C6FLO-DSPTOOL

Texas Instruments C6EZFlo is a free graphical software development tool that can be used in conjunction with TI’s Code Composer Studio IDE™ or other DSP-based development tools. C6EZFlo allows developers to create plain C code applications for TI DSPs without DSP-specific specific programming knowledge.  These applications can be used as-is or as prototypes to accelerate conventional C-language development.

C6EZFlo provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface to create a system block diagram. The blocks in this diagram can represent anything from optimized DSP algorithms to peripheral I/O drivers. The tool parses the system diagram to generate cleanly structured, well commented C code, which the developer can use as-is or modify in Code Composer Studio IDE. Developers can leverage C6EZFlo with TI’s TMS320C6000™ DSP devices, such as C674x, as well as DaVinci™ digital media processors based on the C6000™ platform, including DM643x and DM648, to enable quick and easy prototyping for any end application.

The graphical development environment allows users to quickly place and connect DSP components using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Blocks can also be configured in the graphical domain using an integrated block parameter pane. Global application settings are applied through a special component called the framework block. Once the entire application is connected and configured, a single button press generates C application code.

Developers can build and run the C-language application from within the Code Composer Studio IDE. The application makes use of TI’s DSP/BIOS kernel to provide powerful multi-threading capability with low overhead. Aside from DSP/BIOS, the application is pure C code with no special build steps or dependencies. The code itself is written to maximize readability and is easy to modify or maintain after code generation. The application is self-contained within its own folder, so it can easily be moved to another location or PC.

The standard C6EZFlo installation includes several dozen signal processing blocks for use in DSP systems. The tool is also expandable: the standard blocks can be modified or used as templates to create custom blocks. Blocks provide source template files that are used to generate the application C source code. These source template files can use sophisticated JavaScript-based features to change aspects of the generated code based on block parameters set in the graphical environment.

Prerequisites

The following software packages must be installed to make the best use of C6Flo.

• TI Code Composer Studio IDE v5.x
• Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0 or higher