IAR Embedded Workbench vastly improves performance for 8-bit AVR MCUs

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Version 6.70 of the popular toolchain includes improved compiler optimizations. 

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IAR Systems has released a new version of its complete C/C++ development toolchain IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR. Version 6.70 of the popular toolchain includes improved compiler optimizations as well as new device support and updates to the add-on tool C-STAT for static code analysis.

“Embedded systems are growing in complexity and many applications are being migrated to 32-bit microcontrollers. Despite this, the 8-bit AVR microcontrollers are continuously being used in many applications for example within automotive, battery management and wireless solutions,” says Thomas Sporrong, IAR Systems Global FAE Manager. “IAR Systems has a large customer base of developers working with AVR and the company remains committed to supplying world-class tools for embedded developers across the entire range from 8-bit to 32-bit microcontrollers.”

IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR features world-leading code optimizations that create compact, fast-performing code. The optimization technology has been further improved in this version, particularly involving speed optimizations of floating-point data types. These improvements enable developers to gain even better performance in applications where optimal execution speed is critical. To achieve the best possible configuration for the application at hand, developers are able to tune the optimizations. With the possibility to set different optimizations for different parts of the code, the right balance between code size and code speed can be achieved.

The previous version 6.60 of IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR introduced support for IAR Systems’ static analysis add-on product C-STAT. Completely integrated in the IAR Embedded Workbench IDE, C-STAT can perform numerous checks for compliance with rules as defined by the coding standards MISRA C:2004, MISRA C++:2008 and MISRA C:2012, as well as rules based on for example CWE (the Common Weakness Enumeration) and CERT C/C++. By using static analysis, developers can identify errors such as memory leaks, access violations, arithmetic errors, and array and string overruns at an early stage to ensure code quality and minimize the impact of errors on the finished product and on the project timeline. With the latest release come further updates to the C-STAT tool, including an added report generator and added pragmas for temporary disabling checks.

IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR is a complete set of powerful C/C++ development tools with extensive support for devices in all AVR families. IAR Systems’ high-performance development tools and world-class technical support are available across Atmel’s entire range of 8-bit and 32-bit microcontroller architectures.

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IAR Systems adds powerful code analysis possibilities for 8-bit AVR developers

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New version of IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR introduces static code analysis and stack usage analysis.

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IAR Systems has unveiled version 6.60 of its IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR microcontrollers. The update extends code analysis possibilities with the integration of static code analysis tools and stack usage analysis.

The latest version of IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR adds support for IAR Systems’ static analysis add-on product C-STAT. Completely integrated within the IAR Embedded Workbench IDE, C-STAT can perform numerous checks for compliance with rules as defined by the coding standards MISRA C:2004, MISRA C++:2008 and MISRA C:2012, as well as rules based on CWE (the Common Weakness Enumeration) and CERT C/C++. By using static analysis, developers can identify errors such as memory leaks, access violations, arithmetic errors, and array and string overruns at an early stage to ensure code quality and minimize the impact of errors on the finished product and on the project timeline.

Additionally, the version 6.60 introduces stack usage analysis. Seeing as though the stack is a fundamental property of an embedded application, setting it up properly is essential for ensuring the application’s stability and reliability. However, calculating the stack space is notoriously difficult for all but the smallest of systems. This challenging task can be greatly simplified by granting access to information around the worst case maximum stack depth of the application. Enabling stack usage analysis in IAR Embedded Workbench provides just that, adding listings of the maximum stack depth for each call graph root to the linker map file. The analysis process can be customized to take into account such constructs as calls via function pointers and recursion.

”The new functionality in IAR Embedded Workbench provides great advantages for our customers,” explains Steve Pancoast, Atmel VP of Software Applications, Tools and Development. “Developers can leverage the new analysis possibilities to improve the quality of their code, as well as streamline their development process. Atmel’s strong partnership with IAR Systems gives our customers access to world-leading tools across our entire range of AVR and Atmel | SMART ARM-based microcontrollers and microprocessors.”

IAR Embedded Workbench for AVR is a complete set of high-performance C/C++ tools featuring world-leading code optimizations creating compact, fast performing code. Version 6.60 also features parallel build, which will surely have a major impact on expediting development. Now, the user can optionally set the compiler to run in several processes simultaneously, which can significantly reduce compiler times.