ARM unveils free toolkit for Android application developers

According to ARM, the new edition is designed for Android application developers to help create native software for compute intensive tasks that can run up to four times faster than Java code. DS-5 Community Edition includes limited functionality from the premium version to help solve common Android application developer issues. ARM says it achieves this by providing an integrated graphical debugger for NDK generated code and visibility of advanced processor information, including ARM NEON Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) registers. The new toolkit permits development of Java and C/C++ code in the same Eclipse integrated development environment and features a tailored version of the ARM Streamline Performance Analyzer for use with compatible Android development platforms. Streamline is designed to capture detailed, system wide performance statistics from a variety of sources and to help locate hotspots in code and isolate potential causes. "With over half a million apps on the Android market today, developers need to deliver an outstanding user experience to succeed commercially," said John Cornish, executive vice president and general manager, system design division, ARM. "ARM DS-5 Community Edition offers developers an easy to use environment for debugging and optimising C/C++ code. This allows them to take full advantage of ARM processor technology using native code to deliver the performance and functionality that consumers demand." The DS-5 CE is free for use by individuals and organisations with annual revenue of $100,000 or less and up to 10 employees.