To write software for the SAM4S board a cross-compiler is needed. A cross-compiler runs on one computer platform (the host computer), and creates executables for a different platform. Particularly, we will be using the GNU Toolchain for ARM, which, among other tools, includes a C compiler and an assembler.
In the host computer, source code is first compiled into an executable for the ATSAM4SD32C MCU, and then it is transferred to it using a flashing tool. Once the executable is deployed, an on-board chip debugger (Figure 1.4), interfaces with the host to enable debugging of the MCU.
All of the different host-side softwaretools needed for development are integratedin Atmel Studio. Communication betweenthe target platform and host is via USB. Fig-ure 1.6 depicts, in a simplified manner, thedescribed programming environment.