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Synopsys extends software tools for ARMv8 processors
Dylan McGrath
2/11/2013 4:00 PM EST
SAN FRANCISCO—EDA and IP vendor Synopsys Inc. announced Monday (Feb. 11) the extension its software development tools for ARM processor-based systems.
Synopsys (Mountain View, Calif.) said its Virtualizer development kit (VDK) for ARMv8 processors would enable software teams to start development of software for ARMv8-based SoC designs up to 12 months prior to board availability. The firm said this would accelerate operating system bring-up as well as firmware, device driver and middleware development.
The new VDK family follows the VDK Family for ARMv7 processors, which Synopsys announced last year. The VDK family for ARMv8 processors is expected to be available in April, Synopsys said.
"When companies adopt the Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 processors based upon the ARMv8 architecture, they gain access to a robust ecosystem of 64-bit software and development tools," said John Cornish, executive vice president for ARM's system design division, in a statement. "The VDK family for ARMv8 Processors from Synopsys integrates ARM Fast Model technology to give software developers an efficient platform to support early code development and analysis."
Alongside its traditional 32-bit instruction set, ARMv8 introduced AArch64, a power-optimized 64-bit instruction set and execution state for future generations of mobile, consumer, networking and enterprise SoCs. Synopsys VDKs include support for AArch64, offering visibility and controllability to accelerate the development and debug of software running on ARMv8 architecture compliant processors, Synopsys said.
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Synopsys (Mountain View, Calif.) said its Virtualizer development kit (VDK) for ARMv8 processors would enable software teams to start development of software for ARMv8-based SoC designs up to 12 months prior to board availability. The firm said this would accelerate operating system bring-up as well as firmware, device driver and middleware development.
The new VDK family follows the VDK Family for ARMv7 processors, which Synopsys announced last year. The VDK family for ARMv8 processors is expected to be available in April, Synopsys said.
"When companies adopt the Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 processors based upon the ARMv8 architecture, they gain access to a robust ecosystem of 64-bit software and development tools," said John Cornish, executive vice president for ARM's system design division, in a statement. "The VDK family for ARMv8 Processors from Synopsys integrates ARM Fast Model technology to give software developers an efficient platform to support early code development and analysis."
Alongside its traditional 32-bit instruction set, ARMv8 introduced AArch64, a power-optimized 64-bit instruction set and execution state for future generations of mobile, consumer, networking and enterprise SoCs. Synopsys VDKs include support for AArch64, offering visibility and controllability to accelerate the development and debug of software running on ARMv8 architecture compliant processors, Synopsys said.
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