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Greetings:
Is anyone aware if the Keil environment can embed comments is its HEX file output?
Embedding notes (title, version, copy-write, etc.) in HEX file output has proven helpful in my plethora of CCS PIC development.
We now have developed a program to load, via ULINK, sections of an ARM flash with customer specific data. It would obviously be helpful for this program to be reasonably sure the HEX file it is directed to load is of the proper type. Embedding an ID within the file would be a convenient means to prevent (well, minimize...) mistakes. True, one could manually edit an ID in the Keil HEX file output, but as I am not guaranteed to be in the future production chain, extra manual steps best be avoided.
Thanks for any comments. doug
the Intel HEX file format does not include a definition of comments.
It does have an end-of-file record, though. A properly working input routine for hex files should ignore everything that comes after that line ... in theory, that is. So you could put your comments after the EOF record. That would still limit your choice of tools, though, or put your comments at risk of being shredded by some of those tools.
OTOH the other common hex file format, Motorola S-Record, does indeed have a comment record. Well, sort of. The data bytes in the S0 record are effectively free for you to use as a comment. That's not terribly much, but it may suffice.