V2.3

Release Notes

Maintenance & Code Quality Improvements

This release focuses on internal cleanups, diagnostics improvements, and maintenance updates across the GD32, HAL, and Pixel DMX codebase.

• Replaced bare assert(0) usages with clearer, more expressive assertions (assert(false) or assert(false && "")) to improve diagnostics and explicitly mark unreachable code paths.
• Updated copyright headers across multiple files to include 2026.
• Performed minor whitespace, formatting, indentation, and include-ordering cleanups.
• Adjusted NDEBUG handling in Pixel DMX JSON code.
• Applied small API tidies and refactors (cosmetic only, no behavior changes).
• Restored or added license headers in a small number of JSON parameter files.
• General source maintenance in several DMX, display, UDF, global, and Pixel DMX files.

These changes are non-functional and intended purely for readability, consistency, and maintainability.

New Utility Scripts

Several new helper scripts have been added under common/scripts to support development, testing, and device flashing workflows:

• udp_send.py

  A reusable UDP send/receive module with a command-line interface for quick testing and scripting.
• gd32/do-tftp.py

  A Python helper to drive TFTP transfers, built on top of udp_send and the system tftp client.
• gd32/flash.py

  A GD32 ROM bootloader flashing tool with an integrated UART monitor for upload and debugging.

Summary

• Improved assert diagnostics and unreachable-code clarity
• License and copyright updates (now through 2026)
• Formatting, whitespace, and include-order cleanups
• New Python utilities for UDP, TFTP, and GD32 flashing
• No functional or protocol-level behavior changes

V2.2

Release Notes – Codebase Refactor & Modularization

• Major project restructuring
  • Reorganized libraries and source files into a clearer, more modular directory structure.
  • Moved, renamed, or removed numerous files to reduce duplication and improve maintainability.
• Legacy code cleanup
  • Removed deprecated and unused code from lib-lightset, lib-network, lib-properties, and older display components.
  • Eliminated redundant parameter and platform-specific files no longer in use.
• Centralized common functionality
  • Migrated shared network, properties, and parameter code into a unified common directory.
  • Added new utility headers and source files for reusable functionality.
• JSON-based configuration support
  • Added new JSON configuration and parameter files.
  • Introduced JSON helper utilities and parameter classes to standardize configuration handling and prepare for future extensibility.
• DMX, RDM, and pixel refactor
  • Refactored DMX, RDM device handling, and pixel-related libraries for clearer structure and better separation of responsibilities.
  • Unified RDM device information handling.
• Build system updates
  • Updated Makefiles, build scripts, and compile_commands.json to reflect the new project structure.
  • Improved GD32 platform support and hardware abstraction organization.
• Network stack reorganization
  • Flattened lib-network source layout by moving files from subdirectories into a simpler structure.
  • Improved clarity of EMAC and Linux network interface implementations (no functional changes).
• Debug macro consistency
  • Replaced DEBUG_ENTRY / DEBUG_EXIT macros with function-style DEBUG_ENTRY() / DEBUG_EXIT() across the codebase for consistency and readability.
• Overall impact
  • Significantly improved modularity, readability, and long-term maintainability.
  • Laid groundwork for future feature expansion and more robust JSON-based configuration across modules.

V2.1

• Improved startup_gd32fxxx.S
• CMSIS has its own project now
• Upgraded to CMSIS V5.0.5
• Removed lib-debug. Now part of lib-hal
• Updated to latest GD32 Firmware
• Introduced debug software UART0
• Major cleanup lib-configstore
• In order to support Newlib; removed lib-c, lib-c++ and added lib-clib
• In order to support FreeRTOS; Added Software timers in H.A.L. framework.
• Get/Set pixel type by RDM (introduced by @PharosMarcusB)

V2.0

• Improved build system
• Added stack debug framework
• Removed not used source files
• Added support DMX delta output
• Added Manufacturer PIDs (https://www.gd32-dmx.org/rdm.html)
• Added support for void __libc_init_array(void)
• Changed the layout of the config store.
  • Before upgrading the firmware it is advised to make a backup of the configuration.
  • After the upgrade, then restore the saved configuration.