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2-2 Getting Started With SHARC Processors
“Selecting Software Development Tools” provides a summary of the avail-
able software development tools for SHARC processors. Most
development tools available for SHARC processors provide a cycle-accu-
rate simulator which can be used to develop initial algorithms and
applications without the actual hardware.
Selecting Software Development Tools
Because SHARC processors are programmable, software development
tools are required to author software applications. Typical software devel-
opment tools include a C/C++ compiler, runtime libraries, assembler, and
linker. Emulation, simulation, debugging, and project management capa-
bilities vary, based on the tools vendor. The process of selecting tools is
shown in Figure 2-1.
Currently, one set of software development tools is available for the
SHARC processor architecture: VisualDSP++ 5.0 from Analog Devices.
VisualDSP++ From Analog Devices
VisualDSP++ is an easy-to-install and easy-to-use integrated software
development and debugging environment (IDDE) that enables efficient
management of projects from start to finish from within a single interface.
Because project development and debugging is integrated, you can move
quickly and easily between editing, building, and debugging activities.
Key features include the native C/C++ compiler, advanced graphical plot-
ting tools, statistical profiling, and the VisualDSP++ Kernel (VDK),
which allows a user’s code to be implemented in a more structured and
easier to scale manner. Other features include assembler, linker, libraries,
loader, splitter, cycle-accurate and functional-accurate compiled simula-
tors, emulator support, and more. VisualDSP++ offers programmers a
powerful yet easy-to-use programming tool with flexibility that signifi-
cantly reduces the time to market.