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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. For complete
information on EDK, visit www.xilinx.com/edk.
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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