IAR Systems enhances development tools for 8051 MCUs

Thanks to its proven reliability and easy development, the 8051 technology has seen a revival in the form of 8051-based SoCs targeting IoT applications. These fast, small, and power-efficient modern devices drive the need for powerful, easy-to-use development tools. CAST supplies world-class 8051 IP cores that are among the fastest and smallest available, and complete development tools support for these cores is now available in IAR Embedded Workbench. The new support includes devices which implements a Multiplication-Division Unit (MDU). The MDU allows developers to use hardware accelerator options for multiplication and division from within the code. These tasks are inherently expensive in an 8-bit MCUs, but are significantly faster using MDUs.

In the C-SPY Debugger, version 9.10 adds new windows for managing macros. The Macro Registration window controls which macro files are loaded and the Debugger Macros window shows a list of all macros available in the debugger. C-SPY macros are used to automate various tasks for debugging and verification. The macros can also be used to perform a variety of other tasks such as hardware configuration and simulation of peripheral drivers, as well as to feed simulated data to the application during runtime.

The C-SPY Debugger Reset button has been improved. It is now possible to select whether to run to main or not without leaving the debug session. The debugger will override the project settings and insert or remove this breakpoint. The possibility to save C-SPY watch window content to a file that can be used for logging or analysis purposes is also included.

In addition to the complete CAST device support, new devices from Silicon Labs are also supported by this version. To simplify device selection, the Project Options menu has been improved to let developers select their device in a static menu selection entry.

IAR Embedded Workbench for 8051 is a complete set of development tools for MCUs based on the 8051 core. For simplified development workflows, the tools feature integrations for a range of hardware debug systems and device configuration tools. With the latest release, the powerful IAR C/C++ Compiler for 8051 generates even smaller code, particularly for developers working with the large or far data models.