Arm Compiler Version 6

Benefits

Arm Compiler 6 offers lots of benefits compared to the previous Arm Compiler 6 and other available alternatives:

• It has the best-in-class code size for cores based on the Armv7-M architecture (Arm Cortex-M3/M4/M7).
• It supports cores based on Armv8-M (Arm Cortex-M23 and M33) and creates secure and non-secure code for devices with TrustZone for Armv8-M.
• It fully supports the C++14 language standard.
• Source code created for gcc can be built and optimized with Arm Compiler 6.

Code Size Comparison

Here is an example, that has many typical components of a microcontroller application. It initializes and uses pins from a HAL library. It relies on an RTOS kernel, here Keil RTX 5. In this example, the HAL library is available in an optimized version for the three compilers. The values for gcc were created using the highest optimization, with an emphasis on size.

Safety Applications

Functional safety standards such as IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 require developers to justify the usage of compilers and demonstrate confidence in the selected toolchain.

Arm offers a compiler safety package to develop functional safety applications and help customers achieve certification by providing confidence-building evidence which can be used to make a toolchain justification argument.

Furthermore, Arm Run-Time System (FuSa RTS) includes the real-time operating system (RTOS) and C library that are certified for use in safety-critical  applications.