what is difference between Arm7 and Arm cortex-m series??
Hi Chandan, You've got lots of good info from others, but for me, the main things that make Cortex-M so powerful are:
- Code can be written in C - yes, no startup or exception coding in assembler (exclusive accesses and some things might still need assembler!!)
- Single T2 state - so no interworking between Thumb and Arm
- Deterministic, fast exceptions - and potentially jitter-free exception timing
- Inclusion of NVIC means even less coding in assembler, and no code needed for "most' push / pop operations
- SLEEP - yes, real, fantastic, sleep and deep sleep, so the devices can clock gate or power down whilst the rest of the SoC is maintained - more options for lowering power...
(There are caveats and exceptions to the above of course, as there are several family members...)
Additionally you can choose the M core to match your needs:
- M0 / M0+ are simplest and lowest power
- M3 - offers higher performance, more functionality, T2 ISA...
- M4 - adds DSP and SP FP to the M3
- M7 - has an architecture that might look like a Cortex-R, but offers same key benefits above, but adds option of DP FP,c aches and TCMs, plus architectural options to massively increase performance.
All that said, Arm7 is still working hard in many applications and devices are still being designed in at the board level...
I like to think of Arm7 in raw DMIPS coming somewhere between M0 and M3.
The Cortex-M family has been hugely successful, and we've seen partners create over 2500 catalog parts from these - and they are only just getting started on M7 !
Hope that helps!