Since last week I have had the possibility to test the IAR for ARM compiler and the Embedded Workbench from the same company. And I must say that this environment have been a real joy to use. Actually it is in many respects for ARM developers what Microsoft Visual Studio was for windows development when it first was introduced.
Before I used the ARM GCC compiler with Programmers Notepad and some other editors. For most of my needs the GCC compiler is good enough but I really like a good working environment. And in that respect PN lacks a lot. There is eclipse of course but I never really liked it.
The embedded workbench is very easy to get going with. I think I just spent 15 minutes before I could debug and run my first project. All features are easy to find and there are excellent help available when you need it.
This is definitely my favorite embedded development environment at the moment and I am sure I will be at least 30% more productive with it. That is something to think of for all companies doing commercial embedded software. Money to save here!!!
I am sure I will return to this environment here in the future.