Forth programmering af ARM processorer
Den engelske firma MPE introducerer frit tilgængelige Forth LIte kompilere til ARM Cortex M og TI MSP430 kits. Forth har store fordele i flere krævende nicheapplikationer (in english).
MPE has announced the availability of new free LITE Compilers in Forth for ARM Cortex M and TI MSP430 cores, targeted at standard Development Kits. Forth as a special programming language is used in niche applications where interactive programming, fast time to prototypes and incremental code generation are needed – or when it gets difficult.High Integrity System requirements are increasing in Medical, Rail and Robot applications, where the most resilient and robust development processes are called for and Forth is well suited. In contrast to other languages all of the tools are integrated and the LITE compiler will reside on the microcontrollers targeted – no additional tools required; the PC connected is mainly used as a terminal function, making remote servicing easier.
Code generated is directly compiled into FLASH. A USB connection, or even RS232, are sufficient for in the field changes; software can be adapted, code changed, without using any additional tool chain. Ideal for service or testing.
C programmers often neglect the advantages of this approach, the entry into starting with Forth, or combining the advantages of both. MPE decided to lower the entry level cost to zero; and targets the well introduced development boards from ST and TI as a first step: STM32F072B Discovery Board and MSP430G2553 Launchpad, others will follow.
Many of these boards are in designer’s hands now, ready to just download the new software and try it out. More starting-up support will be added soon on the MPE website.
LITE versions are just limited in code size compared to the full Forth compilers, sufficient for small to medium size applications. And if the limit of code size as been reached, there is the cost effective path to the full Forth Compiler version.
More information: http://www.mpeforth.com/xc7.htm
MPE is a privately held company based in Southampton UK, founded in 1981 to develop and sell software tools such as compilers, specialising in real-time embedded systems.
Professional and Standard compilers are available for: ARM and Cortex-M0/M1/M3/M4, ARM/StrongARM/XScale, 386/486/Pentium, H8S, H8/300H and H8/Tiny, Coldfire, 9S12/68HC12, MSP430 and 8051.
LITE compilers is available for ARM Cortex-M and MSP430.
