Frequently asked Questions

Q: Does your library support the Motorola Freescale / Atmel AVR / ARM / SILABS / TI / DSPIC processors?

A: Currently, we only support Microchip’s PIC 18 family processors out-of-the-box. But it isn’t hard to port the library to most processors. The SFCLIB software library comes with full C sources, which consists of 4 files - SFCLIB.C, SFCLIB.H, SFC_HW.C and SFC_HW.H all you need to do is change SFC_HW.C and .H. There are 6 functions that handle the SPI interface. and a couple of delay functions. Get those to work on your hardware and you should be set to go.

 If you are familiar with using the SPI interface, you will find it easy to move the library to other processors.Any of the included Example files could be used as a starting point to set up a test project for the processor you’re porting to.

If your not sure you feel comfortable porting the code yourself we can do it for you please send us and email regarding the microcontroller and "C" compiler you would like to use and we will give you and estimate of the cost and how long it will take to complete.

Q: Do you support the Metrowerks / Microchip C18 / ImageCraft / IAR / CodeVision compilers?

 A: The library was developed using the HI-TECH C compiler, but all the sources are written in standard C, so any ANSI C compiler should be able to handle the code with minimal or no changes at all.

Q: What are the RAM/ROM requirements?

 A: The entire library was written to be efficient with memory more so than speed. So depending on what features you include, and how efficient your C compiler is, code size can vary greatly. Using the HI-TECH C compiler with the PIC18LF2610, code size varies between 6K and 15K, depending on which options are selected.

The RAM requirements start at about 100-200 bytes for read-only with no file system. Read/Write should be about 600-800 bytes, minimum. We normally use about 1200 bytes, but this is just to have two 512-byte buffers for faster file copies.

Q: Does the SFCLIB support long file names?

A: We do not currently support long filenames, but we do think it would be a valuable feature, along with subdirectory support. (The down side of using long file names and FAT32 is, if Microsoft has its way, you will have to pay them a royalty for every product you sell that uses it. for more information look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAT_file_system
Scroll down to the section on Fat Licensing. and READ IT if nothing else it shows how Much power Microsoft really has. Not even the U.S. Patent office can take a stand against them. The hope now is that there will be an appeal....?

Q: Am I required to pay a license/royalty fee for any products I sell that include the SFCLIB?

A: There are no royalty fees Connected with Efficient Computer Systems - meaning you are free to sell as many products as you wish using the fully licensed version of SFCLIB. However, you must purchase one license for each person designing firmware/software with the library. 

The down side of using FAT32 is, if Microsoft has its way, you will have to pay them a royalty for every product you sell that uses FAT32. for more information look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAT_file_system
Scroll down to the section on Fat Licensing. and READ IT if nothing else it shows how Much power Microsoft really has. Not even the U.S. Patent office can take a stand against them. The hope now is that there will be an appeal....?

The SFCLIB avoids Licensing problems with the "Secure Digital Alliance" by using the SPI mode which does not require licensing.

with the MMCA they only require royalties from card manufactures this means that some of the new faster MMC formats like MMC PLUS and MMC Mobile may be better options for products that need faster speeds than the current 1-bit SPI interface.

Some of the Newer MMC cards have 8bit wide data path this will allow future Versions of the SFCLIB to get 8X data rate with the same clock. Check your web site for updates !

Q: Will your library support SD/MMC cards greater than 2 Gigabytes?

A: Yes. In spite of what the SD specification says, current SD and MMC cards can handle up to 4 GB (the specification sets the limit at 2 GB.)However, the current card technology has a 4 Gigabyte limit. There is a new standard out called SDHC (SD High Capacity.) It will support cards in excess of 2 Terabytes. Manufacturers using SDHC will be required to pay a royalty or membership to the SDA.org.

We would like to hear feedback from people that feel they would like us to add support for the SDHC even though they would need to pay some kind of royalty to the SDA.

 One nice thing about the MMC group is that they do not require royalty from product manufactures - only memory card manufactures are required to pay.

We are just starting to look at SDHC now, and don’t know yet if and when we will release an SDHC-compatible library. Please send us you feed back on what is important to you thanks.

Q: When new versions of SFCLIB are released, do I get upgrades for free?

A: Minor releases (bug fixes and small features) are free. Major updates will have a fee. Please refer to the inside cover of the User’s Manual for more information about upgrades and technical support.

Q: Are there any issues with Microsoft’s copyrights to the FAT16 and FAT32 file systems?

A: When pubpat.org had managed to get Microsoft’s FAT patent overturned in Q3 2004, I thought it was safe to design this library. However, in January of 2006, the patent office again reversed its decision and gave Microsoft its patents. But from what I understand, these patents cover only FAT32 and VFAT (which is long filenames.) So if you stick to using FAT16, you should be clear of any patent problems.

On the other hand, I am not a patent lawyer, so please check it out for yourself. 

The link below is the best information I have found. It covers all kinds of FAT info. Look for a section marked FAT Licensing. I would also recommend www.patlaw.org.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Allocation_Table

Q: After online payment, can I download the library/source while I am waiting for my CD?

A: No, but we can e-mail you an installer instead if receiving a cd the installer when run will create a directory on the C:\ that will contain everything that normally comes with the CD.