Nios® II Software Developer Handbook

ID 683525
Date 8/28/2023
Public
Document Table of Contents

7.13. Reducing Code Footprint in Embedded Systems

Code size is always a concern for embedded systems developers, because there is a cost associated with the memory device that stores code. The ability to control and reduce code size is important in controlling this cost.

The HAL environment is designed to include only those features that you request, minimizing the total code footprint. If your Nios® II hardware system contains exactly the peripherals used by your program, the HAL contains only the drivers necessary to control the hardware.

The following sections describe options to consider when you need to further reduce code size. The hello_world_small example project demonstrates the use of some of these options to reduce code size to the absolute minimum.

Implementing the options in the following sections entails making changes to BSP settings.

For more information about manipulating BSP settings, refer to the “HAL BSP Settings”.