr_status_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num)¶ Get interrupt status, just used in ISR.
- Return
Interrupt status
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1
-
void
timer_group_clr_intr_sta_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_intr_t intr_mask)¶ Clear the masked interrupt status, just used in ISR.
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1intr_mask
: Masked interrupt.
-
bool
timer_group_get_auto_reload_in_isr
(timer_group_t group_num, timer_idx_t timer_num)¶ Get auto reload enable status, just used in ISR.
- Return
True Auto reload enabled
False Auto reload disabled
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1timer_num
: Timer index
-
esp_err_t
timer_spinlock_take
(timer_group_t group_num)¶ Take timer spinlock to enter critical protect.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1
-
esp_err_t
timer_spinlock_give
(timer_group_t group_num)¶ Give timer spinlock to exit critical protect.
- Return
ESP_OK Success
ESP_ERR_INVALID_ARG Parameter error
- Parameters
group_num
: Timer group number, 0 for TIMERG0 or 1 for TIMERG1
Type Definitions¶
-
typedef bool (*
timer_isr_t
)(void *)¶ Interrupt handle callback function. User need to retrun a bool value in callback.
- Return
True Do task yield at the end of ISR
False Not do task yield at the end of ISR
- Note
If you called FreeRTOS functions in callback, you need to return true or false based on the retrun value of argument
pxHigherPriorityTaskWoken
. For example,xQueueSendFromISR
is called in callback, if the return valuepxHigherPriorityTaskWoken
of any FreeRTOS calls is pdTRUE, return true; otherwise return false.
-
typedef intr_handle_t
timer_isr_handle_t
¶ Interrupt handle, used in order to free the isr after use. Aliases to an int handle for now.
Header File¶
Structures¶
-
struct
timer_config_t
¶ Data structure with timer’s configuration settings.
Public Members
-
timer_alarm_t
alarm_en
¶ Timer alarm enable
-
timer_start_t
counter_en
¶ Counter enable
-
timer_intr_mode_t
intr_type
¶ Interrupt mode
-
timer_count_dir_t
counter_dir
¶ Counter direction
-
timer_autoreload_t
auto_reload
¶ Timer auto-reload
-
uint32_t
divider
¶ Counter clock divider. The divider’s range is from from 2 to 65536.
-
timer_alarm_t
Enumerations¶
-
enum
timer_group_t
¶ Selects a Timer-Group out of 2 available groups.
Values:
-
TIMER_GROUP_0
= 0¶ Hw timer group 0
-
TIMER_GROUP_1
= 1¶ Hw timer group 1
-
TIMER_GROUP_MAX
¶
-
-
enum
timer_idx_t
¶ Select a hardware timer from timer groups.
Values:
-
TIMER_0
= 0¶ Select timer0 of GROUPx
-
TIMER_1
= 1¶ Select timer1 of GROUPx
-
TIMER_MAX
¶
-
-
enum
timer_count_dir_t
¶ Decides the direction of counter.
Values:
-
TIMER_COUNT_DOWN
= 0¶ Descending Count from cnt.high|cnt.low
-
TIMER_COUNT_UP
= 1¶ Ascending Count from Zero
-
TIMER_COUNT_MAX
¶
-
-
enum
timer_start_t
¶ Decides whether timer is on or paused.
Values:
-
TIMER_PAUSE
= 0¶ Pause timer counter
-
TIMER_START
= 1¶ Start timer counter
-
-
enum
timer_intr_t
¶ Interrupt types of the timer.
Values:
-
TIMER_INTR_T0
= BIT(0)¶ interrupt of timer 0
-
TIMER_INTR_T1
= BIT(1)¶ interrupt of timer 1
-
TIMER_INTR_WDT
= BIT(2)¶ interrupt of watchdog
-
TIMER_INTR_NONE
= 0¶
-
-
enum
timer_alarm_t
¶ Decides whether to enable alarm mode.
Values:
-
TIMER_ALARM_DIS
= 0¶ Disable timer alarm
-
TIMER_ALARM_EN
= 1¶ Enable timer alarm
-
TIMER_ALARM_MAX
¶
-
-
enum
timer_intr_mode_t
¶ Select interrupt type if running in alarm mode.
Values:
-
TIMER_INTR_LEVEL
= 0¶ Interrupt mode: level mode
-
TIMER_INTR_MAX
¶
-
-
enum
timer_autoreload_t
¶ Select if Alarm needs to be loaded by software or automatically reload by hardware.
Values:
-
TIMER_AUTORELOAD_DIS
= 0¶ Disable auto-reload: hardware will not load counter value after an alarm event
-
TIMER_AUTORELOAD_EN
= 1¶ Enable auto-reload: hardware will load counter value after an alarm event
-
TIMER_AUTORELOAD_MAX
¶
-