February 28, 2012 -- ARM today announced the availability of Version 3.0 of the ARM Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS). CMSIS 3.0 is expanded with a standardized API for real-time operating system (RTOS) kernels and support for System View Description (SVD) XML files.

The RTOS API is designed to expand existing RTOS kernels with a standardized function set that supports multiple threads, resource control, time management, and data exchange. The RTOS API allows programmers to rely on standard RTOS features that are required in source code templates, middleware libraries, and other software components.

The SVD XML files provide detailed information about a specific system and the integrated peripherals. SVD files can be used in various ways, for example to create device header files or peripheral awareness for debuggers. The SVD file format is already widely adopted by silicon vendors and debugging tools.

"The ARM Cortex-M processor series is widely supported by many different RTOS vendors, but each operating system uses a different programming interface. With the introduction of the CMSIS RTOS API we solve the challenge that software programmers face when creating software components that rely on RTOS features," said Reinhard Keil, Director MCU Tools, ARM. "By adding the RTOS API to an existing RTOS kernel such as RTX, programmers can now use a standard set of RTOS features. This expands the common programming model of the Cortex-M series processor-based devices with standardized RTOS capabilities."

"The DAVE 3 development environment we provide for our XMC4000 microcontroller family is a free tool set for code generation that supports the new CMSIS RTOS API," said Dr. Stephan Zizala, Senior Director Industrial and Multimarket Microcontrollers, Infineon Technologies. "By using the CMSIS SVD and RTOS standard, our users can fully benefit from ARM's large ecosystem and choose the debug tools and real-time operating systems that best fit their application requirements."

"ST was one of the very first partners that adopted the ARM Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS) and we are pleased to see its continued evolution and development," said Daniel Colonna, Marketing Director for Microcontrollers at STMicroelectronics. "By providing a set of standard RTOS capabilities the new version of CMSIS is yet another step in enabling embedded programmers to improve productivity for ST's offering of Cortex-M series processor-based microcontrollers."

"Adding the CMSIS RTOS API will further expand the user community of FreeRTOS, which is already today the most popular real-time operating system in the embedded industry," said Richard Barry, Founder of Real Time Engineers, Ltd. "Both FreeRTOS and the safety-oriented SafeRTOS implementation will be extended in the next few months with an interface for this new CMSIS standard."

About CMSIS

The ARM Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS) is a vendor-independent hardware abstraction layer for the Cortex-M processor series. The CMSIS enables consistent and simple software interfaces to the processor for interface peripherals, real-time operating systems, and middleware, simplifying software re-use, reducing the learning curve for new microcontroller developers and reducing the time to market for new devices.