Click and code [automatic code generation]

Automatic code generation already plays a valuable role in embedded development. Engineers are turning to advanced software tools that generate code automatically, both during the prototyping stage of the project and when production code is required. At the prototyping stage, automatic code generation can greatly accelerate the development process, allowing many different algorithms to be tried in a shorter period. Furthermore, because there is no significant time penalty for trying alternative solutions, automatic code generation tools positively encourage innovation, eliminating the temptation to re-use previously developed code in compromised solutions. The specification that previously would have been handed to a software engineer for hand coding is now used as an 'executable specification'. In addition to forming the basis for code generation this specification can be used to develop test procedures, that can be applied both in simulation and on the real product. A further advantage of this approach is that algorithm developers can test their ideas without having to wait until the associated code is ready for downloading to a target processor. This not only benefits the algorithm designer, but also frees the software engineer from the routine coding of algorithms, allowing greater effort to be devoted to more challenging issues.