These release notes cover the changes between v4.3r1 and v4.4r1 of the TASKING VX-toolset for ARM Cortex.
This section gives an overview of the most important new features and improvements in v4.4 (compared to v4.3). See the sections with fixed issues for a complete list.
Support has been added for the following device families:
The support of the following device families has been updated:
Eclipse has been update to the Juno release, using Eclipse 3.8.1 and CDT 8.1.1. The most noticable change is that the debugger control buttons are now placed on the main tool bar instead of in the Debug view.
It is now required to have the Segger software v4.66 or higher installed. This is checked when the debugger is started.
The tools have been optimized for speed, resulting in better build times.
Also a new feature is introduced in the C compiler: caching of generated code. When you enable this feature the compiler will cache output files in a specified cache directory. When the source code after preprocessing, relevant command line options, and the compiler version are the same as in a previous invocation, the previous result is copied to the output file.
The cache directory may be shared, for instance by placing it on a network drive. You can control the maximum size and/or age of the cache directory with a separate expiration tool, "expirearm".
The tool chain has been extended with a work-around for silicon bug 752419 (Cortex-M3) and 752770 (Cortex-M4). The problem worked around is that interrupted loads to SP can cause erroneous behavior.
The workaround is implemented in the C compiler and can be enabled with the option --silicon-bug=752419. The same option is available for the assembler to enable a check on the occurence of the instructions that could result in the erroneous behavior. The C libraries in the product are translated with the silicon-bug workaround enabled.
The silion bug workaround can also be enabled from Eclipse on the Project > C/C++ Build > Processor properties page.
In the compiler the problem only occurs when the __setsp() instrinsic is used, or when VLA's are used (via the __free() intrinsic). If the option is enabled alternate code is generated in these instances and enough optimisations are blocked for these specific bits of code that the suspected instructions should not be admitted. Still it is recommended to enable the assembler check for this silicon problem as well to be sure the suspected instructions will never be generated.
The list of open issues for v4.4r1 can be found on the internet.
When using the product without a valid license, the tools will run in trial mode. This means you can use the toolset 15 days with full functionality. When running in trial mode, each tool will report the number of days left. When using a license that does not cover the full toolset, the tools that are not covered by the license will run in trial mode.
When after installing the license file the tools that are covered by the license still report that they are running in trial mode, this means that there is a license error. If you want to force the termination of the trial mode to get the FLEXlm error message you can set the environment variable FORCE_NO_TRIAL to "yes".
All TASKING products include the industry standard FLEXlm license management software. In order to be able to run this toolset, you will need a license key, although you can use the full functionality during the 15 day trial period as described above. You can only obtain a license key if you have purchased this product.
To obtain a license key, you can start the License Administrator from the program group of your installed
TASKING toolset. In case you still need to install the toolset, you can start the License Administrator by
setting a check mark at the end of the setup/installation process. The wizard of the License Administrator
will guide you through the steps to obtain your license key.
Once you have received your license key from Altium, you can install it on your system by running the License
Administrator again. Alternatively you can simply save the license key as the file 'license.dat' in the
C:\FLEXLM folder on your PCs hard disk.
More information is available on http://www.tasking.com/support/flexlm. On this page you also find assistance to setup a floating network license, or for installation on Linux or Sun systems.