Free Software Tool from STMicroelectronics Adds One More Reason to Choose STM8 Microcontrollers for Small, Smart Devices

The latest move by ST, working with Cosmic, means all the software tools that designers need to build, debug, and fine-tune STM8 applications are now available free of charge. While other microcontrollers have free tools, these often come with limited features or code size. The free Cosmic C-compiler for STM8 (COS-C-COMPILER), announced today, is unconstrained and complete, and supports all variants of the STM8 family including the largest 128KB devices.

As a result, designers can begin prototyping with these 8-bit microcontrollers for just $8, which is the price of the STM8S-DISCOVERY hardware kit for exercising the main features of STM8S Access-Line microcontrollers. The family also includes the STM8L ultra-low-power line, and the STM8AF and STM8AL automotive lines, giving a choice of over 120 device variants with versatile configurations of on-chip memory, package style, and peripherals such as communication interfaces, timers, and converters.

“The STM8 family is now even more attractive in the 8-bit arena, the largest market sector, roughly 40% of microcontroller sales,” said Michel Buffa, Group VP, General Manager, Microcontroller Division, STMicroelectronics. “We are committed to ensuring that STM8 devices are chosen to power the majority of the tens of millions of applications that rely on the simplicity and economy of 8-bit microcontrollers.”

“Cosmic has been working with ST on several generations of STM8 microcontrollers, and our C compiler, CXSTM8, is a perfect fit for this architecture,” said Luca Ubiali, Key Account Manager at Cosmic. “We are happy that its best-in-class performance and flexibility are now freely available to all STM8 users. Moreover, as project safety requirements increase, CXSTM8 field-proven reliability can be easily completed with Cosmic’s Unit Testing and RunTime Core Validation products.”