Posted to News on 7th May 2007, 16:30
Low-cost development package for ARM processors
A complete low-cost development package for the NXP (Philips) LPC range of ARM processors, consisting of an evaluation and experimental board, a GCC compiler, a JTAG interface, an IDE and debugger, as well as a host of application examples, is now available from Computer Solutions (COMSOL).
These kits have everything an engineer needs to get started on developing ARM code as soon as the board is plugged in and the software is installed on the disk.
The Embest LPCEB2000 range of evaluation board kits is available in versions for the LPC2114/19/24/29/94, 2131/32/38 and 2210/12/14/90/92/94, the device type being determined by the selection of a daughter board. Each kit includes full circuit diagrams, BOM, and many software examples in source code with versions to run in Flash or RAM for easy testing, as well as acting as an embedded tutorial.
Each motherboard incorporates a range of digital and analogue input/output facilities including serial, CAN and I2C ports, plus two-channel A/D sampling input and PWM output. Also included are pushbutton and keypad controls, displays and the 20-pin standard JTAG port.
Software samples in source code
Software examples for the evaluation board, all in source code, include initialisation and start-up code, external interrupt test, testing of buzzers, eight-segment LED displays and keyboards, a UART drive example, control of a 595 chip via SPI, and ADC/DAC/PWM operations.
The UnetICE ARM JTAG interface connects the target board to a PC via Ethernet or USB connections and, using the Embest software package, provides debugging and flash programming capabilities. It will download target programs at speeds of over 200 Kbyte/s, and can use an external power supply or the USB interface's supply.
The Embest IDE Integrated Development Environment for ARM offers a complete software solution for embedded ARM development. It provides a simple and versatile graphical user interface and all the tools required to create applications for the ARM architecture. Embest IDE for ARM runs under Windows 98/NT/2K/XP and supports ANSI C and the ARM assembler language.
In addition to the IDE, the software includes a project manager facility, an integrated source-code editor, a copy of the GNU compiler, assembler and linker, the GNU ANSI C library, a source-level debugger, and an ARM instruction set simulator.
The 16/32-bit LPC2000 family is based on a 1.8 V ARM7TDMI-S core operating at up to 60MHz, together with a wide range of on-chip peripherals including multiple serial interfaces, CAN, 10-bit ADCs and an external bus option.
With up to 32 kbyte of RAM and 256 kbyte of on-chip flash, these controllers are designed for use in a wide range of embedded application requiring high performance and low power consumption in a cost-effective package.
