If you’re new to Renesas coding or embedded systems and are looking at exploring the RL78 family, this guide is designed to help you select your IDE. An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a project builder and includes a compiler, a code editor, and a debugger.  Most include other features like linkers, library viewers, and project paths. For embedded development on most Renesas platforms, the big three IDE’s are e2studio, IAR embedded workbench (IAR),and CubeSuite+ (CS+) . Although HEW (High-performance Embedded Workshop) is used, most people are migrating to other options. The option that you choose will be largely based on personal preference and ease of use. To help with your choice, here’s a quick breakdown of each of the big IDE’s, all of which are compatible with RL78 tools.

 

e2studio is an IDE by Renesas. It is a build of the Eclipse IDE, which was made for Java programing, set up for embedded development. This solution has became popular for multiple processors from other manufacturers for the same reasons that it’s used by e2studio. Eclipse is modular and contains plug-ins for anything that you need. This includes plug-ins for a C/C++ compiler, embedded linkers and toolchains, and other features that make embedded development easier. This is also the negative of the IDE, as it can be confusing to new developers, takes a while to set-up, and can complicate projects with excess libraries. For professionals, this is a great option because it is customizable. For hobbyists and novice developers, it’s valuable because it presents a cost-free solution to get your feet wet.

 

The next IDE is IAR Embedded Workbench from IAR Systems. This IDE has all of the bells and whistles. It comes with purpose built toolchains, hundreds of sample libraries and all of the features that you could want, including RTOS support. All of this luxury comes at a cost though, this is definitely not the IDE for anyone new to development. It is best suited for professionals wishing to expedite the project process.

The last major choice is CS+, formerly Cube Suite+, also from Renesas. This IDE is similar in layout to the previous IDE’s and contains a code section and file path. The build and debug viewer is significantly different and can be a hassle for those familiar with more traditional IDE debug layouts. CS+ is best used with the code generation plug-in and because of its age, there are more than enough example codes to work from. These attributes make CS+ ideal for longtime users who are used to old interfaces and for new developers who want to heavily rely on the code generator.

While these IDE’s represent a large portion of  the market, there are many more options available that can successfully integrate with the RL78 toolchain. To choose an IDE that is best suited to your project, think about what you wish to accomplish, your time frame, and the restrictions of your budget. It’s even possible to code and program some Renesas boards from a Linux terminal using automake. The driving factor in this is how much you, as the developer, can accomplish using the whichever IDE works best for you.