Running EWARM compiler on windows host

This document will show a little insight on how to get the IAR ARM compiler working with compiler explorer (Some line highlighting is broken as EWAVR is different from EWARM)

Prerequisites

To run the IAR ARM compiler you will need:

  • A valid installation of the IAR ARM compiler. EWARM has a free 30-day trial on their website
  • Technically you need a license as well to run the compiler, however you can get by with the 30-day free trial, as you will be able to run the compiler for 30 days for free
  • MinGW C++ toolchain for c++filt and objdump

IAR ARM Compiler

This compiler will be installed along with the IAR Embedded Workbench (EWARM). Default installation location is under C:\Program Files (x86)\IAR Systems\Embedded Workbench 8.2\arm\bin\iccarm.exe

MinGW C++ Toolchain

We need to install this toolchain through MSYS2, as it contains c++filt and objdump, which are needed to demangle the assembly

  • First download MSYS2
  • Install it and run it, entering the first command pacman -Syuu, this command will update all the internal MSYS2 modules to their latest version. This command will also update all installed modules, such as the toolchain if it was installed.
  • When you run the command for the first time, it will exit the bash console. You have to open it again and run the same command again pacman -Syuu
  • After the second time, everything will be up to date. To install the MinGW toolchain, run pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-toolchain. This will install the toolchain to your MSYS2 default installation path under C:\msys64\mingw64\bin
  • Add this path C:\msys64\mingw64\bin to windows global PATH
  • Test by running c++filt --help from windows command prompt, if everything is set up correctly, then you should see all the command line options for c++filt

Setup and Configuration

Running compiler explorer on Windows

Refer to the readme on running Native on Windows for general setup of Compiler Explorer and other compilers.

Setting up c++.local.properties

The next step is to create a c++.local.properties file under etc/config folder. The next step is going to be different for everyone, as you can choose what compiler options you pass to the compiler and so on, but I'm going to paste my template here, and you can just modify, what you need

# Default settings for C++
compilers=iar8.32.4

compiler.iar8.32.4.exe=C:\arm\bin\iccarm.exe
compiler.iar8.32.4.name=IAR8.32.4
compiler.iar8.32.4.supportsDemangler=true
compiler.iar8.32.4.supportsBinary=false
compiler.iar8.32.4.supportsExecute=false

compiler.iar8.32.4.options=--enable_restrict -IC:\arm\inc -IC:\arm\inc\c -IC:\arm\inc\cpp --dlib_config C:\arm\inc\c\DLib_Config_Full.h --c++ -e --no_exceptions --no_rtti --no_static_destruction --cpu Cortex-M4 --fpu VFPv4_sp --endian little --cpu_mode thumb
compiler.iar8.32.4.compilerType=ewarm

compiler.iar8.32.4.versionRe=IAR ANSI C\/C\+\+ Compiler.*ARM

defaultCompiler=iar8.32.4

demangler=c++filt
objdumper=objdump
demanglerType=default
postProcess=
binaryHideFuncRe=^(__.*|_(init|start|fini)|(de)?register_tm_clones|call_gmon_start|frame_dummy|\.plt.*|_dl_relocate_static_pie)$
needsMulti=false
stubRe=\bmain\b
stubText=int main(void){return 0;/*stub provided by Compiler Explorer*/}

It's important to note that the compiler.iar8.32.4.compilerType field is set to ewarm this will be the custom compiler key later on

Running Compiler Explorer

You should be able to just cd into the compiler explorer repository and run npm start. After that just head on to localhost:10240