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+.. highlight:: sh
+
 ==================
  Maple Bootloader
 ==================
 
-stub
+The firmware which allows the Maple to be reprogrammed via a USB
+connection. Every Maple board comes programmed with this by default,
+and it is not overwritten by regular programs (it lives lower in the
+Flash memory and only runs when the chip is reset).
+
+**Check out the latest source code version:** ::
+
+  git clone git://github.com/leaflabs/maple-bootloader.git
+
+**Visit the github development project**: http://github.com/leaflabs/maple-bootloader
+
+Bootloader Schemes Explained!
+-----------------------------
+
+Maple Rev 3 (the version currently shipping) represents a drastic
+remake of the core library as well as the upload process. Some of
+these changes are aesthetic, refactoring and reorganization. Some are
+performance minded. The changes to the bootloader, however, were
+implemented to solve some really gritty cross platform issues.  Before
+delving in to how the Rev1 bootloader worked and how the Rev 3
+bootloader works now, lets look at the features common to both of them
+and touch a bit on the Arduino setup. This is a fairly involved
+explanation, with a lot of details that are likely only interesting to
+a few. If you just want to get the rough idea, skim this article. If
+you want to start hacking on the bootloader, get in touch with us to
+get even more info on how this all works.  Of course, you can always
+checkout the code at github!
+
+Arduino
+^^^^^^^
+
+Arduino is based off of AVR series micro controllers, most of which
+lack USB support. Thus, boards like the Duemilanove add USB capability
+via an FTDI USB to Serial converter chip. This chip interfaces with
+the AVR over…serial. When you plug an Arduino into a computer only an
+FTDI driver is needed. Since the FTDI chip is separate from the AVR,
+you can reset the Arduino without closing this USB connection with the
+FTDI chip. To program an Arduino, the host machine sends a command
+over the USB pipe (reset DTR) which in turn resets the AVR. The AVR
+will boot into a bootloader, which waits for a second for any upload
+commands over serial. The host machine can either send those commands,
+or do nothing. In which case the AVR will quickly jump to user code
+and off you go.  The whole process is quick, the bootloader doesn’t
+live for very long, and will exit almost immediately if no upload
+commands are received.
+
+Maple Rev1: The Horror...
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Maple is based off the STM32 (ARM cortex M3) series chips, which do
+have embedded USB support. Thus, Maple doesn’t need the extra FTDI
+chip. Firmware is uploaded via the standard DFU protocol (also used by
+iPhone and openMoko). Since DFU is a standard, there is no need for
+custom software running on the host to upload the firmware. Any DFU
+compliant program will work. The maple ide is based around
+:command:`dfu-util`, openMoko’s DFU utility. Using DFU came at a cost,
+however. The USB port must additionally implement a separate serial
+port at the same time (we use the CDC ACM class for serial
+functionality).
+
+Maple Rev 1 attempted to run both DFU and CDC ACM devices
+simultaneously on the USB peripheral. On Linux, this worked great. The
+OS would service the DFU driver during uploads, and the CDC ACM for
+serial port transactions. There was no reset necessary for uploads. No
+waiting.  The bootloader was always running the background, ready to
+receive commands.
+
+The problem was that ONLY Linux did this.  Windows refused to attach
+more than one driver to a single USB device without repackaging the
+DFU and CDC ACM into a single IAD Compound Device. It's not terribly
+important what this means, except for two things.
+
+1. Four drivers were necessary to make everything work.
+2. IAD is not supported by OS X.
+
+Mac, on the other hand, only supported Compound USB, a different trick
+that is not supported by Windows. While a perpetual background
+bootloader was attractive, it became clear, after much toiling, we
+were going to have to write some custom drivers across several
+platforms to make everything work this way.
+
+Maple Rev3
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Maple Rev 3 takes a completely different tack, more along the lines of
+Arduino.  In Rev 3, the device resets into bootloader mode, which
+stays alive for a few moments to receive commands and then jumps to
+user code. The bootloader is implemented as a DFU device – just a DFU
+device, no serial port. This requires one driver for windows
+(:file:`drivers/mapleDrv/dfu`). As part of the :ref:`libmaple`
+library, user code is automatically supplied with serial support via
+some behind the scenes work that happens automatically when you
+compile (``setupUSB()`` is appended to ``setup()``). This user mode
+code only implements a CDC ACM class USB device, giving you functions
+like ``Usb.print()``. Separating these two modes fixed the driver
+issue, there are no complicated compound usb device nonsense, and the
+scheme works well across platforms, requiring only two drivers (serial
+and DFU) on Windows.
+
+However, it is no longer possible to upload code at will, since there
+is no bootloader quietly listening in the background. Instead you have
+to reset the board, then initiate a DFU transaction. This reset is
+performed automatically by the IDE by sending a command over the USB
+serial port. You can generate this reset on your own using a python
+script or some other scheme. All you need do is:
+
+1. Pulse DTR (high and then low, so that youve created a negative
+   edge)
+2. Write “1EAF” in ASCII over the serial pipe. This will cause Maple
+   to reset. Only the first 4 bytes after a negative edge of DTR are
+   checked for this command, so its important you actually create a
+   negative edge, rather than just ensuring DTR is low.
+
+After the reset, the host OS takes a few moments (.5-2 seconds) to
+re-enumerate the device as DFU. This delay is unpredictable, and its
+the reason the bootloader on Maple Rev3 stays alive for so
+long. Sometimes the bootloader was exiting before the OS had even
+enumerated the device! Once in bootloader mode, however,
+:command:`dfu-util` uploads your sketch into either flash or ram (dfu
+alternate setting 0 or 1 respectively) and resets the board again.
+This time, however, no DFU transaction is initiated and the bootloader
+gives way to user code, closing down the DFU pipe and bringing up the
+USB serial.