Hitex Development Tools, the Karlsruhe based producer of test and analysis tools for Embedded Software, has announced that it is to sell the "Development Assistant for C” (also known as “DA-C”) from the Swiss firm RistanCASE GmbH.

DA-C is an editor with many additional features that support the development, documenting, maintaining and reviewing of microcontroller applications. Source-code analysis features include the possibility to view the calling hierarchy of functions, the definitions and declarations of symbols, references to variables and the structure of data-types. Flow charts visualize the logical structure of implemented functions.

DA-C also determines “software-metrics,” that allow an estimation of software quality itself. All known ANSI-C metrics are measured (e.g. logical complexity or operator density). Analyses carried out at a large manufacturer of mobile radio products have shown that the use of DA-C can increase productivity by at least 30% and that an increase of up to 70% is achievable.

Figure: DA-C supports breakpoints in flow chart, calling hierarchy diagram, editor and browser.

DA-C has a built-in interface to HiTOP, which is the user interface used by Hitex in-circuit-emulators. This allows the setting and removal of breakpoints, the starting and stopping of program execution as well as step-by-step execution to take place in DA-C. So, application testing can be carried out from within DA-C. If during basic testing, in-circuit-emulator features such as trace and trigger need to be used, it’s possible to switch from DA-C to HiTOP and back at anytime. Both HiTOP and DA-C are aware of the status of the test session at all times, so that a breakpoint set in DA-C would also exist in HiTOP. The same breakpoint can then be removed using HiTOPthat will in turn automatically remove the breakpoint in DA-C. Furthermore, DA-C and HiTOP can run on different computers.

"Due to the tight interaction between DA-C and HiTOP and the added value to the customer when both products are used together, it goes without saying that Hitex offers its emulator customers the DA-C", remarked Petar Ristanovic, managing director of RistanCASE GmbH. 

The interface between DA-C and HiTOP is based on HiTOP’s Remote Control Interface (RCI) and is included in V4.10 onwards. Software required on the DA-C-side is included from version V3.5.568 onwards with the delivery of the product. 

A demo-version of DA-C is available from Hitex. This version can be easily updated for free by e-mail to a full license version with 14-day time limit. The demo version can be obtained on CD by requesting it from sales@hitex.de or by calling +(49) 7 21 / 96 28 - 0.

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Press Release in PDF format: RC_Hitex_PR_0101.pdf