March 27, 2012 -- IAR Systems AB has announced that its IAR Embedded Workbench C/C++ compiler and debugger tool suite now supports the new ARM Cortex-M0+ core and Freescale Semiconductors' recently announced Kinetis L series.

Flash memory size is a key factor in determining system cost and power consumption, and the need for the smallest possible code size is evident. With its advanced optimization intelligence, the IAR C/C++ compiler produces extremely compact code. For ARM Cortex-M0 microcontrollers, the code generated is overall 30% smaller in standard benchmarks than for open-source alternatives.

"Freescale's Kinetis L family is the first to offer products integrating the new ARM Cortex-M0+ core to ease migration from 8-bit to entry-level 32-bit solutions," said Jeff Bock, Director of Marketing for Freescale's Industrial and Multi-Market Microcontrollers. "The new ARM Cortex-M0+ core maintains compatibility with all other Cortex-M-class processors, allowing designers to reuse their existing compilers and debug tools. IAR Embedded Workbench will help our customers leverage the full benefits of the Kinetis L Series to create smarter, smaller, more-energy-efficient embedded applications by generating the smallest possible, highly optimized code."