The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to
Digital Signal Processing
By Steven W. Smith, Ph.D.

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Our custom filter example shows the easiest way to get a program running on the SHARC DSP: editing, assembling, linking, and downloading, performed by individual programs. This method is fine for simple tasks, but there are better software tools available for the advanced programmer. Let's look at what is available for when you get really serious about DSPs.

The first tool we want to examine is the C compiler. As discussed in the last chapter, both assembly and C are commonly used to program

DSPs. A tremendous advantage of using C is the library of functions, both standard C operations, as well as DSP algorithms. Table 29-3 shows a partial list of the C library functions for the SHARC DSPs. The math group includes many functions common in DSP, such as the trig functions (sin, cos, tan, etc.), logarithm, and exponent. If you need these type of functions in your program, this is probably enough motivation in itself to use C instead of assembly. Pay special attention to the "signal processing" routines in Table 29-3. Here you will find key DSP algorithms, including: real and complex FFTs, FIR and IIR filters, and statistical functions such as the mean, rms value, and variance. Of course, all these routines are written in assembly, allowing them to be very efficient in both speed and memory usage.

Table 29-4 shows an example C program, taken from the Analog Devices' "C Compiler Guide and Reference Manual." This program generates an echo by adding a delayed version of the signal to itself. The most recent 4000 samples from the input signal are stored in a circular buffer. As each sample is acquired, the circular buffer is updated, the newest sample is added to a scaled version of the oldest sample, and the resulting sample directed to the output.

The next advanced software tool you should look for is an integrated development environment. This is a fancy term that means everything needed to program and test the DSP is combined into one smoothly functioning package. Analog Devices provides an integrated development environment in a product called VisualDSP^®, running under Windows^® 95 and Windows NT^TM. Figure 29-7 shows an example of the main screen, providing a seamless way to edit, build, and debug programs.

Here are some of the key features of VisualDSP, showing why an integrated development environment is so important for fast software development. The editor is specialized for creating programs in C, assembly, and a mixture of the two. For instance, it understands the syntax of the languages, allowing it to display different types of statements in different colors. You can also

edit more than one file at one. This is very convenient, since the final program is created by linking several files together.

Figure 29-8 shows an example screen from the VisualDSP debugger. This is an interface to two different types of tools: simulators and emulators. Simulators test the code within the personal computer, without even needing a DSP to be present. This is generally the first debugging step after the program is written. The simulator mimics the architecture and operation of the hardware, including: input data streams, interrupts and other I/O. Emulators (such as the Analog Devices EZ-ICE^®) examine the program operation on the actual hardware. This requires the emulator software (on your PC) to be able to monitor the electrical signals inside of the DSP. To support this, the SHARC DSPs feature an IEEE 1140.1 JTAG Test Access Port, allowing an external device to track the processor's internal functions.

After you have used an evaluation kit and given some thought to purchasing advanced software tools, you should also consider attending a training class. These are given by many DSP manufacturers. For instance, Analog Devices offers a 3 day class, taught several time a year, at several different locations. These are a great way of learning about DSPs from the experts. Look at the manufacturer's websites for details.