ARM Releases Free Industry Standard Development Tools For Its Embedded Linux Community

DS-5 CE provides an integrated solution including an Eclipse IDE, GNU cross-compiler, DS-5 Debugger, Streamline performance analyzer, online help and software examples. This level of integration enables developers to get up and running with their projects in virtually no time. In addition, DS-5 CE runs on Linux, Windows and Mac OS hosts, making it ideal for microcontroller users moving into the world of Linux.

The graphical DS-5 Debugger only needs an Ethernet connection to the target to enable power debug features typically available only in commercial debuggers. In addition, it integrates Linux-specific functionality, such as a target file system explorer and an automated flow for downloading applications to the target, launching them and connecting the debugger. The ARM Streamline performance analyzer provides Linux developers with an unprecedented level of visibility into how their application interacts with the rest of the Linux stack and the underlying hardware. Streamline makes it easy to locate code hotspots, system bottlenecks, inefficient threading, ineffective use of the cache memories and GPUs, and many other software issues.

Why: The use of Linux is growing rapidly in the embedded space, fueled by the availability of low-cost, low-power, high-performance ARM processor-based MPUs with working Linux ports and communication stacks.

Unfortunately, getting started with Embedded Linux can be a daunting experience, with a number of fragmented open-source development tools with command line interfaces and lack of interoperability. Just getting a Linux cross-development environment up and running may take hours for a Linux expert, or days for an embedded developer from a microcontroller background.

ARM is committed to making software development on ARM efficient and effective, as demonstrated with the original launch of DS-5 CE, which made ARM’s flagship DS-5 tool suite free to use for Android native application development. The benefits of DS-5 CE now become available also for Linux application development.