Product category: Design and Development Software
News Release from: Cypress Semiconductor | Subject: PSoC Designer
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 6 February 2002
Improved software shaves 30%
off PSoC design times
An improved design tool can reduce application development time for the Cypress Microsystems PSoC (programmable system on chip) microcontroller family
The PSoC microcontroller technology is based upon configurable peripherals that allow the designer to ask: "What peripheral set best fits my application?". The PSoC MCU allows the developer to select from a variety of peripherals and map them to the underlying analogue and digital hardware blocks.
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 6 February 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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PSoC Designer, the software tool set for the PSoC MCU, is composed of three main subsystems - the device editor, the application editor and the debugger.
The development process begins by defining the peripheral set within the device editor subsystem.
A graphical user interface (GUI) provides point-and-click capabilities to make specific peripheral choices.
These choices generate the register bit settings to implement the desired peripheral set, as well as software for application programming interfaces (APIs), and interrupt service routines (ISRs).
"Our customers care about how quickly and efficiently designs are finished.
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This tool upgrade specifically addresses these concerns", states Nathan John, director of marketing for CMS.
"This new suite of design tools can shave 30% off the normal development time.
At any time in the design process, designer can reconfigure the microcontroller, eliminating the need to start over and create a new design in order to make a change".
"Not only can a developer change the peripheral set on the PSoC MCU during the development process, they can even dynamically change the peripheral set during the run time of the application", explains John.
The upgrade to the PSoC Designer allows the developer to create multiple peripheral configurations, and specify the events that will trigger the switch between these configurations.
MCU systems typically go through multiple states during operation and the developer can have a unique configuration for each one of these states.
This capability benefits the developer because they can reuse on-chip resources.
"It's like having a multiple MCUs in the same socket", adds John.
A real-time trace buffer follows the machine code and shows exactly what the in-circuit emulator is executing.
Developers can trace up to a maximum of 64,000 entries.
In addition, a time stamp or external event capture can be included in the trace buffer contents.
An application editor serves as the source editor for the system.
Developers can create and modify their code, as well as set software breakpoints for use in the debugging process.
A device editor allows developers to select desired peripherals to optimise the features to the application task at hand.
This software also allows the creation of multiple configurations that can be loaded and unloaded during run time.
Dynamic event points permit complete trace buffer control in real time, full-speed and non-intrusive to the microprocessor.
Dynamic event points offer a complex breakpoint capability, and can trigger internal or external events.
Developers have the ability to chain up to 64 unique events in sequence, and can have up to 64,000 iterations of a single event prior to triggering.
Developers can select a section of executing code, and efficiently analyse complex conditions in a second.
The debugger serves as the interface to the in-circuit emulator (ICE).
Developers use this to run or single step through their code to look for errors.
Upon finding errors, developers can quickly switch back to the device editor to change the device configuration, or the application editor to fix coding errors.
In either case, the system will automatically regenerate code to match the new configuration.
The PSoC microcontroller family integrates a fast, 8bit CPU; 8 to 16Kbyte of Flash memory; SRAM; and programmable arrays of analogue and digital system functions - known as PSoC blocks - in low-cost, small-footprint packages.
To save design time, CMS also offers user modules - predesigned peripherals built using these PSoC blocks.
By selecting a PSoC microcontroller with the chosen combination of memory, PSoC blocks and pins, designers have a device that can be configured to any application and reduces costs by eliminating external chips and simplifying system design.
The PSoC CY8C25x/26x microcontroller family design tool is available now for $249, and comprises the free PSoC Designer software, together with the basic development kit, including PSoC ICE-4000.
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