Crossware has added comprehensive support for Freescale Semiconductor's MCF532x and MCF537x ColdFire microprocessors to the ColdFire Development Suite. Developers working with these embedded controllers can now use Crossware's totally integrated and easy to use GUI-based environment to get their programs up and running quickly.
The support includes a full set of Code Creation Wizards, a full set of peripheral register views that can be displayed during simulation and debugging, and a new feature—register tool tips. These tips pop up when the mouse hovers over a value in a register view. They display the name of the register and list by name all of its bits as well as the value of each.
The MCF532x family includes an on-board LCD controller for applications with a GUI. The controller supports images up to 18 bits/pixel. The ColdFire Development Suite features example programs that drive, for instance, the 320-by-240 QVGA display available for the Cobra5329 starter kit. These programs show how to display images with 8, 18, and 24 bits/pixel.
Using the tools, 8- and 18-bit/pixel displays can be created without writing a line of code. A utility is provided to convert Windows bitmap files into a C structure, enabling, for example, a photograph to be rapidly imported into the source code of a program. Since the MCF532x's onboard LCD controller outputs a maximum of 18 bits/pixel, some manual coding is needed to generate a 24-bit/pixel image.
For more information, go to www.crossware.com.