Articles
Green Hills Software Delivers Integrated Development Environment for the TriCore Unified Processor from Infineon Technologies
June 16, 2000
MULTI's integrated debug, program build, profiling, and version control facilities greatly simplify the development of complex software for the TriCore architecture. At the same time, Green Hills' optimizing compilers, which are tightly integrated with MULTI, enable designers to take full advantage of the increased code density provided by the 16/32-bit instruction set of the TriCore architecture.
The TriCore Unified Processor is a high-performance, 32-bit, superscalar RISC architecture CPU that combines the capability of a 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) and a 16-bit digital signal processor (DSP) on a single core. One of the major advantages of TriCore is that it offers a unified toolset, eliminating the need to have separate development environments for both the MCU and DSP. This is a significant cost advantage and is far more efficient than trying to maintain two completely separate environments.
With peak performance of 130 MIPS at 100 MHz and four-cycle context switching, TriCore maximizes data throughput by employing a Harvard architecture with three external 32-bit buses, one each for instruction, data, and peripheral access. To maximize code density, TriCore also employs a combination of 16- and 32-bit instructions that enables it to achieve a 30 percent reduction in code size over CPUs that use only 32-bit instructions.
"The TriCore architecture is crafted with an eye towards efficient compilation," said Tony Webster, vice president of the Cores & Modules Group at Infineon Technologies. "Green Hills has proven invaluable in helping us to optimize the instruction set architecture to take maximum advantage of the state of the art in compiler optimization. We also have a high regard for Green Hills' MULTI IDE, which will enable TriCore designers to hit the ground running with robust production code."
"The TriCore architecture's integration of 32-bit microcontroller and DSP functionality in a single core, supported by high-speed context switching and interrupt processing performance, provides the flexibility for a wide range of embedded applications," added John Carbone, vice president of marketing for Green Hills. "By working closely with Infineon, we have been able to develop optimizing compilers that fully exploit the architecture's unique capabilities."
The MULTI 2000 IDE, together with Green Hills' family of optimizing compilers, automates all aspects of embedded software development for TriCore-based processors.
Available for Windows 95/98, Windows NT, and Unix host platforms, the MULTI IDE features a window-oriented editor, source-level debugger, graphical program builder, run-time error checker, version control system, performance profiler, and optimizing profiler (CodeBalance). MULTI also features an instruction set simulator that allows programmers to develop and test code on a PC or workstation without the need for the target hardware.
The heart of the MULTI environment is a source-level debugger with incremental debug capability that supports process- and system-level debug. The debugger provides a separate window for each process, supports mixed assembly and high-level language formats, includes a language-sensitive expression evaluator, and provides special support for C++ (such as a Class Browser, object display
and template debug capability), and X_Windows debugging.
The MULTI 2000 debugger is fully RTOS aware, which enables designers to debug and tune their applications at a task level. With the MULTI debugger, designers working with popular RTOSs can start and stop tasks, and monitor OS resources like buffers, queues, and streams.
The MULTI 2000 IDE features the industry's most advanced C, C++, EC++, FORTRAN, and Ada 95 optimizing compilers. The scaleable C/C++ compiler lets programmers use switch options to select any subset of C++ they want, from bare bones C, to full-blown ANSI/ISO C++. The compiler
also supports Embedded C++ (EC++), a dialect of C++ optimized for resource-constrained embedded applications that achieves the efficiency of C while preserving many of the best object-oriented features of C++. Code that has been compiled for the TriCore can run on the target
hardware in a bare bones mode, under custom real_time operating systems, and on targets that support BDM/JTAG interfaces.
MULTI 2000 for Windows, including a C/C++ compiler, costs $5900 for a single-seat developer's license. The Unix version costs $8900.
More on Green Hills Software
Incorporated in 1982, Green Hills Software, Inc., is a leading supplier of software development tools for 32- and 64-bit embedded systems. Green Hills offers a family of optimizing C, C++, Embedded C++, Ada 95, FORTRAN and Pascal compilers. The company's unique MULTI Integrated Development Environment automates the compile-edit-build-debug cycle by integrating advanced facilities such as an RTOS-aware source-level debugger, performance profiler, program builder and version control system.
Green Hills Software's tools support all major 32-bit and 64-bit advanced microprocessor families and target environments, including instruction set simulators, ROM Monitors, commercial and home grown real-time operating systems (RTOS) and in-circuit emulators (ICE).
Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA., and has US offices in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, and Florida. International headquarters are located in the United Kingdom, with offices in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. For sales information on Green Hills Software products, please call 1-805-965-6044 or email inquiries to sales@ghs.com. http://www.ghs.com.
