RIOT-2021.01 - Release Notes

RIOT is a multi-threading operating system which enables soft real-time
capabilities and comes with support for a range of devices that are typically
found in the Internet of Things: 8-bit and 16-bit microcontrollers as well as
light-weight 32-bit processors.

RIOT is based on the following design principles: energy-efficiency, soft
real-time capabilities, small memory footprint, modularity, and uniform API
access, independent of the underlying hardware (with partial POSIX compliance).

RIOT is developed by an international open-source community which is
independent of specific vendors (e.g. similarly to the Linux community) and is
licensed with a non-viral copyleft license (LGPLv2.1), which allows indirect
business models around the free open-source software platform provided by RIOT.

About this release:

The 2021.01 release includes:

Device Firmware Upgrade support for USBUS
USB HID minimal implementation
IEEE 802.15.4 security initial implementation
6LowPAN Minimal Forwarding and Selective Fragment Recovery initial
implementation
Initial support for QN808x, SAMD10 STM32MP1 and STM32L5 CPUs
Initial support for Cortex-M33
A module for selecting entropy sources
Initial support for the Decawave Impulse Radio-Ultra Wideband (UWB Core)
Capability to join or leave link layer multicast groups (GNRC)
Support for IN865 region in GNRC LoRaWAN
83 additional modules supported by Kconfig
14 new boards, 6 new device drivers, 8 packages updated

In order to improve community interaction, during this release cycle we started
to migrate from a mailing-list-based communication to forum-based
communication. We are proud to present the RIOT-OS forum available at
forum.riot-os.org

533 pull requests, composed of 1440 commits, have been merged since the
last release, and 65 issues have been solved. 58 people contributed with
code in 119 days. 3852 files have been touched with 348619 (+) insertions and
52516 deletions (-).

Notations used below:

+ means new feature/item
* means modified feature/item
- means removed feature/item

New features and changes

Core

msg_bus: allow to differ between messages form bus and from thread
mutex: Add mutex_cancel
mbox: add mbox_size(), mbox_avail()

refactor thread info

remove kernel_types.h

System Libraries

Add thread-safe Malloc
sys/tsrb: Make thread-safe
mtd_mapper: implement pagewise functions
xtimer: introduce xtimer_msleep()
usbus: Add USB peripheral serial string support
hashes: Add PBKDF2-sha256 implementation
usbus/dfu: add Device Firmware Upgrade support for USBUS
USB HID minimal implementation
Add helpers for pointer tagging
atomic_utils: Functions for atomic access
entropy_source: add new module for entropy sources
nimble_autoadv: add new module

ztimer:
- add ztimer_mutex_lock_timeout()
- fix xtimer_compat
- increase xtimer_compat coverage
oneway-malloc: check calloc args
event: Allow single event_thread handling all queues

irq_handler: Drop module

Networking

gnrc_netif: add capability to join or leave link layer multicast groups
gnrc_sixlowpan_frag:
- initial import of Minimal Forwarding according to RFC 8930
- initial import of Selective Fragment Recovery (RFC 8931)
gnrc_netif_ethernet: Support RX timestamp
Initial implementation of IEEE 802.15.4 security
sock: add access to auxiliary data

gnrc_pkt: refactor to not use utlist.h
sys/net/gnrc: fix in-band signaling of no RSSI
gnrc_netif_pktq: fix pktbuf leak
Fixed a critical bug, allowing to crash the whole system with a specially
crafted LoRa frame
GNRC LoRaWAN:
- Support for IN865 region, Improve debugging
- GNRC LoRaWAN: Bug fix for zero CFList
IEEE 802154 Radio HAL:
- add read function
- add IEEE802154_RADIO_INDICATION_CRC_ERROR
- add IEEE802154_RADIO_INDICATION_TX_START
- add helpers for RSSI and dBm conversion
- fix wrong rssi conversions treewide
IEEE 802.15.4 SubMAC:
- add retransmission reporting
- enable ACK_REQ by default
- unify legacy and radio HAL bootstrap
gcoap:
- Process CON responses
- make blocksize configurable

Remove deprecated features
- gcoap: remove deprecated gcoap_add_qstring
- gnrc_nettype: remove GNRC_NETTYPE_IOVEC
- gnrc_pktbuf: drop gnrc_pktbuf_replace_snip()
- gnrc_sixlowpan_rb: remove GNRC_SIXLOWPAN_FRAG_RBUF_AGGRESSIVE_OVERRIDE
- sock/dtls: remove sock_dtls_session_create due to deprecation

Packages

openthread: add support for radios compatible with SubMAC
uwb_core: initial support

Updates:
- littlefs2: Bump to v2.3
- jsmn: bump version
- libb2: update to latest release
- libhydrogen: bump version
- micro-ecc: bump version
- tinycrypt: bump version
- fatfs: bump version to r0.14
- gecko_sdk: update to v2.7.7
- hacl: switch upstream to backup copy
- lvgl: bump to v7.7.1
openwsn:
- add ieee802154_hal based radio
- openwsn: add sock_udp

nordic-softdevice: remove deprecated package

Boards

Renode:
- stm32f4discovery: Add initial renode support
- firefly: add renode configuration
- hifive*: add renode support
Arduino feature:
- waspmote-pro: add arduino feature
- remote-revb: add arduino feature

New boards:
- ESP32-Ethernet-Kit
- arduino-nano-33-iot
- weact-f401cc / weact-f401ce / weact-f411ce
- e104-bt5011a-tb
- e180-zg120b-tb
- feather-m0-lora
- nrf52840-mdk-dongle
- nucleo-l011k4
- nucleo-l552ze-q
- frdm-kl43z
- slstk3400a
- stk3200
- SAM D10 Xplained Mini
Particle boards: Support monofirmware builds and uploads
saul_pwm: auto-init'able RGB LEDs and dimmers for:
- particle-argon / particle-boron / particle-xenon
- nrf52840-mdk-dongle
- nrf52840dongle
native: allow to use ZEP instead of tap
ikea-tradfri: add SPI NOR Flash configuration

CPU

Cortex-M33: add initial support
nrf5x: implement periph_timer_periodic
nrf52: Add i2c reconfigure feature
SAMD10: Add support
stm32l5: add initial support
stm32mp1: Add initial support
QN908x: Add initial support

atmega_common: Split into atmega_common and avr8_common
Improve clock configuration
stm32:
- rtc: add unlock/lock to rtc_clear_alarm
- uart: set flow control bits before enabling uart
- cpu/stm32: enable overdrive mode on f4 and f7 for high clock speeds
- cpu/stm32: Fix & cleanup periph_eth
esp:
- implement ESP WiFi SoftAP mode
- Fix cast alignment issues
sam3/periph_timer: fix trigger of cleared timer
native:
- rtc: add rtc_set_time implementation
- fix memory leak
- remove unused can_linux module
cc2538:
- add riotboot feature
- add flashpage & flashpage_raw
- add periph_uart_nonblocking
efm32:
- add coretemp driver
- add watchdog peripheral
sam0_common:
- cpu/sam0: add initial ethernet support
- flashpage: add functions to write to user config area / AUX page
- flashpage: rename to sam0_flashpage_aux_write()
- SPI: add support for QSPI in SPI mode

Device Drivers

Add utilities for Ethernet Media-Independent Interface (MII) and use them in
STM32 periph_eth
cst816s: Initial include of cst816s touch screen driver
gp2y10xx dust sensor
DS3231 RTC
periph_common: dac: add dac_play()
scd30: Add reset function to Sensirion scd30 sensor
si1133: New SI1133 UV/IR/Ambient light driver
sc: Add driver for Honeywell HSC series pressure and temperature sensor
ndev: add mcp2515 + driver/mcp2515: add driver
net: Add netdev_driver_t::confirm_send
PTP Clock

cpu/stm32:
- periph_eth: Use auto-negotiation
- Fix periph_eth link status
- Fix reception bug in periph_eth
nrf802154:
- change internal state to idle after rx
- fix set_cca_threshold range
- fix unwanted emissions at the end of ACK frame
- fix state transition and off function
- nrf802154: default to netdev_ieee802154_submac
cc2538_rf:
- fix transmit function
- default to netdev_ieee802154_submac
at86rf2xx: fix null pointer check
at86rf215:
- add functions to configure trim & clock output at run-time
- implement battery monitor, add power bus
- implement MR-FSK
- make use of packet queue if available
- fix dependency resolution for 2.4 GHz
w5100.c: correct the pointer position when w5100's buf is full
srf04: fix overflow on AVR
periph/rtt: fix overflow in tick conversion macros
mtd_flashpage: fix erasure of multiple sectors
mtd_spi_nor: cleanup & bug fixes

Documentation

README: Add merge-chance badge
riotboot: add basic porting guide
emulators: add emulators documentation in Doxygen
SECURITY.md: Add initial security policy

generate-changelog: add support for point releases
add Docker info to doxygen
drivers/netdev: Clarify documentation
README.md: move tapsetup section to documentation
native: Improve Documentation
CONTRIBUTING: cleanup and reorganize
core/msg_bus: enhance documentation
cpu/stm32: rewrite clock configuration documentation
doc: advertise forum.riot-os.org
doc: Give examples of what DEVELHELP does
gnrc/rpl: document implementation status
ieee802154/radio: indicate that FCS is ignored when reading buffer
uhcp: improve documentation
update board porting documentation page

Build System / Tooling

testbed-support: add iotlab mapping for dwm1001
info.inc.mk: Add info-build-json as JSON-formatted build info
makefiles/utils: add util to compare to software versions
emulator: add debug feature with qemu emulator

Makefile.include: avoid recursive expansion of USEMODULE

makefiles/pseudomodules.inc.mk: netdev_ieee802154_legacy is a pseudomodule

dist/tools/bmp: Fix flashing with pygdbmi 0.10.0
drivers/at86rf215: fix dependency resolution for single radio
cpu/esp*: fix linker scripts
info-objsize: Restore info-objsize target
make: run static_tests.sh directly with static-tests target
picolibc: model as a feature
tools/esptool: add common makefile to define esptool variables
dist/tools: Use bash instead of sh where needed
tools/emulator: allow use with *term targets + introduce EMULATE=1 instead of emulate target
mips: adapt for toolchain update (2020.06-01)

remove the bootloader_% pseudo-feature, replace it with highlevel_stdio

Continuous Integration

use Github actions for static tests instead of Travis
- Add support for Github annotations.
gh-actions/release-test: bump ssh-agent to v0.4.1

Testing

tests/mpu_stack_guard: add automatic test script
tests/mtd_raw: add simple test for MTD

treewide: cleanup ENABLE_DEBUG
release-tests: fix artifact naming and steps cleanup for matrix build
tests/sys_atomic_utils_unittests: spice up test
tests/unittests: split out atomic_utils unittests
sys/shell: terminate shell on Ctrl-D

Kconfig

Modules with support added:
- drivers/{a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j}*
- drivers/ili9341
- test/periph_*
cpu/stm32: add script to generate Kconfig.models and Kconfig.lines files
add modules to test on native
Clock configuration for:
- stm32l4
- stm32l5
- stm32wb
- stm32f0
- stm32g0g4
- stm32l0l1
- stm32f1f3

drivers/rn2xx3 : Kconfig updates.
MQTT-SN Clients: Kconfig Updates

Examples

gnrc_networking: add option to enable DNS

gnrc_border_route: simplify ZEP setup on native
suit_update: use interactive sync in test
gcoap: Allow PUT/POST with empty payload
suit_update: update IETF draft reference in the README

API Changes

periph_flashpage: Make pagewise API optional
net/eui_provider: API cleanup
sock/dtls: add getter/setter for the remote UDP endpoint of sock_dtls_session_t
drivers/pn532: use pseudomodules to select i2c or spi
GNRC: fix in-band signaling of no RSSI

Deprecations

Removals

Remove deprecated features:
- gnrc_nettype: remove GNRC_NETTYPE_IOVEC
- gnrc_sixlowpan_rb: remove GNRC_SIXLOWPAN_FRAG_RBUF_AGGRESSIVE_OVERRIDE
- pkg/nordic-softdevice: remove deprecated package
- boards/native: remove all-debug deprecated target
- gnrc_pktbuf: drop gnrc_pktbuf_replace_snip()
- sys/irq_handler: Drop module
- sock/dtls: remove sock_dtls_session_create due to deprecation
- gcoap: remove deprecated gcoap_add_qstring
- pkg/tinydtls: remove deprecation message about some CFLAGS

Known issues

Networking related issues (43)

#15867: Address registration handling inappropriate
#14962: LoRaWan node ISR stack overflowed
#14689: dist/tools/sliptty/start_network.sh: IPv6 connectivity is broken on PC
#13997: ping6 is failing when testing with cc2538dk
#13745: ethos: Unable to choose global source address.
#13493: ethernet: Missing multicast addr assignment
#13280: nrf52: Not able to add global or ULA address to interface
#13088: Riot-os freezes with lwip + enc28j60 + stm32L4
#12943: driver/mrf24j40: blocks shell input with auto_init_gnrc_netif
#12884: examples/cord_ep: Dead lock when (re-)registering in callback function
#12857: examples/gnrc_networking_mac broken on ATmega
#12761: samr30 xpro doesn't seem to use its radio ok
#12642: Emcute cannot create a double-byte name
#12565: gnrc_icmpv6_echo: flood-pinging another node leads to leaks in own
packet buffer
#12264: ethos: Unable to handle fragmented IPv6 packets from Linux kernel
#12210: stale border router does not get replaced
#11988: ethos: fails to respond to first message.
#11860: send data with UDP at 10HZ, the program die
#11852: scan-build errors found during 2019.07 testing
#11405: nrfmin: communication not possible after multicast ping with no interval
#11033: 6lo: RIOT does not receive packets from Linux when short_addr is set
#10969: net: netdev_driver_t::send() doc unclear
#10861: cpu/esp8266: Tracking open problems of esp_wifi netdev driver
#10809: openthread: does not build on current Arch
#10410: Missing drop implementations in netdev_driver_t::recv
#10389: gnrc_sock_udp: Possible Race condition on copy in application buffer
#10380: netdev_ieee802154: Mismatch between radio ll address and in memory
address
#10370: gomach: Resetting netif with cli doesn't return
#10338: xbee: setting PAN ID sometimes fails
#8779: CC2538 RF overlapping PIN usage
#8752: mrf24j40: does not link for examples/default
#8271: app/netdev: application stops working after receiving frames with
assertion or completely without error
#8242: at86rf2xx: Dead lock when sending while receiving
#8199: gcoap example request on tap I/F fails with NIB issue
#7737: pkg: libcoap is partially broken and outdated
#7474: 6lo gnrc fragmentation expects driver to block on TX
#7304: General 802.15.4/CC2538 RF driver dislikes fast ACKs
#6018: nRF52: gnrc_6lowpan_ble: memory leak with nordic_softdevice_ble
#5863: OSX + SAMR21-xpro: shell cannot handle command inputs larger than 64
chars
#5486: at86rf2xx: lost interrupts
#5230: gnrc ipv6: multicast packets are not dispatched to the upper layers
#5051: Forwarding a packet back to its link layer source should not be allowed
#4527: gnrc_ipv6: Multicast is not forwarded if routing node listens to the
address

Timer related issues (16)

#13345: sys/xtimer: segmentation fault: in function xtimer_msg_received_timeout
#13321: Sleep mode for Arduino
#13072: periph/timer: timer_set() underflow safety check (tracking issue)
#10545: periph_timer: systematic proportional error in timer_set
#10523: saml21 system time vs rtc
#10510: xtimer_set_msg: crash when using same message for 2 timers
#10073: xtimer_usleep wrong delay time
#9187: sys/newlib: gettimeofday() returns time since boot, not current wall
time.
#9052: misc issues with tests/trickle
#9049: xtimer mis-scaling with long sleep times
#8746: stm32_common/periph/rtc: current implementation broken/poor accuracy
#8251: MSP430: periph_timer clock config wrong
#7347: xtimer_usleep stuck for small values
#7114: xtimer: add's items to the wrong list if the timer overflows between
_xtimer_now() and irq_disable()
#6442: cpu/native: timer interrupt issue
#6052: tests: xtimer_drift gets stuck on native

Drivers related issues (14)

#15121: PWM: Single-phase initialization creates flicker
#14506: mdt_erase success, but vfs_format resets board (esp32-heltec-lora32-v2)
#14439: (almost solved) SPI SD-Card driver: SPI initialisation freeze until
timeout
#14424: adc is not a ADC-Driver but a analog pin abstraction
#13527: examples/dtls-wolfssl not working on pba-d-01-kw2x
#13444: Potential security and safety race conditions on attached devices
#13079: drivers/srf04: incorrect values on ATmega based platforms
#12445: driver/hts221: Temperature and Humidity readings incorrect
#12371: fail to send data to can bus
#12057: ESP32 + DHT + SAUL reading two endpoints causes freeze.
#12045: floats and doubles being used all over the place.
#11104: STM32: SPI clock not returning to idle state and generating additional
clock cycles
#9419: cpu/msp430: GPIO driver doesn't work properly
#4876: at86rf2xx: Simultaneous use of different transceiver types is not
supported

Native related issues (5)

#15878: examples/ccn-lite: floating point exception while testing on native
#15888: tests/test_tools: test fails while testing on samr21-xpro/iotlab-m3
#13501: SDL2 does not work due to missing getpid
#5796: native: tlsf: early malloc will lead to a crash
#495: native not float safe

Other platforms related issues (19)

#14822: MPU doesn't work on cortex-m0+
#14728: stm32f7: Large performance difference between stm32f746 and stm32f767
#14679: examples/gnrc_border_router: esp_wifi crashes on disconnect
#14572: tests/mpu_noexec_ram: fails on i-nucleo-lrwan1
#14410: MIPS: toolchain objcopy doesn't work and no .bin can be generated
#14237: esp32-wroom-32: tests/netstats_l2 failing sometimes
#14015: stm32152re: hardfault when DBGMCU_CR_DBG* bits are set and branch after
__WFI()
#13606: gcoap/esp8266: Stack overflow with gcoap example
#13390: Cannot use LLVM with Cortex-M boards
#13104: boards/hifive1: flashing issue
#13086: Failing tests on FE310 (Hifive1b)
#12763: [TRACKING] Fixes for automatic tests of ESP32 boards.
#12651: Failing tests on AVR (tested with atmega256rfr2-xpro)
#12168: pkg/libb2: blake2s doesn't work on AVR
#11885: arm7: printf() with float/double not working
#10258: Incorrect default $PORT building for esp32-wroom-32 on macOS
#10122: Indeterministic hard fault in _mutex_lock(), with nRF52 SoftDevice
#10076: cpu/cortexm_common: irq_enable returns the current state of interrupts
(not previous)
#6567: periph/spi: Switching between CPOL=0,1 problems on Kinetis with software
CS

Build system related issues (14)

#15185: build: info-build doesn't work with boards without port set
#14504: BUILD_IN_DOCKER ignores USEMODULE
#14288: pkg/ccn-lite: unable to make -j -C examples/ccn-lite-relay
#14264: make: ccache leads to differing binaries
#13492: make -j flash broken on esp* (will always flash the previous binary)
#12771: dist/tools/cppcheck/cppchck.sh: errors when running with Cppcheck 1.89
#10850: Tracking: remove harmful use of export in make and immediate
evaluation
#9913: Build dependencies - processing order issues
#9742: buildtest uses wrong build directory
#9645: Different build behavior between murdock and riot/riotbuild:latest
image
#8913: make: use of immediate value of variables before they have their final
value
#8122: doxygen: riot.css modified by 'make doc'
#6120: Windows AVR Mega development makefile Error
#4053: macros: RIOT_FILE_RELATIVE printing wrong file name for headers

Other issues (41)

#15870: examples/micropython: floating point exception while testing on native
#15814: usb-serial/list-ttys.sh: Broken when a debugger offers multiple serial
ports
#15528: Conflict between nimble and uwb-core packages
#15072: periph_timer: Test coverage & broken on STM32F767ZI
#15066: tests/pkg_libhydrogen: test fails on master for the samr21-xpro with
LLVM
#15006: Two bugs may lead to NULL dereference.
#14929: cpu/sam0: flashpage write / read cycle produces different results
depending on code layout in flash
#14635: File systems report names with leading slashes
#14578: tests/cpp11_*: failing on i-nucleo-lrwan1
#14576: riotboot/nrf52840dk: flashing slot1 with JLINK fails
#14548: edbg: long lines flooded over serial become garbled
#14520: examples / tests: LoRa tests fail on platforms that don't support LoRa
#14390: gcoap: Suspected crosstalk between requests (possible NULL call)
#14315: DTLS examples cannot send message to localhost
#14167: Gcoap drops long packages instead of gracefully erring out
#13918: cpu/stm32f1: CPU hangs after wake-up from STOP power mode
#13541: Order of auto_init functions
#13285: Bug: openocd 0.10.0-6 Ubuntu dies while debugging with -rtos auto
#13133: tests/pkg_tensorflow-lite: tests randomly failing on nrf52dk and
esp32-wroom-32
#13120: tests: broken with stdio_rtt if auto_init is disabled
#13044: _NVIC_SystemReset stuck in infinite loop when calling pm_reboot through
shell after flashing with J-Link
#12897: Can't build relic with benchmarks or tests
#12889: CC2538DK board docs: broken links
#12732: tests: some tests don't work with newlib lock functions.
#12621: Potential race condition in compile_and_test_for_board.py
#12108: make term output is inconsistent between boards, ethos and native
#12105: [TRACKING] sys/shell refactoring.
#11243: sys/riotboot: documentation issues
#10751: Possible memset optimized out in crypto code
#10731: nanocoap: incomplete response to /.well-known/core request
#10639: sys/stdio_uart: dropped data when received at once
#10121: RIOT cannot compile with the latest version of macOS (10.14) and Xcode
10
#9371: assert: c99 static_assert macro doesn't function for multiple
static_asserts in the same scope
#7365: scheduler: priority inversion problem
#7220: sys/fmt: Missing tests for fmt_float, fmt_lpad
#6533: tests/lwip target board for python test is hardcoded to native
#5009: RIOT is saw-toothing in energy consumption (even when idling)
#4866: periph: GPIO drivers are not thread safe
#4488: Making the newlib thread-safe
#3256: make: Setting constants on compile time doesn't really set them
everywhere
#2346: Tracker: Reduce scope on unintended COMMON variables

There are 152 known issues in this release

Fixed Issues since the last release (2020.10)

#15765: GitHub: Typo in WIP label
#15691: examples/posix_socket: doesn't work between 2 iotlab-m3
#15649: Posix Sockets - UDP not going out while using GNRC
#15626: vera++: reports "warning: keyword 'new' not followed by a single space"
#15574: Fix for #15353 is incomplete
#15538: Crash on context switch on Cortex-M
#15521: Missing error check of clist_foreach(), mbox_try_put() and
msg_try_send()
#15517: pkg/tinydtls: async event SOCK_ASYNC_CONN_FIN does not indicate which
session has been finished
#15495: C++ compile error with gnrc_lorawan
#15457: RIOT OS and Relic Segmentation fault
#15447: w5100 driver's bug
#15434: stm32: cmsis: spurious build issues
#15406: There are unsatisfied feature requirements: periph_adc
#15357: Link failures since 81cb769
#15353: uhcp: Incorrect handling of uhcp_push_t prefix
#15311: Arduino's Serial.print(float) doesn't work
#15102: Add whole linked list of gcoap_listener_t to coap listener
#15028: Suspicious code in emCute
#14568: tests/pkg_libfixmath_unittests: failing on multiple platforms
#13277: Y2038 tracking issue / strategy

20 fixed issues since last release (2020.10)

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all companies that provided us with hardware for porting
and testing RIOT-OS. Further thanks go to companies and institutions that
directly sponsored development time. And finally, big thanks to all of you
contributing in so many different ways to make RIOT worthwhile!

More information

http://www.riot-os.org

Mailing lists

RIOT OS kernel developers list
devel@riot-os.org (http://lists.riot-os.org/mailman/listinfo/devel)
RIOT OS users list
users@riot-os.org (http://lists.riot-os.org/mailman/listinfo/users)
RIOT commits
commits@riot-os.org (http://lists.riot-os.org/mailman/listinfo/commits)
Github notifications
notifications@riot-os.org (http://lists.riot-os.org/mailman/listinfo/notifications)

IRC, Matrix and Forum

Join the RIOT IRC channel at: irc.freenode.net, #riot-os
Join the RIOT Matrix room at: #riot-os:matrix.org
Join the RIOT Forum at: forum.riot-os.org

License

The code developed by the RIOT community is licensed under the GNU Lesser
General Public License (LGPL) version 2.1 as published by the Free Software
Foundation.
Some external sources and packages are published under a separate license.

All code files contain licensing information.

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Release-2021.01