Custom protocol bruh?
#saleae#firmware

Custom protocol bruh?

Creating a custom protocol decoder for the Saleae logic analyzer.

Saleae protocol analyzers (custom protocol decoders) must be written in C++. Currently, Saleae Logic only supports native analyzers written in C++ as DLLs—there is no official Python or JavaScript API for custom analyzers. In this post, we’ll walk through setting up Visual Studio Code on Windows for developing these DLLs, building a bare-bones C++ decoder for a simple custom protocol, and testing/integration in Saleae Logic.

Overview: Custom Protocol Decoder for Saleae

The goal of this project is to create a simple protocol decoder DLL in C++ that:

  • Parses a custom protocol frame.
  • Checks for a start byte, a length byte, a payload, and a checksum.
  • Integrates with the Saleae logic analyzer via the Saleae C++ SDK.

Setting up Visual Studio Code

To build the DLL on Windows:

  1. Install Visual Studio Code:Download and install VS Code for Windows.
  2. Install Extensions:Add the official C/C++ extension and optionally the CMake Tools extension if you use CMake.
  3. Install Build Tools:Make sure you have the Visual Studio Build Tools installed with the MSVC compiler and Windows SDK.
  4. Workspace Setup:Create a project folder, open it in VS Code, and configure your build system (using CMake or an MSVC project) to build a DLL.

Conclusion

Using Visual Studio Code to develop a custom protocol decoder DLL for Saleae's logic analyzer streamlines the development and debugging process. This guide provided an overview of setting up your environment, a basic implementation of a custom protocol decoder, and steps for integrating and testing the DLL with Saleae’s software.

Happy coding!

ril3y•

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