CodeSourcery has updated its commercially supported GNU- and Eclipse-based software development toolkits. Also known as the "Fall release," Sourcery G++ 4.3 builds on the latest GNU compiler and debugger releases, while adding more automated configuration and expanded support for hardware-assisted debugging, the company says.

(Click for slightly larger view of G++ screenshot)

Sourcery G++ is based on the open source GNU tools, with added testing, refinement, and commercial support, according to the vendor. The tools support both Windows and Linux on IA32 development hosts. They include cross toolchains for target architectures that include ARM, ColdFire, fido, MIPS, PowerPC, Stellaris, and IA32.

Macraigor's "OCDemon" debug
hardware and target board
(Click for details)The fall 4.3 release includes the latest GNU C and C++ Compilers (GCC 4.3.2), as well as the newest GNU Debugger (GDB 6.8.50) available from the Free Software Foundation, "with significant additional enhancements developed by CodeSourcery," says the company. Other new features are said to include:The Sourcery G++ Debug Sprite -- The package offers improved support for Macraigor Systems’s debug devices (pictured at right) on ARM, ColdFire, MIPS, and Power bare metal targets. It also adds support for Keil’s ULINK2 debug device on ST Microelectronics’s STM32 and Luminary Micro’s Stellaris processors, says CodeSourcery.

OpenMP support -- Sourcery G++ now supports the OpenMP multi-threading implementation for generating code for task and data parallelism on ARM, MIPS, Power and x86 GNU/Linux platforms. For more on OpenMP and other GCC 4.x additions, see our recent coverage of an IBM DeveloperWorks tutorial on the subject.

Improved ARM support -- The GNU Toolchain has been enhanced to support ARM Cortex-A8 cores, and now offers half-precision floating point (FP16) support for the ARM Cortex-A9. CodeSourcery also touts improved support for ARM’s Neon media and signal processing technology.

Improved ColdFire support -- Sourcery G++ is now said to target Freescale’s MCF51ACnn, MCF51CNnn, MCF51EM, MCF5225x, MCF5227x, and MCF5301x microprocessors for bare metal and uClinux targets, and supports ColdFire v1 debugging using P&E debug devices.

Improved MIPS support -- MIPS support now includes the CodeSourcery Common Startup Code Sequence (CS3) for a "uniform, cross-platform" board initialization and interrupt handling, says the company. CodeSourcery started shipping an updated version of G++ for MIPS in June.

Improved PowerPC support -- Sourcery G++ now supports Freescale's upcoming, multi-core QorIQ processor.Availability

Sourcery G++ 4.3 Fall Edition is available now, starting at $400 for the Personal Edition, says CodeSourcery. More information may be found here. Sourcery G++ runs on GNU/Linux or Windows hosts, and targets GNU/Linux, uClinux, Windows, or bare board systems, says CodeSourcery.


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