Metrowerks Speeds and Simplifies Creation of Linux Powered Devices

4/29/2004 - Metrowerks Corporation announces commercial-grade Linux® development solutions that streamline a full range of tasks including board bring-up, kernel-level debugging, driver development and application creation - all within a Linux hosted environment.

The CodeWarriorTM development studios complement Metrowerks' existing lineup of hardware, board support package (BSP) and code coverage tools to offer one of the industry's most comprehensive and cohesive collections of Linux development solutions.

The following embedded Linux development suites are expected to be available from Metrowerks in the weeks ahead:

  • CodeWarriorTM Development Studio for PowerPC® ISA, Platform Edition
  • CodeWarriorTM Development Studio for ARM® ISA, Platform Edition
  • CodeWarriorTM Development Studio for ColdFire® ISA, Platform Edition

The suites include a debugger that delivers the capabilities required to target a Linux OS to a new hardware platform, including driver development. The debugger allows the developers to view breakpoints and perform low-level trace analysis, and it includes a non-gdb kernel-level stop-mode debugger, as well as a run-mode application debugger. These capabilities are all part of the suite's CodeWarrior Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which enables seamless board bring-up, flash programming and diagnostic capabilities during Linux kernel bring-up and kernel-level debug processes.

The CodeWarrior suites allow use of a JTAG connection to the embedded target using PowerTAP® Pro or an Abatron In-Circuit Emulator, depending on the architecture. This capability allows embedded Linux OS developers to interactively control and examine the state of the target system during the debugging process. Users can quickly access and manipulate files by name or kernel function name via the symbolic window, allowing breakpoints to be set immediately through the CodeWarrior interface, without interrupting the debug process. The suites allow users to begin kernel-level debugging with the PowerTAP tool and then move to application-level debugging via the Metrowerks AppTRK debug agent, which offers the capability to debug application processes.

The suites also offer:

  • The CodeWarrior IDE, which provides a source-level debugger, project manager, text editor, search engine, source browser and build system
  • Integration with virtually any Linux technology vendor's host-compatible build environment and 2.4.x kernels
  • Automatic target initialization of all board hardware and the Linux kernel independent of the boot loader prior to the debug phase, and compatible with both standard and custom boot loaders
  • Support for more than 150 flash devices including automatic flash programming and verification tools
  • Advanced management and display features to view Linux target processes including those at the kernel level, and individual process parameters such as status, command line executable, environment variables and memory maps
  • Simplified coding features including stationary, automatic coding capabilities, user definable display formats, full shared library support and one-step build, deploy and debug processes
  • A project manager for multiple project creation, import and export options
  • An ELF file importer that allows new projects to be created from pre-compiled binary files
  • A post linker processor that minimizes target RAM requirements by keeping debug symbols on the host system

Availability and Pricing
CodeWarrior Development Studio for PowerPC, ARM and ColdFire architectures are expected to be available from Metrowerks in May. For availability please contact Metrowerks by phone at 800-377-5416 or +1-512-996-5300, or via e-mail at sales@metrowerks.com. For availability outside the U.S. and Canada, please see the list of Metrowerks International Sales Offices at www.metrowerks.com/buy or e-mail intlsls@metrowerks.com.

About Metrowerks
Metrowerks Corporation creates CodeWarrior software and hardware products and services for developers, with a particular focus on the following industries: consumer electronics; transportation; wireless; and networking and communications. The CodeWarrior product line includes hardware and software development tools and middleware that enable customers to decrease their time to market. The company also offers services, including training and custom software development. Founded in 1985, Metrowerks is today an independently operating subsidiary of Freescale Semiconductor. Metrowerks corporate headquarters are in Austin, Texas; Metrowerks Europe is headquartered in Munich; Metrowerks Asia is headquartered in Singapore; and Metrowerks Japan is headquartered in Tokyo. More information is available from www.metrowerks.com/.

About Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., (www.freescale.com/) a subsidiary of Motorola, Inc., has a 50-year history in microelectronics. Freescale Semiconductor produces semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets worldwide. Based in Austin, Texas, Freescale Semiconductor has design, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries. Freescale Semiconductor's 2003 sales were $4.9 billion (USD).

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