Latest release of TASKING C compiler for Renesas RH850 microcontroller

Altium has announced release v2.2r1 of its TASKING C compiler suite for the RH850 architecture from Renesas Electronics, delivering support for new RH850 microcontroller variants, code optimization improvements, and an integrated on-chip debugger. Altium recognized a strong interest from its automotive customers to support the high performance Renesas RH850 microcontroller family through its robust and efficient TASKING VX compiler technology. The TASKING compilers have industry leading code optimization techniques and proven-in-use track records in automotive applications like powertrain, body control, chassis control, including safety critical applications. TASKING’s multi-core support implementation was jointly developed with a leading Tier-1 supplier in the powertrain area and is regarded as one of the most well-respected and advanced solutions. The new release of the TASKING toolset brings support for the RH850/C1x, RH850/D1x, RH850/E1x, RH850/P1x and RH850/R1x device variants in addition to the RH850/F1x series that was supported already. While Renesas continues to widen its scalable range of RH850 products, Altium will work with Renesas to add support to the toolset for future RH850 variants, including specialized solutions for new on-chip modules. A major addition to the new release of the toolset is support for the Renesas E1 On-Chip debugging emulator, next to the Instruction Set Simulator debugger. The debugger’s graphical user interface is seamlessly integrated into the Eclipse-based IDE and accessible through the debugger perspective. This brings to the developer a single coding and debugging front-end for RH850 application development, which is both comprehensive and very cost-effective compared to separate solutions, says the company. ”Altium’s partnership with Renesas has enabled us to extend the tool suite support for the RH850 automotive microcontroller by support of new derivatives and the support of the Renesas E1 emulator.”, said Harm-André Verhoef, TASKING product management, Altium. "As independent and automotive focussed compiler vendor with proven-in-use technology we serve our customers with the most comprehensive as well as the most integrated development suites, removing the barriers encountered when developing for microcontrollers with multiple cores, enabling our customers not only to get their applications to market faster, but also to create safer applications and at an unprecedented cost-efficient level." New code generation optimizations have been added to this new compiler release, such as MIL linking and code compaction (reverse inlining), techniques that have proven to be highly effective in TASKING’s compilers for automotive microcontrollers. Measurements on a wide range of different application sources, including powertrain applications, show improvements up to 40% in code compactness, says the company.