IAR Systems first to release development tools and softwa...

IAR Systems first to release development tools and software for Renesas’ RX family

Integrated tools and middleware provides streamlined workflow for next generation microcontrollers

As the first company in the world, IAR Systems has released development tool support for Renesas’ RX microcontroller family. IAR Embedded Workbench for RX is a set of integrated tools for building and debugging embedded system software. Together with IAR PowerPac for RX, a family of RTOS and middleware also released today, it promotes a simple and rapid design flow.

A high level of integration between IAR Embedded Workbench and IAR PowerPac, where RTOS, middleware, and application software are built and debugged in the same environment, streamlines the workflow and makes development of multi-tasking applications and applications using communication protocols like USB or Ethernet easier, shortening project times.

“IAR Systems has been a very important partner to Renesas for many years, and it was natural that we should turn to them again when we began to design the RX architecture” said Steve Gaines, Marketing Manager at Renesas Technology Europe. “We know from previous experience that they are highly appreciated by our customers for the professional tools they offer, and would be able to combine the innovative RX design features with their tools to make a world-beating offer.”

“The RX family is a world-class technical achievement that will attract engineers looking for tomorrow’s microcontrollers. That we have already released support for the RX family is a result of the long-term commitment that we have to support Renesas customers with quality development tools” commented Mats Ullström, Product Director at IAR Systems and continued: “This consolidates our position as the leading independent tool vendor for Renesas targets.”

The early release of tools and software for the RX family has been made possible thanks to a close cooperation between IAR Systems and Renesas. The two companies have a long history together that over the years has resulted in support in IAR Embedded Workbench for most of Renesas current microcontroller offering. Today it supports the H8, H8S, R8C, M16C, M32C, R32C and RX families. Recently IAR Systems also announced that support for SH-2A will be available in early 2010.

IAR Embedded Workbench for RX
IAR Embedded Workbench for RX is a set of C and C++ tools for building and debugging embedded system software for RX microcontrollers. It provides a completely integrated development environment including a project manager, editor, build tools and debugger. In a continuous workflow, source files and projects can be created, built and debugged on hardware or in a simulator.

The RX family is based on a modern processor with intelligent features built into the instruction set. A lot of effort has been made to ensure that the compiler uses the instruction set, and hardware features efficiently to tune the generated code as tightly as possible to the hardware, resulting in smaller and faster executables. Together with intelligent linking, the compiler and assembler provide unrivaled software performance.

The compiler also supports the FPU in the RX600 series. FPU instructions can be generated directly by the compiler from a C or C++ source without using assembly inlining, thereby providing the highest possible arithmetic performance. A floating-point library is included as an alternative for devices without FPU.

IAR PowerPac for RX
IAR PowerPac is a family of RTOS and middleware. IAR PowerPac for RX includes RTOS, file system, TCP/IP stack and USB device stack. Offering a very small memory footprint, it is ideal for use in microcontrollers with limited resources.

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