ARM low-level development tools

        To use ARM as a super MCU, the following development tools are required:

ADS: does not support ARM11, only supports ARM9 at most, which is now obsolete.

Keil MDK-ARM: Same as RealView MDK. In previous versions, the kernel used Keil, which does not support ARM as well as ARM's own ADS. Now it has been acquired by ARM. After ARM acquired Keil, the compiler was changed to its own Real View, which became RealView MDK.

RealView MDK: RealView Microcontroller Develop Kit, a product developed in cooperation with Keil. It only supports the development of low-end MCUs, such as ARM7/ARM9/cortex-m3/m1

RVDS: Real View Develop Suit, supports all ARM, high-end development tools.

IAR: IAR Embedded Workbench, compared with the above 4 software released by ARM, IAR has better compatibility and supports more processors, not only ARM but also Renesas, and also supports 8051 and other MCUs. Unfortunately, ARM only supports ARM11 so far, and does not support cortex-A8 and so on.

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The difference between Realview MDK and Realview DS:

        Realview MDK is mainly used for the development of embedded applications. Its device database contains many chips from many manufacturers, such as AT91SAM64, S3C2410, etc. MDK can not only simulate the instruction sets of ARM7, ARM9 and CORTEX, but also simulate their peripheral devices, such as IIC, UART, SPI, etc. MDK cooperates with ULINK2 to control ARM-based chips through the JTAG interface, and can display the register values ​​of the ARM core and the values ​​of the peripheral registers on the chip in real time. At the same time, it can also modify the values ​​of the memory, so it is very convenient for the development and debugging of embedded applications. 

        Realview DS is mainly used for debugging during chip development. It cooperates with the ICE emulator to accurately implement the logical functions of ARM cores such as ARM7, ARM9, ARM10, ARM11, CORTEX, etc., which is convenient for IC manufacturers to simulate and test the ARM core-based SOC chips they design or manufacture. 

        Although Realview MDK and Realview DS both use the RVCT compiler suite and can develop embedded applications, Realview DS is mainly used for IC design and is not suitable for the development of embedded applications. It is best to use Realview MDK to develop embedded applications. 

        RVMDK and RVDS are two different products of ARM. The two tools have different positioning. RVMDK is launched to meet the needs of engineers who develop embedded software based on MCU. RVDS is provided for engineers engaged in SOC and FPGA design. The price of RVDS is relatively expensive. If you are developing ARM-based applications, it is best to use RVMDK, which is also relatively cheap.

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