The Cortex-M23 is part of ARM’s Cortex-M processor family, designed for microcontroller applications requiring high efficiency in a small physical and memory footprint. The Cortex-M23 is ARM’s most compact microcontroller cores, making it suitable for space-constrained embedded applications such as wearables, medical devices, IoT sensors, and more.
uVision5 from Keil is a popular integrated development environment (IDE) commonly used for developing and debugging Cortex-M projects. However, for various reasons, developers may need alternatives to uVision5 for working with Cortex-M23 projects. Some key reasons could include:
- Cost – uVision5 requires a paid license for full functionality and compiler support.
- Platform support – uVision5 only runs on Windows, lacking support for Linux/Mac.
- Vendor lock-in – uVision5 ties you into the ARM/Keil ecosystem.
- Feature limitations – uVision5 may not offer all the features needed for advanced development.
- Familiarity – Developers used to other IDEs may prefer sticking with what they know.
Fortunately, there are a number of capable alternatives to uVision5 for working with Cortex-M23 projects, both commercial and open source options. Here are some of the popular choices:
Commercial IDE Alternatives
IAR Embedded Workbench
IAR Embedded Workbench is a widely used commercial IDE and toolchain for embedded development. Key features include:
- Integrated debugger, editor, project management and build tools.
- Supports major chip architectures including Arm Cortex-M.
- Options for optimized C/C++ compilers as well as assembler and linker.
- Analysis tools for debugging and diagnostics.
- Options for IDE integration with version control and CI/CD systems.
- Both standalone and Eclipse-based IDE versions available.
IAR offers comprehensive Cortex-M23 device support and is a full-capability alternative to uVision5. However, it also requires a paid license subscription for full toolchain access.
Mentor Embedded Studio (SES)
The Mentor Graphics Sourcery Tools are another commercial IDE and toolchain option suitable for Cortex-M development. Key points about SES include:
- Supports Cortex-M debugging using J-Link, ST-LINK and other standard probe hardware.
- Build tools, debuggers and system tracing capabilities.
- C/C++ compilers with advanced optimization capabilities.
- Analysis tools for system profiling and diagnostics.
- Free “CodeLite” IDE option alongside paid SES IDE.
- Available for Linux, Mac and Windows hosts.
SES has robust Cortex-M23 support and can be purchased individually or as part of larger bundles. The free CodeLite IDE can lower the cost of entry for trying out SES.
Open Source IDE Options
For developers wanting free and open source IDE alternatives to uVision5, there are options available that support Cortex-M23 projects, although they may lack some of the polished features or dedicated support of commercial tools.
Eclipse IDE with ARM Plug-ins
The Eclipse IDE provides a popular open source framework for embedded development. With added plugins from ARM and toolchain vendors, it can support Cortex-M application creation.Notable aspects include:
- ARM provides Eclipse IDE plugins for managing and building Cortex-M projects.
- GNU Arm Embedded and Arm Compiler toolchain integration possible.
- Third party plugins add debug target integration, memory analysis, etc.
- Free and open source IDE framework available across platforms.
- Need to integrate components yourself, less polished out-of-box experience.
Eclipse CDT along with ARM plugins provides a freely available way to manage and build Cortex-M applications without commercial IDEs or toolchains.
Visual Studio Code
Microsoft’s lightweight and cross-platform Visual Studio Code IDE is another option gaining popularity for embedded projects. Useful features include:
- Extensions for ARM development, debugging and project creation.
- Built-in Git integration and rich plugin ecosystem.
- Lightweight IDE well suited to small/low power devices.
- Easy integration with open source and commercial toolchains.
- Debugging support via external debug probes.
- Free and open source IDE available on many platforms.
VS Code requires more manual configuration but provides a feature-rich IDE without commercial licensing costs. Popular extensions are available to aid Cortex-M and embedded development.
STM32CubeIDE
STMicroelectronics provides the STM32CubeIDE, an Eclipse-based IDE tailored for STM32 MCU development including Cortex-M23 based chips. Key points:
- Free IDE with strong STM32 device support.
- Supports using STM’s ST-LINK debug probes and evaluation boards.
- Integrated project creation, build and debug capabilities.
- STM32 config tools to ease peripheral initialization.
- STM32 Ecosystem support including code generation.
- Limited to STM32 chips, caters primarily to STM’s Cortex-M users.
STM32CubeIDE is a very capable IDE for those specifically using STM32 devices, providing STM32 tailored project creation, debug and development tools.
Conclusion
While uVision5 may have traditionally been a popular IDE choice for Cortex-M development, capable alternatives certainly exist for working with Cortex-M23 projects. Both commercial and open source IDE options can fulfill key needs around project creation, compiling, debugging and diagnostics. Developers should evaluate factors like budget, toolchain requirements, platform support and workflows to determine which IDE option best suits their needs.
