Introduction to the SysTick timer
The System Tick timer, commonly known as SysTick, is a fundamental component of all Arm Cortex microcontrollers. Regardless of the processor core—whether it’s Cortex-M0, Cortex-M1, or Cortex-M7—and the silicon manufacturer—be it STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, or any other—every Arm Cortex microcontroller includes a SysTick timer. In this section, we will learn about this essential peripheral and explore its registers in detail.
Overview of the SysTick timer
The SysTick timer is a 24-bit down counter integral to all Arm Cortex-M processors. It is designed to offer a configurable time base that can be used for various purposes, such as task scheduling, system monitoring, and time tracking. This timer provides us with a simple and efficient means of generating periodic interrupts and serves as a cornerstone for implementing system timing functions, including operating system (OS) tick generation for real...
