NXP understands the development lifecycle of embedded design, and we know that
developers need free software peripheral drivers that are production-grade and
delivered with relevant example code. We also know that off-the-shelf
middleware is a must, and that these enabling software elements help you
expedite development, giving you more time to design for product
differentiation.
So, how does NXP answer these development software needs? With
MCUXpresso software and tools, our cohesive suite of software and tools technologies designed to make your
development simpler and faster.
MCUXpresso – Core Software Technologies
Since its GA release in March of 2017, we have continuously looked for ways to
build upon our
core software technologies – the MCUXpresso SDK, IDE and Config
Tools.
With the most recent release of MCUXpresso software and tools in December
2019, NXP has added a new
MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool, designed to enable easy key and certificate management along with secure
provisioning at the factory. This complements the other core elements of the
MCUXpresso ecosystem:
MCUXpresso IDE
is an easy-to-use integrated development environment for creating, building,
debugging and optimizing your application. With more than 100,000 downloads,
this Eclipse-based IDE continues to bring a simplified development
experience to life for designing with our MCUs.
Packed with middleware options and example code, you can configure a custom
MCUXpresso SDK
based on your product selections and needs. This open source software
development kit is built with your interests in mind, quite literally.
When it’s time to move to your own hardware platform, look no further
than the
MCUXpresso Config Tools
to help you with your system configuration needs, including pins, clocks and
peripherals tools to speed your time to market.
These MCUXpresso core software technologies are designed with your needs in
mind, and we are eager to continue growing and improving these core offerings
as your needs evolve and grow.
Watch this video for a brief overview of MCUXpresso Software and Tools.
MCUXpresso – Enabling Software Technologies
With the recent releases of MCUXpresso SDK, we have also included a wide range
of enabling software technology (i.e. middleware) from both
NXP and our partners – including
wired and wireless communication stacks,
cloud connectivity, motor control, machine learning and
graphics. This integrated middleware is especially important when open source
solutions aren’t available, so NXP has worked closely with third-party
partners to deliver an integrated set of middleware for these applications
within the MCUXpresso SDK for easy evaluation.
If you’re looking to design an application that requires a professional
GUI or needs CAN communications, look no further than the MCUXpresso SDK,
which includes evaluation versions of leading graphics solutions from Crank
Software and TARA Systems, and an evaluation version of Embedded Systems
Academy (EmSA) Micro CANopen stack. All of these partner libraries are fully
integrated into the SDK. A simple checkbox selection when you’re
building your SDK is all you need to do to get the middleware added. Better
yet, no special migration to a different build setup is required once
you’ve decided to move beyond evaluation software and purchase the
partner software.
MCUXpresso – Enabling Tools Technologies
The suite of MCUXpresso software and tools includes the MCUXpresso IDE, but no
need to move away from your preferred IDE, whether its from IAR, Keil or
based on GCC and makefiles; MCUXpresso SDK includes project files for all of
these options. A similar range of choices applies to debug probes, where
MCUXpresso IDE offers the same plug-and-play experience SEGGER J-link and
P&E micro probes as it does with NXP’s own high performance probes
not only for standard debug but also SWO trace and profiling, and ITM-based
standard I/O.
We hope you find these new enabling software and tools technologies offered
as part of our MCUXpresso software and tools to be highly useful in your
product development cycle. As always, we are interested in your development
needs and will continue to seek new and improved offerings to make your
product development simpler and faster.
Here are some extra resources you might find useful:
Brendon Slade is the Director of the general purpose MCU Ecosystem team. He has more
than 25 years of experience in the DSP and microcontroller industry where he has
held design, applications and technical marketing roles serving industrial, mobile,
automotive, voice communications and audio processing markets. His team focuses on
enablement of NXP's Arm® Cortex®-M based MCUs, working with
partners and NXP's internal software teams to define and deliver complementary
development tool and software solutions. A graduate of the University of Plymouth,
UK, he lives in Sunnyvale, California and holds patents in debug technology.