Altium announces new TASKING C compiler for Renesas RH850 automotive microcontroller family

Altium Limited, a global leader in Smart System DesignAutomation, 3D PCB design (Altium Designer) and embedded software development(TASKING)announces a major new addition to its TASKING C compiler solutions forautomotive application development, providing support for the RH850architecture from Renesas Electronics.

The RH850 is the latest automotive microcontroller familyfrom Renesas to offer high performance balanced with very low power consumptionover a wide and scalable range of products. This family provides richfunctional safety and embedded security features needed for new and advancedautomotive applications. It offers a range of CPU core structures (single,multiple, lock-step and combination thereof) to support high performance and/orhigh reliability requirements. The new TASKING VX-toolset supports allcurrently available RH850 devices. Altium will continue to work with Renesas tosupport future RH850 variants to ensure the delivery of TASKING’swell-respected multi-core support features developed in collaboration withAltium’s Tier-1 automotive customers.

The TASKING VX-toolset for RH850 is the first compiler toincorporate support for the latest MISRA C:2012 guidelines for C programming,in addition to the MISRA C:1998 and C:2004 guidelines. TASKING’s MISRA Csupport enables developers to easily select the MISRA rules to enforce andconfigure the MISRA guidelines in accordance with the company’s prescribedrules in order to increase code safety, reliability and maintainability. Byproviding support for MISRA C:2012, developers now can benefit from the latestguideline improvements that can reduce the cost and complexity of compliance, whilstaiding consistent, safe use of C in critical systems.

”With the RH850 architecture Renesas has built amicrocontroller family that has gained a lot of recognition amongst ourautomotive customers, resulting in a strong interest for TASKING’s robust andefficient VX compiler technology to support the RH850 series”, says Harm-AndreVerhoef, TASKING Product Manager at Altium. “Thanks to close cooperation withRenesas in the development of the new VX-toolset, as well as our ability todevelop a compiler that works independently from compilers for otherarchitectures, we have been able to create a stable and highly optimizedcompiler for the RH850 in a very short time.”

TASKING’s Viper technology used in the new RH850 compilerensures compatibility to other popular TASKING toolsets and eases applicationmigration from other architectures. TASKING compilers have a proven reputationwith highly efficient and robust code for automotive applications like powertrain, body control, chassis control and safety critical applications. TheViper compiler provides a caching functionality which saves the compiler’sintermediate results in order to avoid full compilations, enabling shortproject build times of embedded applications and saving developers both timeand cost.

Automotive embedded applications benchmarks withTASKING’s C compilers have shown best-in-class code efficiency achievements,enabled by Viper, cooperation with customers and understanding their codeoptimization needs.

Key features of the TASKING VX-toolset for RH850 include:

• Eclipse based IDE with integrated compiler anddebugger 

• Highly efficient code generation, allowing for fast andcompact applications

• Integrated code analyzers for

• MISRA-C:1998, C:2004 and C:2012 guidelines

• CERT C secure coding standard

• Profiling through code instrumentation and run-timeerror checking capabilities

• Highly configurable linker with versatile scriptlanguage for optimal memory control

• Compliance with relevant and up-to-date industrystandards

TASKING’s ISO 26262 Support Program is available for thenew RH850 toolset release, offering various cost and lead-time efficientsolutions to help customers achieve certification for functional safetystandards such as ISO 26262 and others. The manufacturer of an electronic(sub)system is responsible for obtaining certification credit. As part of thisprocess the manufacturer has to assess the required level of confidence in theutilized software tools such as the TASKING RH850 toolset, enabled by Altiumthrough a Compiler Qualification Kit as well as optional ISO 26262 CompilerQualification Services.

The VX-toolset for RH850 release v2.1 is available now onPC/Windows, with other platforms supported on request. Pricing starts at USD4,695 / € 3,495 for the TASKING VX-toolset Standard Edition. The ProfessionalEdition with hardware debug support using the Renesas E1 emulator will beavailable in fall 2014.

ABOUT TASKING

TASKING is an Altium brand. TASKING development tools areused by carmakers and the world’s largest automotive Tier-1 suppliers toprogram microcontroller based power train, body control and safety relatedapplications around the globe. More than ten thousand users rely on the TASKINGcompilers and debuggers to create richer next-generation applications whileachieving optimum reliability, security, and performance. TASKING compilers arealso part of Altium Designer and installed on hundreds thousands of developer’sdesktops around the globe. In 2012 the TASKING brand celebrated its 35-yearsanniversary of technology leadership, quality tools and customer supportexcellence. ​​

ABOUT ALTIUM

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) is an Australian multinationalsoftware corporation that focuses on 3D PCB design, electronics design andembedded system development software.

Altium Designer, a unified electronics design environmentlinks all aspects of smart systems design in a single application that ispriced as affordable as possible. With this unique range of technologies Altiumenables electronics designers to innovate, harness the latest devices andtechnologies, manage their projects across broad design ‘ecosystems’, andcreate connected, intelligent products.

Founded in 1985, Altium has offices worldwide, with USlocations in San Diego and Boston, European locations in Karlsruhe, Amersfoort,Kiev, Moscow and Zug and Asia-Pacific locations in Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney.For more information, visit www.altium.com. You can also follow and engagewith Altium via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.