XMOS launches new version of XCore processor development tools with graphical run-time analyzer

BRISTOL, UK & BURLINGAME, USA: XMOS, developer of the industry’s first event-driven 32-bit microcontroller, has launched a major new release of its development tool set that includes a graphical run-time analyzer, which enables real-time tracing of program execution and data. This accelerates the development of XMOS-based embedded applications.

A major issue facing today’s real-time developers when debugging applications is that inserting software trace or print commands into code streams introduces significant overhead and makes results unreliable. To solve this development problem, XMOS has created XScope, a graphical debugging tool that enables the values of variables to be traced and analyzed when real-time programs are executed.

XScope exploits XMOS technology to stream tracing information directly from the system under development. An XMOS processor forwards debug data streams to the host, providing predictable, application-level tracing and analysis of real-time applications without impacting real-time performance.

The integrated XDE viewer provides the user with graphical feedback. The values of variables are set against the execution time line of the application, giving the developer a clear picture of the real-time performance of their system.

Additional features in the new tools release include XMOS Update, a configurable software module that automatically notifies developers when new versions of development tools, documentation and software-defined peripherals are available.