picoChip compiler for multi-core devices receives GCC acceptance

The family of GCC accepted compilers is populated by ports targeted at highly regarded general-purpose processors, microcontrollers and DSPs from companies including IBM, Intel, AMD and ARM. picoChip’s port is the first to achieve acceptance in nearly two years. It is also the first compiler accepted by the GCC that has been designed as part of a suite of tools for realizing massively multi-core systems. In total, compilers from just eight companies have joined the list since 2002.

In Jan 2007 the IBM Cell was added. Prior to this, three ports were admitted in 2005 (Morphosys, Renesas and Analog Devices Blackfin) and three in 2002 (SuperH, Tensilica and AMD x86-64).
picoChip’s COO and co-founder, Peter Claydon, said that acceptance into the GCC community represents a major step in demonstrating picoChip’s ease of use and the maturity of its toolchain for multi-core design. “This is by no means a trivial process,” he stated. “To be accepted as an official port demonstrates that we are now regarded as a serious player in the open platform community. These are stringent tests of compatibility and conformance which we are very proud to have passed.”

Claydon highlighted the reach of the GCC community, which includes IBM, AMD, Intel, ARM, and HP. “We are in very good company,” he added. On the benefits of acceptance, he said: “Being part of GCC makes it easier for us to keep up to date. It should make maintenance and compatibility that bit easier, and ensure our tools remain robust and reliable.”

Rupert Baines, picoChip’s VP of marketing commented: “It’s an unfortunate truth that tools are the weakness of many new processors. GCC acceptance ensures that programmers know what to expect. So, when you write standard ANSI C source code, you will get out object code that does what it should, and has all the optimizations you would expect.”

picoChip is the leading supplier of multi-core DSP, delivering extremely high performance at competitive cost points. It offers a powerful platform to develop products for emerging global wireless communications markets such as WiMAX, WCDMA, LTE, TD-SCDMA and 4G. picoChip’s products scale from femtocell access points to picocells and sophisticated multi-sector carrier macrocells.