S32 Design Studio vs MCUEspresso

[durga_choudhury]

This is more of a curiosity question:

Why does NXP has two separate microcontroller IDEs, when both are Eclipse based and support ARM platform?

Also, what is the path forward for the POWER based FuSa MCUs? I believe the new-and-improved S32 Design Studio for S32 does not support POWER, only ARM. So for those using POWER will not get any compiler enhancements and such?

[Julián_AragónM · Accepted solution]

Hi @durga_choudhury

Why does NXP has two separate microcontroller IDEs, when both are Eclipse based and support ARM platform?

Both are Eclipse-based and support ARM platforms, but the objective or purpose are somewhat different. MCUXpresso brings an easy-to-use experience for the general purpose MCUs from NXP's portfolio, while S32DS is focused on automotive processors.

The S32 Platform follows the RTD packages implementation; RTD software is developed using SPICE/CMMI Level 3, MISRA 2012, and ISO 26262 compliant processes, all automotive-grade quality and production ready. RTD software includes S32CT (non-AUTOSAR) configurators and supports Elektrobit Tresos (AUTOSAR) and multiple premium IDE toolchains.

On the other hand, MCUXpresso supports the MCUXpresso SDK, targeting more general purpose rather than automotive grade. 

S32DS requires safety standards, long lifecycle support, complex toolchains, etc. while the MCUXpresso supported devices may be more lightweight, flexible, and so on.

Also, what is the path forward for the POWER based FuSa MCUs? I believe the new-and-improved S32 Design Studio for S32 does not support POWER, only ARM. So, for those using POWER will not get any compiler enhancements and such?

For the POWER based FuSa MCUs I believe you are referring to the MPC5xxx series? Since the newer S32DS for S32 Platform supports most of our Automotive grade MCUs/MPUs:

• S32G
• S32K1
• S32K3
• S32K39/37/36
• S32M2
• S32N5
• S32R41
• S32R45
• SAF85xx
• SAF86xx
• S32S247
• S32Z2/E2
• S32V

MPC57xx do not have a direct replacement, since these are the last automotive devices based on PowerPC architecture. The support for these other devices has been migrated from S32 Design Studio for Arm to S32 Design Studio for S32 Platform. There will be no future releases or updates to S32 Design Studio for Arm/Power.

S32DS and Config Tools both meet the IATF16949 standards, however, the toolchain GCC used in S32DS by default is an open-source compiler and it is NOT ISO26262 compliant. S32 Design Studio and also the GCC compiler used in S32DS are not certified for developing safety applications. If this is your goal, GHS and IAR, for example, have ISO26262 certification.

Best regards,
Julián

[Julián_AragónM · Accepted solution]

Also, what is the path forward for the POWER based FuSa MCUs? I believe the new-and-improved S32 Design Studio for S32 does not support POWER, only ARM. So, for those using POWER will not get any compiler enhancements and such?