ESP8266 Community Forum

- Wed Sep 05, 2018 2:39 am #78092

So who was the dude that cooked up a c compiler for it if there is no datasheet for it? Maybe he's clairvoyant? Or Espressif bought the compiler from Cadence and just hasn't released any of it? Gee, I'm glad Intel released the datasheets for their processors.

Let me show you the easy way to get the parts and assemble the full picture:
- start with xtensa ISA book
- then take the configuration of the esp8266 core and see what options are enabled, what addresses are assigned etc.

In short, yes, esp8266 core is the same as Diamond core 106 micro.

The gcc compiler port was initially developed by Tensilica engineers. There were no support for processors without windowed registers in it. Adding call0 ABI to it had nothing to do with the specifics of the esp8266 and could be done with the ISA book alone.

- Fri Oct 02, 2020 12:25 pm #88999 (Yeah, I know it's a 2-year-old thread, but it came up in my own search for this info.)

Also, via the Wayback Machine, That lost product brief, the old Tensilica page for the reference processor, and the brief for the Xtensa 9 core family which looks to be likely what the 106Micro uses. (The above Xtensa ISP book is for the previous X8 core family, and may not document all the instructions of the X9, but appears to be the only one available to the public.)

--
SMQ

- Sun Apr 10, 2022 10:08 pm #94242 For those who stumble across this post trying to figure out what a Tensilica L106 is... I can't tell you that, but I *can* tell you that both Tasmota and ESPHome support it so if all you care about is if you can re-flash it with a custom firmware, there's your answer.

- Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:55 am #96067 Using the Wayback Machine, I found this link: Diamond Standard 106Micro Controller Product Brief

I've been digging around the internet for a couple of hours. It's frustrating and there doesn't seem like there's much out there. In fact if you Google for Tensilica L106, this page is one of the top results.

If you dig around you'll find out the so-called "L106" is just the name Espressif uses for the Tensilica Diamond Standard 106Micro (why would you rename it?).

Searching for 106Micro, the main result you get is an announcement page dating back for Nov 2007. What confuses me is why would Espressif release this chip in 2013 with an IP core dating back to 2007?

There's a very early thread on this forum dating back to around 2014 where there were a few users doing some of their own detective work around the Tensilica/Cadence core. Again, lots of guessing and not much reliable info. One guy posted what seems to be a link to the L106 on the Cadence website, which is now a dead link:

Have you seen this document on the 106 micro?
http://ip.cadence.com/uploads/pdf/106Micro.pdf

I suppose we'll never know whether that was a datasheet, a reference manual, or a product brief?

Right now, all I can find on the 106Micro is this whitepaper from 2008, which is a very general introduction to the "Diamond Standard" processor family. It's basically just a product comparison and list of features.