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Xilinx Embedded Development Kit 6.2i Slashes Development Time
from Weeks to Days for MicroBlaze & PowerPC Designs
Company ships over 10,000 Embedded Development
Kits demonstrating rapid adoption of Xilinx programmable platforms
for embedded design
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 30, 2004 — Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ:
XLNX) today announced its next generation Embedded Development Kit
(EDK) version 6.2i – enabling designers to create custom,
fully-functional embedded platforms within a matter of days. The
new software suite dramatically accelerates embedded development
by automating previously manual steps and unifying hardware/software
debug to find and fix bugs faster. Additionally, new EDK Platform
Studio features and enhancements enable both hardware and software
designers to develop platforms targeting PowerPC™ hard processors
or Xilinx MicroBlaze™ soft processor cores using a single
design environment. Xilinx is demonstrating Platform Studio 6.2i
at the eUSA/Embedded Systems Conference being held on March 30 through
April 1, 2004, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, booth #1326.
By combining a speedy and intelligent software suite with FPGA flexibility,
Xilinx is accelerating the industry transition towards programmable
platforms for numerous embedded applications. With over 10,000 Embedded
Development Kits shipped worldwide in just 16 months, the embedded
industry has rapidly adopted Xilinx’s hard and soft processor
solutions.
“Xilinx has a legacy of leadership in state-of-the-art design
tools proven by the ISE series, and we’re leveraging that
innovation with our embedded technology,” said Rich Sevcik,
executive vice president of FPGA Products at Xilinx. “Platform
Studio Technology provides a platform development IDE, intelligent
design wizards, revolutionary hardware and software generators,
and a ‘Platform Debug’ capability, together enabling
our customers to rapidly implement fully-custom processor solutions.”
Platform Studio Automates and Accelerates the Platform Design
Process
To accelerate and ease platform development, the Platform Studio
IDE now includes time saving features like automatic Board Support
Package (BSP) generation, example software application generation,
and IP creation. The new software suite expands the capability -
based on target board, processor choice and selected IP - to generate
BSPs for Wind River Systems’ VxWorks®, MontaVista Linux,
and the ultra small footprint Xilinx MicroKernel (XMK) to reduce
a previously manual process from days or weeks, to a matter of minutes.
Additionally, the XMK footprint has been reduced in size and the
kernel improved to support POSIX threads as well as a FAT file system.
Improvements to the Base System Builder wizard within Platform Studio
enable designers to generate, download and boot a custom, fully
functional hardware and software system within a matter of minutes
rather than days, weeks or even months using traditional methods.
The software suite now includes new Platform Debug functionality,
providing engineering teams with unique visibility to rapidly identify
problems spanning hardware/software domains with unsurpassed debug
of the programmable platform as a whole. This new functionality
enables advanced debug capabilities, including synchronized, cross
triggering of the GNU gdb software debugger from the Xilinx ChipScope™
Pro embedded bus/logic analyzer and vice versa. The Platform Debug
solution supports multi-processor implementations including PowerPC
and MicroBlaze soft processors with hardware breakpoints and JTAG
control without problematic on-target software debug stubs.
Tool and IDE Enhancements Make Platform Design Easier
Additional Platform Studio enhancements streamline the design experience,
including support for multiple software applications, which enables
a previous working system to be easily reverted to during the development
process. Faster software code download for the MicroBlaze soft processor
- up to 500Kbs – is now available as well as VHDL/Verilog
simulation improvements via support for Cadence’s NCSim™
and Bus Functional Model (BFM) support.
Price, evaluation versions, platform and availability
The EDK with Platform Studio 6.2i is immediately available and supports
PowerPC and MicroBlaze soft processor designs for Xilinx’s
Virtex-II Pro™, Virtex-II Pro X, and Spartan™-3 Series
FPGAs. The $495 US EDK software package includes licensing for the
MicroBlaze soft processor, supports Windows 2000, Windows XP, Solaris
and introduces support for native Linux RedHat versions 7.3 and
8.0 (including Enterprise Edition). Time limited evaluation versions
of ISE 6.2i, ChipScope Pro and partner tools are also included.
EDK v6.2i updates are available free for licensed users in the EDK
download lounge.
About Xilinx
Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) is the worldwide leader of programmable
logic and programmable system solutions. Additional information
about Xilinx is available at www.xilinx.com.
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