IAR Systems is providing design support for the ARM Cortex-R4 processor in version 5.40 of IAR Embedded Workbench for ARM.

The Cortex-R4 processor was originally mainly used in embedded system-on-chip applications.

But usage is changing to standalone microcontrollers particularly in automotive, safety-critical systems and industrial automation applications which will require full C compiler support.

“We have now seen a clear trend where the Cortex-R4 processor is being incorporated in general purpose high-end microcontrollers intended for a wider audience," says Haydn Povey, director of product marketing for ARM's processor division.

The package includes an editor, project management tools, a C and C++ compiler that generates optimised code for the combined ARM/Thumb-2 instruction set, a C-SPY simulator as well as run-time libraries, relocating assembler, linker and librarian tools.

The compiler can check against the rules of MISRA C (2004) software development standard as established by the Motor Industry Software Reliability Association.

An evaluation edition of IAR PowerPac RTOS, file system, USB stack and a TCP/IP stack bundle is in included within the package. RTOS plug-ins are available from IAR Systems and other vendors.