Renesas SH-2A family gains development support from IAR Systems

Already respected across the embedded developer community, IAR C/C++ Compiler delivers reliable, high-performance compiled code. Recent benchmarks show that IAR C/C++ Compiler for SuperH generates faster and more compact code than competing compilers. Also, using a number of real-world applications the IAR C/C++ Compiler generated 7.9% faster and 14.3% smaller code when compared to Renesas' own compiler.

The compiler's built in FPU support guarantees that the best floating point instruction performance is reached without the need for any time consuming assembly coding by hand. For SH-2A devices without a FPU a floating-point software library is included.

IAR C-SPY Debugger includes support for Renesas E10A-USB probe for on-chip debugging and allows the emulator's trace system to be utilized. With a number of powerful features, trace data on instruction level or function call level can be used to resolve difficult problems in addition to fine-tuning the application for improved performance. IAR C-SPY also features a built-in instruction set simulator for early development and easy software testing. Third party debuggers developed by partners of IAR Systems can also be utilized due to the wide variety of output formats generated by the linker.

Renesas' Superscalar SH-2A is one of the world's most popular architectures and is used in application areas such as automotive, motor control, and audio equipment. The popularity of the SH-2A architecture in many of our core market segments is driven by its high performance. IAR Embedded Workbench adds significant improvements in application software performance, increasing the advantage of the SH-2A family., said Mats Ullström, Product Director IAR Systems.

Renesas has one of the world's most extensive microcontroller lineups. From the smallest low power R8C devices and all the way up to the high performance SuperH family our users can now take advantage of the powerful tools provided by IAR Systems, said Robert Kalman, Marketing Manager Renesas Technology Europe.