Security also is a major concern for the architecture. For this reason, encryption key management and distribution are part of the server farm support and the LiveDevices communication protocol. As with Lantronix, TCP/IP is the standards-based transport protocol. But the higher-level communication uses proprietary protocols.
TCP/IP is supported by Lineo's Embedix RealTime RTOS, which is part of the new Lineo SDK 2.0. In addition, remote debugging is supported over TCP/IP, but the central component of the new SDK is the Target Wizard.
The Target Wizard architecture has been changed to accept snap-ins that employ Embedded Component Description (ECD) files defining add-on services. The ECD architecture is used for Lineo's bundled components, such as Embedix RealTime, in addition to providing board and processor-specific support. This approach can work with third parties, allowing Lineo to support six new processor families beyond the original x86 and PowerPC platforms with this release of the SDK.
The ECD approach grants significant advantages to third-party developers as well as board and processor vendors. Support for product-specific peripherals and drivers can be added with an ECD file and matching libraries without working through Lineo.
Development platform support has been expanded from Caldera's OpenLinux to current releases of all major Linux distributions. Plus, the SDK can be installed and run under Windows 2000 using virtual-machine (VM) support to run OpenLinux. The installation process has improved greatly—a much needed enhancement.
A compact version of the SDK, Lineo's new Board Development Kit (BDK) works off of the same project files but is designed to work only with command-line, open-source tools. The BDK provides a low-cost entry point for embedded Linux development, and the cost can be applied toward the SDK.
Embedded Systems Conference attendees will be able to see how some tool vendors take linking different products together a step further. LynuxWorks' Visual LynuxWorks or Accelerated Technology's Codelab augment Microsoft's popular Visual Studio development environment for non-Windows-based, cross-platform development. Both can use Visual Studio's plug-in architecture to provide a front end for cross-platform development tools while taking advantage of other Visual Studio plug-in support for products like Source Safe, Microsoft's source management tool.
Visual LynuxWorks targets Linux systems, especially LynuxWorks' Lynx OS and its open-source sibling, Blue Cat Linux. Visual LynuxWorks was released earlier in January at LinuxWorld in New York City.
Now in its second incarnation, Accelerated Technology's (ATI's) Codelab provides a more modular approach to cross development with a plug-in architecture for board and processor support. This is similar in concept to Lineo's ECD architecture. The Codelab EDE (Embedded Development Environment) includes a number of wizards to handle the configuration of ATI's debugger or the open-source GNU development tools, among other tasks.
A source-level debugger, Codelab Debug supports the SH, MIPS, and ARC processor families. It can work in conjunction with CodeLab Partner, a JTAG interface. The Partner accepts probes for different system boards and processors, so the same platform can be used to debug different systems by simply changing the probe. ATI also has developed an ATX motherboard that accepts a daughter card with the target processor and memory. The daughter card works with Codelab Partner. Daughter cards for the SH4, NEC VR4122, ARM6, ARM7, and ARM9 are available.
Now for something completely different. The Embedded Systems Conference marks the debugging of Proceler's C-based soft processor core design capability. Proceler's Dynamically Variable Instruction Set Architecture (DVAITA) technology scans C/C++-defined algorithmic designs. It identifies computationally intensive code blocks like loops and breaks out this code or implementation in reconfigurable logic. DVAITA may turn a design into one or more soft processors. The remaining code is compiled for a standard microprocessor that's implemented as part of the solution. DVAITA targets configurable SoCs that combine a standard processor core with a reconfigurable system, such as an FPGA.
Security also is a major concern for the architecture. For this reason, encryption key management and distribution are part of the server farm support and the LiveDevices communication protocol. As with Lantronix, TCP/IP is the standards-based transport protocol. But the higher-level communication uses proprietary protocols.
TCP/IP is supported by Lineo's Embedix RealTime RTOS, which is part of the new Lineo SDK 2.0. In addition, remote debugging is supported over TCP/IP, but the central component of the new SDK is the Target Wizard.
The Target Wizard architecture has been changed to accept snap-ins that employ Embedded Component Description (ECD) files defining add-on services. The ECD architecture is used for Lineo's bundled components, such as Embedix RealTime, in addition to providing board and processor-specific support. This approach can work with third parties, allowing Lineo to support six new processor families beyond the original x86 and PowerPC platforms with this release of the SDK.
The ECD approach grants significant advantages to third-party developers as well as board and processor vendors. Support for product-specific peripherals and drivers can be added with an ECD file and matching libraries without working through Lineo.
Development platform support has been expanded from Caldera's OpenLinux to current releases of all major Linux distributions. Plus, the SDK can be installed and run under Windows 2000 using virtual-machine (VM) support to run OpenLinux. The installation process has improved greatly—a much needed enhancement.
A compact version of the SDK, Lineo's new Board Development Kit (BDK) works off of the same project files but is designed to work only with command-line, open-source tools. The BDK provides a low-cost entry point for embedded Linux development, and the cost can be applied toward the SDK.
Embedded Systems Conference attendees will be able to see how some tool vendors take linking different products together a step further. LynuxWorks' Visual LynuxWorks or Accelerated Technology's Codelab augment Microsoft's popular Visual Studio development environment for non-Windows-based, cross-platform development. Both can use Visual Studio's plug-in architecture to provide a front end for cross-platform development tools while taking advantage of other Visual Studio plug-in support for products like Source Safe, Microsoft's source management tool.
Visual LynuxWorks targets Linux systems, especially LynuxWorks' Lynx OS and its open-source sibling, Blue Cat Linux. Visual LynuxWorks was released earlier in January at LinuxWorld in New York City.
Now in its second incarnation, Accelerated Technology's (ATI's) Codelab provides a more modular approach to cross development with a plug-in architecture for board and processor support. This is similar in concept to Lineo's ECD architecture. The Codelab EDE (Embedded Development Environment) includes a number of wizards to handle the configuration of ATI's debugger or the open-source GNU development tools, among other tasks.
A source-level debugger, Codelab Debug supports the SH, MIPS, and ARC processor families. It can work in conjunction with CodeLab Partner, a JTAG interface. The Partner accepts probes for different system boards and processors, so the same platform can be used to debug different systems by simply changing the probe. ATI also has developed an ATX motherboard that accepts a daughter card with the target processor and memory. The daughter card works with Codelab Partner. Daughter cards for the SH4, NEC VR4122, ARM6, ARM7, and ARM9 are available.
Now for something completely different. The Embedded Systems Conference marks the debugging of Proceler's C-based soft processor core design capability. Proceler's Dynamically Variable Instruction Set Architecture (DVAITA) technology scans C/C++-defined algorithmic designs. It identifies computationally intensive code blocks like loops and breaks out this code or implementation in reconfigurable logic. DVAITA may turn a design into one or more soft processors. The remaining code is compiled for a standard microprocessor that's implemented as part of the solution. DVAITA targets configurable SoCs that combine a standard processor core with a reconfigurable system, such as an FPGA.