Ultra-low-power code analyzer flags inefficient code, boosts microcontroller design efficiency

Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) announces the ULP Advisor software code analysis tool, which teaches developers how to create the most energy-efficient, ultra-low-power applications with TI’s MSP430 microcontrollers. Created by MSP430 microcontroller experts, the ULP Advisor tool is a software based, power optimization teaching tool for microcontrollers that brings together decades of MSP430 microcontroller and ultra-low-power development experience.

The new tool provides a static code analyzer that flags software code and offers ultra-low-power tips and tricks to help developers understand where to improve code, line by line, resulting in milliamps and nanoamps saved in designs for ultimate low-power performance. This hands-on teaching tool not only helps developers optimize current application code to achieve longer battery life, it also helps them avoid the same types of ultra-low-power pitfalls when designing future applications, making it a useful development tool for any MSP430-based project.

Features and benefits of ULP Advisor software code analysis tool:

• Checks code against a thorough specification list of “ultra-low-power best practices,” flagging and itemizing each “ultra-low-power rule violation” via a graphical user interface.

• Highlights areas of improvement and provides comprehensive resources on how to optimize applications for ultra-low power.

• Interactive, community-focused wiki offers information specific to each ultra-low-power rule, code examples, videos, tutorials, links to relevant technical documentation, and promotes collaboration between experts and beginners where anyone can contribute ultra-low-power insight.

• Free software tool supports all MSP430 devices and applications – integrated into TI’s Eclipse-based Code Composer Studio integrated development environment (IDE) v5 and included in the latest version of IAR Embedded Workbench.

ULP Advisor software is available today and is included in the latest install of Code Composer Studio IDE version 5.2. Download it here for free. For more information, contact Texas Instruments Inc., 12500 TI Blvd., Dallas, TX 75243. Phone: (972) 644-5580.