Product category:
Design and Development Software
News Release from: Texas Instruments (April 2001-March 2006) | Subject: CCStudio Platinum Edition
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 12 July 2005
DSP development software winds back the
clock
The new CCStudio Platinum Edition provides a single IDE that supports multiple TI platforms in one installation and at the same cost as a single platform.
With development tools continuing to grow in importance when choosing a processor platform, Texas Instruments reckons it has raised the bar for digital signal processing (DSP) software development tool features and robustness by announcing the release of the Platinum Edition of its Code Composer Studio integrated development environment (IDE) The new CCStudio Platinum Edition provides a single IDE that supports multiple TI platforms in one installation and at the same cost as a single platform, saving DSP original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) significant time and expense in the design of multiprocessor, multiplatform applications
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 8 Nov 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The Platinum Edition also makes code debugging less frustrating by introducing two new features that can save developers significant time when tracking down pervasive bugs.
The CCStudio Rewind feature, a DSP industry first, allows programmers to back-step through their source code with a single keystroke, while the new Connect/Disconnect feature enables developers to "hot swap" a target board in seconds to eliminate hardware suspects during debug.
Many DSP applications today are growing to hundreds of thousands of lines of code with onboard support for multiple processors.
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These complex systems are often based on multiple DSP processors and platforms in order to achieve the necessary scale of operations.
In the past, developers using multiple DSP platforms normally had to maintain multiple toolsets for their designs.
TI's new CCStudio Platinum Edition simplifies this process by offering a fully merged IDE supporting all TI platforms, including the TMS320C6000 DSP, TMS320C5000 DSP, TMS320C2000 DSP and OMAP platforms.
This high level of multiplatform support means a reduced investment for developers, who now have all the tools they need available at a single low purchase price.
The IDE can be installed at one time for all platforms, and its integration simplifies tool maintenance and updates.
Developers also benefit from parallel debug capabilities for interprocessor visualisation, as well as simplified migration of software from one TI DSP platform to another under a common IDE.
Analysts estimate that programmers have to spend more than 60% of their project time debugging code, slowing the development cycle in the tedious process of hunting for and fixing software bugs.
Rewind, the newest feature in CCStudio Platinum Edition, addresses this problem by providing a solution for greatly reducing the amount of time spent in debug mode.
In the past, developers were forced to go back to the beginning and retrace program steps in order to find problems in source code.
With Rewind, the world's first DSP software technology of its kind, developers can easily move both forward and backward within their source code.
This capability allows developers to stop at any point using a single back-step keystroke, thus effectively eliminating the need to reload and step through a program from the beginning to find code errors.
Rewind keeps a complete history of execution made by normal step and run commands; then it permits the developer to view the program state and run code at earlier points in the program.
The feature has no associated overhead, so it doesn't slow down the simulation as it records execution of the application.
Operating on information stored during normal routines, Rewind allows developers to quickly return to the problem area of the program and fix its operation, taking an enormous amount of frustration and time out of the debug process.
Another new capability that eliminates tedious restart sequences is Connect/Disconnect, which gives developers the capability to disconnect from the hardware target and restore the previous debug state when connecting again.
When hardware and software are being debugged simultaneously, it is not uncommon for the software application to lose connection with the target board.
This new feature in the Platinum Edition now makes it easier to connect and disconnect with the target system dynamically.
Developers can replace a suspect board with a known good board during the debug session, eliminating the hardware as a potential source of errors and narrowing the focus to the software application.
Connect/Disconnect eliminates tens of minutes from repeated reset and restart sequence each time a failure is encountered, saving tremendous time and frustration for developers.
"Rewind and Connect/Disconnect both focus on eliminating downtime".
"Waiting for a restart sequence when developers are deep into a debug session can feel like an eternity".
"The CCStudio Rewind and Connect/Disconnect features get rid of that stress and accelerate the overall development timeline, helping speed time to market for end products", said Lori Vidra, DSP Tools Product Manager, TI.
In addition to offering multiplatform support and the Rewind and Connect/Disconnect features, the Platinum Edition includes other new and improved capabilities.
Developers can now take advantage of the rich feature set of CodeWright, the industry's most popular editor now integrated in the CCStudio IDE when writing and debugging DSP code.
CodeWright gives new developers the comfort of using a familiar tool, enabling them to become productive immediately with CCStudio.
A user can now upgrade the IDE to take advantage of new features and bug fixes while locking down on the specific compiler and DSP/BIOS software kernel foundation versions for the life of the program.
The new component manager also lets the developer easily install and evaluate a new compiler or DSP/BIOS kernel version before committing to them in the project.
Available now on all TI platforms, CCStudio Tuning Edition includes tools that proactively review program code, track potential areas for improvement and offer suggestions to help programmers optimise system performance and memory usage.
These powerful yet easy-to-use features speed development time and help programmers unleash the full potential of TI's DSP platform devices.
Compiler updates across all TI platforms help improve cycle counts and code size, enabling developers to maximise their DSP performance.
Available now, the CCStudio Platinum Edition IDE integrates everything programmers need for application development from start to finish, including reference frameworks, project manager, code generation tools, integrated CodeWright editor, fast simulators, DSP/BIOS real-time OS, debug and analysis tools, drivers and software libraries.
A single installation of the IDE covers all TI platforms, including the TMS320C6000 DSP, TMS320C5000 DSP, TMS320C2000 DSP and OMAP platforms.
The CCStudio Platinum Edition is available for $3600, including 15 months of update subscription service.
A free 120-day evaluation version is available on CD-ROM.
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