August 2015
6
T
OOLS
& S
OFTWARE
Developing software for XMC
microcontrollers with greater efficiency
By Matthias Ackermann,
Infineon
Infineon has significantly improved
its DAVE embedded development
environment: Version 4 of DAVE
focuses on improvement of
data models, methodology, and
user-friendliness in order to allow
much quicker software development
for XMC microcontrollers.
e DAVE professional Eclipse-based devel-
opment platform guides and supports users
during so ware development – from evalu-
ation to the end product. For this, In neon is
providing, among other things, an extensive
peripheral- and application-oriented, compo-
nent-based code repository. In addition, DAVE
generates the necessary code for the periph-
erals of In neon XMC microcontrollers.
is
complementary approach allows the user to
employ available commercial third-party tools
for ARM to translate the C source code con g-
ured and generated in DAVE, link it, and load it
to the microcontroller (MCU). is completely
covers the development cycle from evaluation
to the rst prototype and the end product. Also,
the user has a maximum degree of freedom for
fast and e cient platform-oriented so ware
and product development.
e embedded industry is increasingly stan-
dardizing (ARM cores) while at the same
time the integration density of manufactur-
er-speci c peripherals is growing, as is the
range of MCU products. Abstractions such as
those In neon planned for DAVE (version 4)
are needed in order to keep pace with these
developments.
ey allow the developer to
focus on the actual application without hav-
ing to acquire comprehensive MCU hardware
knowledge; this ultimately shortens develop-
ment times and decreases the probability of
errors. DAVE in Version 4 is systematically
further developed and expanded in order to
allow abstracting scalable yet e cient hard-
ware-level, component-based programming
for XMC microcontrollers.
e adaptations and expansions include,
among other things, improved data models
and improved graphics, scalable so ware driv-
ers for individual peripherals (the device driver,
the XMC Lib), and so ware components for
dedicated applications (DAVE APPs).
e
depiction, modularity, and abstraction in the
development environment simplify the reus-
ability and e ciency of the so ware develop-
ment. DAVE is an Eclipse-based development
environment (IDE), including GNU C com-
piler, debugger, resource solver, and code gen-
eration. XMC Lib is a static device driver layer
in accordance with CMSIS andMISRA-C:2004,
library of Application Programmable Inter-
faces (APIs) for XMC microcontroller periph-
erals. DAVE APPs are graphically con gurable,
abstracting application-oriented so ware com-
ponents. DAVE SDK is the So ware Devel-
opment Kit for the modi cation or expansion
of existing DAVE APPs or the development
of new DAVE APPs.
ere is a collection of
examples that are also intended for further use.
e examples encompass applications on the
basis of XMC Lib and DAVE APPs. ird par-
ties are also included: XMC Lib and the code
generated with DAVE are suitable for use with
a compiler of, for example, GCC, ARM, Task-
ing, and IAR and can be used with standard
development environments such as of Altium,
ARM/Keil, Atollic, IAR Systems, and Rowley.
In addition to improved operability and graph-
ics, In neon has introduced novel functions
such as DAVE APP Tree Dependency and Pin
Figure 1. With Version 4,
In neon has modernized the
DAVE development environ-
ment, which now also includes
new DAVE APPs (so ware com-
ponents) for many applications
