Nios® II embedded processor developers have access to a broad range of software development tools. Altera and its embedded software partners provide developers with the following solutions:
Operating Systems
Altera's embedded software partners provide an array of operating systems for use with the Nios II processor. Many of the operating systems are provided as plug-in components to the Nios II integrated development environment (IDE) for seamless configuration. Table 1 shows the operating systems available for the Nios II processor.
| Table 1. Operating Systems | ||||
| Company Name | OS | Nios II IDE Plug-In | Real Time | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accelerated Technology | Nucleus Plus | - |  |
Commercial |
| eSOL, Inc. | PrKernelV4 | |
|
Commercial |
| Evidence | Erika Enterprise | |
|
Commercial |
| Express Logic | ThreadX | |
|
Commercial |
| Micrium | MicroC/OS-II | |
|
Commercial |
| Microtronix | µCLinux | |
- | Open Source |
| Community Supported (www.niosforum.org) |
eCos | - | |
Open Source |
Middleware/Libraries
The Nios II processor is supported by a comprehensive set of software partner middleware, as shown in Table 2.
| Table 2. Middleware/Libraries | |||||
| Company Name | OS Supported | Network Stack | File System | Graphics Library | USB Stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accelerated Technology | Nucleus Plus | Nucleus Net | Nucleus File (1) | Nucleus GRAFIX (1) | Nucleus USB (1) |
| Altera | Any | Lightweight IP (2) | Zip File System (ZIPFS (2) | - | - |
| eSOL, Inc. | PrKernelV4 | PrConnect | PrFile | - | - |
| Express Logic | ThreadX | NetX (1) | FileX (1) | PegX (1) | USBX (1) |
| InterNiche | Any | NicheStack (1) | - | - | - |
| Micrium | MicroC/OS-II | MicroC/TCP-IP | MicroC/File | MicroC/GUI | MicroC/USB |
| Microtronix | µCLinux | Built In | Built In | - | - |
| Community Supported (www.alteraforum.com) |
eCos | Built In | Built In | - | - |
- Contact company for availability.
- Included with Nios II Development Kits.
IDE / Debuggers / Co-Verification
The debuggers available for the Nios II processor are shown in Table 3.
| Table 3. IDE/Debuggers | |||||||
| Company | Product | Supported Debug Cable | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altera | FS2 | Lauterbach | |||||
| ByteBlasterTM II | USB- Blaster (1) |
ISA- NIOSII |
ISA- NIOSII/T |
Power Debug | Power Trace | ||
| Accelerated Technology | EDGE | |
|
|
|
- | - |
| Altera | Nios II IDE (1) | |
|
|
|
- | - |
| First Silicon Solutions (FS2) | Nios II IDE Enhancements | |
|
|
|
- | - |
| Lauterbach | TRACE32-PowerView | - | - | - | - | |
|
- Included with Nios II Development Kits.
Co-verification tools supporting the Nios II processor are shown in Table 4.
| Table 4. Co-Verification Tools | ||
| Company Name | Product | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Adveda | Universe | Hardware/software co-verification tool |
Partnership Opportunities
Altera welcomes companies who wish to become embedded software partners. Please contact Altera for further details.
