ARM releases ARM Compiler 5 and DS-5 development environment

CHIP DESIGNER ARM has released version 5.0 of its ARM Compiler and the ARM DS-5 toolchain.

ARM updated the ARM Compiler and introduced ARM DS-5 Professional Edition to replace the ARM RVDS as the reference software development toolchain for ARM based chips. DS-5 integrates the ARM Compiler into an Eclipse-based development environment that should make it familiar to programmers who use the open source integrated development environment (IDE) with other languages.

ARM's updated compiler includes specific optimisations for the ARM Cortex A15 MPCore, Cortex R5 and Cortex R7 processors. It offers improved GCC compatibility, which ARM says will allow the ARM Compiler 5 to handle existing build environments for open source projects without any modifications.

To explain just how optimised the ARM Compiler 5 is, ARM said that compiler optimisations were developed with instruction and processor pipelines in mind.

For the ARM DS-5 IDE, ARM said it provides code generation, debug and performance analysis for Cortex A9-MPCore including support for the chip's NEON single instruction multiple data engine. However the firm was keen to promote the debugging capabilities of the ARM DS-5, saying that it allows developers to use pre-configured settings for the latest batch of ARM chips including Nvidia's Tegra 250 and Texas Instruments' OMAP4.

Providing high performance compilers and developer friendly IDEs is vital for chip designers to see developers make use of their hardware.

ARM hopes that, as more of its chips end up in consumer facing hardware such as smartphones and tablets, by making it easier to develop software it can stunt Intel's impending foray into the embedded market with its x86 chips. µ