Düsseldorf, April 16, 2015 – Renesas Electronics, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of the CC-RL C compiler (Note 1), a development environment for the RL78 Family 16-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) widely used in the home appliances, industrial, and automotive systems.
Recently, increased diversity and performance of functions provided by systems that include motors, such as home appliances or industrial equipment, have become strongly desired. This has resulted in demand for increased processing speed in the MCUs used. At the same time, since even longer operating times are required in battery-operated equipment such as health care equipment and fire detectors, there are increasing demands for reduced power consumption in the MCUs used. Renesas’ new CC-RL C compiler takes advantage of the low-power capabilities of the RL78 Family and furthermore achieves increased processing performance to respond to these dual needs for high performance and low power consumption.
The new compiler can be used in combination with the e² studio (eclipse embedded studio) integrated development environment which is becoming more widely used on a global scale.
Key Features of the New C compiler CC-RL:
1) Improved MCU processing performance by employing the latest optimization technology
The most significant feature of the CC-RL C compiler is the improvement in MCU processing performance it achieves. The performance of programs coded in standard ANSI C (Note 2), is significantly improved as compared to the existing Renesas compilers, without any changes to the code itself. Furthermore, the interrupt response performance, which is critical at the system level, is improved by up to six times. These performance improvements can contribute significantly to higher performance in application systems. Additionally, the CC-RL compiler includes porting support functions for porting from earlier compilers. This allows the users to make effective use of existing software assets.
2) Reduced MCU power consumption and 10 percent smaller code size
The new compiler contributes to reduced power consumption in user systems by significantly increasing processing performance. Most systems alternate between running in the normal state and waiting in the standby state, where almost no power is consumed. Due to the speed improvements described in item (1) above, the time spent in the normal state is reduced, and the time spent in the standby state increases by that amount. This allows the MCU’s power consumption to be reduced (see figure in the attachment). Furthermore, the CC-RL C compiler generates code that is 10 percent smaller than that generated by earlier Renesas C compilers. This allows even more functions to be included in systems and thus can contribute to increased added value in application systems.
3) MISRA-C guideline checking functions
The CC-RL C compiler includes functions for checking items in the MISRA-C:2004 guidelines (Note 3). Since these checks are performed automatically at compile time, missed checks and incorrect file specifications are prevented. Thus these functions can correct all coding that violates the guidelines. Note that the CC-RL C compiler is available in a standard version and a professional version, and that the MISRA-C checking functions are only included in the professional version.
Renesas intends to continue to release MCU integrated development environment tools that contribute not only to increased efficiency in customer development activities, but also to improved performance and reliability and higher added value in user application systems.
Availability
The CC-RL C compiler is scheduled to be available from April 20, 2015.
(Availability is subject to change without notice.)
Note 1) Compiler:
A program that translates programs written in higher-level programming languages such as C into machine code that the MCU CPU can understand.
Note 2) ANSI-C:
American National Standard for Information Processing – Programming Language – C. This standard defines the C programming language, which is also referred to as “Standard C”.
Note 3) MISRA-C:
A set of guidelines created by the Motor Industry Software Reliability Association for programs written in the C programming language for use in automotive applications.
Remarks
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About Renesas Electronics Europe
Renesas Electronics is the world’s number one supplier of microcontrollers and a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, including system-on-chip and a wide range of discrete analogue and power devices. Established in 2010, Renesas Electronics combines the collective semiconductor expertise of Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric and NEC Electronics, encapsulating more than 200 years’ experience.
Renesas’ products are the result of decades of research and investment into semiconductor technology and customer solutions. Today, they provide pioneering platforms for the advancement of the Smart Society, embedding intelligence, connectivity, safety and security in solutions for cars, homes, buildings and factories. In Europe, Renesas complements its cutting-edge technology with resources that foster customer proximity and span the entire product lifecycle. These include the European Technology Centre, which designs innovative solutions specifically for Europe, and the European Quality Centre in Düsseldorf, which provides technical support to customers throughout the region. Renesas also operates an effective ecosystem, comprising the industry’s largest local support network and an extensive network of over 800 hardware and software alliance partners.
Headquartered in Japan, Renesas Electronics has subsidiaries in 20 countries worldwide. More information is available atwww.renesas.eu.
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