Code compression for embedded devices

12 August 2015 Computer/Embedded Technology Design Automation

SEGGER announced the launch of emCompress, a compression system ideally suited for embedded systems. By automatically picking the best algorithm for the memory available, it significantly reduces the required storage on the target, saving Flash space, cost and data transmission time.

The main application for compression is to reduce the amount of space needed for static data. To achieve this, the data is compressed on a PC and either linked to the application or stored in the file system of the target device. Decompression takes place on the target side, whenever it is needed and with little or no RAM used. Meanwhile, the compressed version is stored in the Flash of the target. The ROM consumption of the decompressors is tiny, compared to the space that is freed for new firmware features.

The firmware usually expands during the lifetime of a device, resulting in updates taking up more and more memory. emCompress helps getting the firmware and other static content onto the target. As data is compressed on a workstation, it takes up much less space on the device, obviating the need for a larger controller or additional external Flash.

emCompress is capable of reducing highly redundant data, such as HTML pages, to no more than 10% of the original size. It offers a unique group mode, which boosts compression ratios when compressing many small files such as HTML content for embedded web servers.

The SEGGER solution concentrates on the restricted memory available for decompression in embedded systems. Thus, it comes with numerous compression algorithms that can be parameterised to tune decompressor memory. Decompression can be done into memory or in streamed mode.

emCompress comes with the compression application to run on Windows and the source code for all decompressors. It is written in ANSI C and is both compiler and target independent. emCompress is not covered by an open-source or required attribution license.

For more information contact Arnold Perumal, Avnet South Africa, +27 (0)11 319 8600, [email protected], www.avnet.co.za

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