Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: IAR Systems | Subject: Visualstate 5.4 embedded design and verification
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 15 February 2007
Software for design and verification
IAR Systems has launched visualSTATE 5.4, the latest version of its state-machine embedded-design and verification tool with a tighter integration to IAR Embedded Workbench.
IAR Systems has launched Visualstate 5.4, the latest version of its state-machine embedded-design and verification tool with a tighter integration to IAR Embedded Workbench The advanced features of Visualstate 5.4 allow both project expenditure and implementation time to be reduced substantially
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 18 Jun 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
RTOS and file system ease MCU system design
With a small (2Kbyte) memory footprint and an affordable licensing model, the IAR PowerPac RTOS is particularly suited to the low-power microcontroller market.
Embedded tools cover controller continuum
The IAR Embedded Workbench for Freescale S08 supports easy migration from 8bit S08 microcontrollers to 32bit ColdFire devices.
The design tool now offers an integrated and iterative workflow, from design through verification to validation and debugging on hardware.
Visualstate offers a simple formalised approach to the design phase, based on the state machine subset of UML, which is much easier to learn than full UML.
It can handle thousands of concurrent and hierarchical state machines in one design, and provides formal verification and validation functions that ensure a higher quality product reaches the market.
Further reading
Workbench supports new microcontrollers
IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR was originally developed by IAR Systems, working closely in parallel with Atmel's development of the AVR architecture.
Software offers improved hardware debugging
IAR Systems has strengthened its support for Microchip Technology's 16bit PIC24 microcontrollers (MCUs) and dsPIC33F digital signal controllers (DSCs) by adding native hardware level debug support.
Visualstate automatically generates compact C/C++ source code that is 100% consistent with the design.
The integration with the IAR Embedded Workbench IDE is realized as a C-Spy plug-in that displays Visualstate design model information in the C-SPY debugging environment within IAR Embedded Workbench.
The tool suite provides either full simulation or hardware debugging of the design with meaningful, high-level visual feedback into the state machine model rather than the C-level feedback that would be provided with alternative methods.
For example, this allows the user to easily set complex breakpoints on the design level, instead of using complicated and error prone C level data breakpoints.
Version 5.4 of Visualstate gives users the benefit of increasing test phase efficiency, because the initial code quality is improved by applying formal verification and early function validation.
Using formal methods of verification, it is possible to find a number of errors and mistakes that would be virtually impossible to find by conventional means.
The formal verification tests include the detection of unreachable states; dead end states; 'live lock' states; ambiguous assignments and transitions; and unused events, transitions, variables, states and action functions.
The graphical design approach of Visualstate means that intrateam communication is improved, as is the production of meaningful and consistent documentation.
Maintenance costs are also lowered, because of simplicity of the design approach and the ease of navigation, as well as the ability to change core application logic in a very simple manner.
The new version of Visualstate forms a key component of IAR YellowSuite, the integrated tool suite for development of embedded systems.
The integration between Visualstate and IAR Embedded Workbench is available for the vast majority of 8-, 16-, and 32bit architectures supported by IAR Systems. Request a free brochure from IAR Systems ...
• IAR Systems: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
