Development aid for embedded StarCore DSPs

The Tasking StarCore Software Development Toolset is a highly efficient set of embedded development tools for the StarCore DSP.

The Tasking StarCore Software Development Toolset is a highly efficient set of embedded development tools for the StarCore DSP.

In line with the strong popularity of the high-performance StarCore DSP architecture, there is a demand for a migration path to higher technologies using a common development environment.

To meet this challenge Altium has today released a highly efficient Tasking StarCore development toolset that takes advantage of Tasking's many years of DSP C-compiler experience and popular, easy-to-use embedded development environment (EDE).

Apart from the superior efficiency, other advantages that Tasking's StarCore toolset will bring to developers include: full compliance with StarCore application binary interface (ABI), fully compliant with ISO C'99, extensive assembly rules checking, the powerful CrossView Pro debugger, a StarCore instruction set simulator, and EOnCE on-chip emulation support.

Based on feedback from its large DSP customer base, Altium has released a StarCore embedded development toolset specifically for high-performance DSP solutions featuring an impressive list of optimisation techniques.

"StarCore's DSP popularity for high performance applications has meant that we have had strong demand from our DSP customers for a software development toolset that not only excels in code generation performance, but also offers great versatility and ease of use that simplifies development of DSP C applications", says Stephan Paternotte, Altium's Product Marketing Manager for Tasking's StarCore products.

"The Tasking StarCore toolset provides customers of Motorola's DSP563xx with a familiar development environment for all publicly available StarCore DSP derivatives, along with the most highly optimised code available".

"We are very pleased to see Altium launching its software development tools for the StarCore DSP architecture.

It is clear that the availability of Tasking's expertise in DSP C-compiler and debugger technologies will contribute to StarCore's architectural success in the high-end DSP market", says Allen Hyman, Senior Strategic Marketing Manager for the StarCore Technology Centre.

"Tasking's robust embedded software development environment and CrossView Pro debugger is designed to help developers using StarCore DSPs get their products to market fast and works to benefit developers by maximising StarCore's high-performance, networking capabilities, compiler efficiency, flexibility and power efficiency".

The Tasking StarCore toolset will offer an integrated software development environment that enables developers to take advantage of the complete range of StarCore derivatives.

Consisting of a powerful EDE, C/C++/EC++ compiler, assembler, linker/locator, and debugger, the toolset will provide all the capabilities needed for application development from project management, editing and program building to compiling, optimising and debugging.

Specifically designed for the high performance StarCore DSP architecture, Altium's Tasking StarCore compiler is as scalable as the underlying StarCore architecture itself: supporting SoC and ASIC implementations, the variable length execution set (VLES) instruction-set, and parallel-processing units.

Due to extremely powerful optimisation techniques, the Tasking StarCore compiler generates code that is fast as well as compact, enabling the highest execution speed at the smallest sise.

The Tasking StarCore compiler is ISO C'99 and StarCore ABI compliant and is tested for ISO and ANSI C conformance against authoritative validation suites, such as Plum Hall and Perennial in addition to industry benchmark standards and large real-world applications.

Another noteworthy feature of the Tasking StarCore toolset is extensive assembly rules checking.

The StarCore Assembler is fully equipped to warn developers when the combination of instructions they wish to use is actually not supported by the architecture.

At the debugging level, Tasking's powerful CrossView Pro debugger will offer both basic and advanced debugging capabilities, such as I/O simulation, program performance profiling and graphical data analysis.

The CrossView Pro Debugger provides developers with superior functionality and an easy-to-use interface that reduces time spent on testing and debugging.

Other superior features of Tasking's StarCore debugger are: the StarCore instruction set simulator which allows developers to debug applications on the host platform even before the target hardware is available; and the StarCore on-chip emulation (OnCE) which enables the debugger to communicate with StarCore devices directly, offering high quality in-circuit emulation functionality at a low cost.

The Tasking StarCore toolset is another state-of-the-art design tool from Altium that breaks down the barriers to innovation and allows developers to take full advantage of the StarCore DSP architecture.

The Tasking StarCore Software Development Toolset v1.0 is now available for interested beta test customers.

The official product release v1.1 will become available for PC/Windows and Sun/Solaris platforms in Q2/2002 and be priced at US $5390 for the complete C/C++/EC++/ debugger toolset.

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