IAR Systems expands support for Microchip 16bit MCUs, DSCs

IAR Systems has strengthened its support for Microchip Technology's range of 16bit PIC24 MCUs and dsPIC33F digital signal controllers (DSCs) by adding native hardware level debug support, through the inclusion of the Microchip MPLAB REAL ICE In-Circuit Emulator System within its C-SPY debugger, an integral component of IAR Embedded Workbench.

IAR Embedded Workbench incorporates a C/C++ compiler, assembler, linker, librarian, text editor, project manager and C-SPY Debugger in a single integrated development environment (IDE), giving the developer the advantage of an uninterrupted workflow and a single toolbox in which all components integrate seamlessly.

IAR Embedded Workbench for dsPIC DSC/PIC24 also features seamless integration with IAR visualSTATE, a graphical development tool for creating demanding event-driven embedded applications. IAR visualSTATE generates optimized ANSI C code from state machine designs based on UML, providing advanced verification and validation utilities, and the C/C++ code it produces is very compact and 100 percent consistent with the system design. Using the combination of IAR visualSTATE and IAR Embedded Workbench enables developers to increase the feature richness and code quality of an application while reducing implementation complexity and improving maintainability.

"IAR Systems is a leading independent vendor of embedded tools. Our close working relationship gives demanding developers of dsPIC digital signal controller and PIC24 microcontroller applications access to a premier tool chain for quickly and easily generating precise code in both C and C++," commented Derek Carlson, VP of development tools for Microchip.

"Microchip is the leading player in the 16bit arena," added Henrik Flodell, product manager of IAR Systems. "We are very pleased to be able to extend the advanced development and debug capability we can offer dsPIC DSC/PIC24 developers by including the MPLAB REAL ICE In-Circuit Emulator System in our tool suite."