This month TI launched the “Platinum Edition” of its Code Composer Studio integrated development environment (IDE). The “Platinum Edition” offers a number of enhancements over previous versions. Most notably, the IDE includes two new features intended to improve developer productivity: a “rewind” feature and a fast connect/disconnect capability.
The “rewind” feature enables a programmer to reverse code execution in the simulator. (This feature cannot be used with hardware targets.) The rewind feature is intended to help programmers find bugs. In many cases, it is difficult to tell that an error has occurred until well after the buggy code has executed. This makes it difficult to find the bug, and the programmer often has to guess at the bug’s location. Without a rewind feature, the programmer’s best option may be to restart execution of the code, halt execution before the suspected bug location, and step through the code looking for the error. In many cases, it is necessary to repeat this process several times before the bug is found. By allowing the programmer to execute code in the reverse direction, the rewind feature eliminates the need to restart code execution, decreasing the time and effort required to find a bug.
TI claims that the rewind feature is a first among DSP tools. BDTI has not verified this claim, but the feature is clearly unusual—only a few other tools offer similar features. One notable example is Green Hills’ “TimeMachine” tool. Unlike TI’s rewind feature, Green Hill’s TimeMachine works with hardware targets, not with simulators. TimeMachine supports many general-purpose processors, but not any DSPs.
The other productivity feature, fast connect/disconnect, is useful for situations where the debugger loses communication with a hardware target. With previous versions of Code Composer Studio, such losses of communication could cause the debugger to lock up, forcing the programmer to restart the debugger, reload the project, and reset the breakpoints. With fast connect/disconnect, the debugger can close a lost communication link without disrupting the debugger session. The debugger retains settings such as breakpoints when closing the connection, allowing the programmer to quickly restart debugging when the connection is restored.
Another useful new feature is the “Component Manager,” which allows users to upgrade the IDE without changing the compiler or OS. (Previously, all components had to be upgraded together.) Developers who need to stick with a specific compiler or OS version can now do so and still take advantage of new features in future releases of TI’s IDE.
TI has also added some code “tuning” features for the C5000, C2000, and OMAP platforms. Previously, these features were offered only for the C6000. These features include tools that help the programmer balance speed and memory use and tools that help the programmer optimize code to maximize cache efficiency.
The Platinum Edition also differs from previous versions in that it packages together tools for the C6000, C5000, C2000 and OMAP platforms. Previously, developers had to purchase a separate license for each platform. The new pricing creates savings for developers who use multiple TI platforms. The new Platinum Edition costs $3,600; previous versions cost $3,600 per platform.
Code Composer Studio Platinum Edition is available now. The purchase price includes a 15-month update subscription service.
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