Motorola and MicroAPL announce new 68K to M·CORE™ porting tool
26 September 1999 -- Continuing its partnership with Motorola, Inc, MicroAPL Ltd today announced the release of PortAsm™/68K for M·CORE, the latest in a family of tools for porting embedded 680x0, CPU32, and CPU32+ code to Motorola's new generation of processor architectures. PortAsm is a source-level porting tool which converts 680x0-family assembly language programs to run under a new instruction set, producing an optimized translation which reproduces the logic of the original program in the target architecture. Already widely used for porting 680x0 code to PowerPC® and ColdFire® processors, the new version of PortAsm generates optimized code for the M200 and M300 cores.
Motorola's M·CORE 32-bit architecture is based on a RISC-style instruction set with a fixed 16-bit instruction length, combining high performance with high code density and low power consumption. The new version of PortAsm analyzes the original 680x0 assembly-language source files, eliminates irrelevant side effects, and translates the program to M·CORE assembly language. Because it carries out a detailed analysis of the original program logic, PortAsm is able to generate an efficient M·CORE equivalent suitable for incorporation in new M·CORE-based embedded devices. Code produced by the translator complies with the M·CORE ABI standard, and source files generated by PortAsm are compatible with the major M·CORE toolsets including Gnu, Diab-SDS, and Metrowerks. Source-level debugging of the translated code is supported.
PortAsm/68K for M·CORE will be available in the 4th quarter of 1999. Under a special agreement between Motorola and MicroAPL, developers will be able to download the translator free of charge from MicroAPL's web site http://www.microapl.com or through Motorola's M·CORE site http://www.freescale.com.
MicroAPL will also provide software support and consultancy services."We are extremely pleased about MicroAPL's release of PortAsm/68K for the M·CORE architecture," said Fred Stotz, Third Party Manager, Motorola. "This announcement further assists Motorola in achieving the goal of having a solid set of tools available for our 68K customer base to be able to migrate their assembly code to any of our 32-bit microprocessor family portfolios."
Richard Nabavi, MicroAPL's Managing Director, commented: "Motorola's M·CORE architecture has been designed from the ground up to meet the demands of modern embedded devices. Using PortAsm/68K for M·CORE, companies with legacy 68K assembler code can rapidly migrate to M·CORE-based solutions".
MicroAPL Ltd was founded in 1979 and is based in London, England. It specializes in translation tools and virtual machines for moving existing software to the new generation of RISC processors, as well as providing consultancy services in systems development and cross-platform porting. Further information on PortAsm and other MicroAPL products and services can be found on the company's web site http://www.microapl.com.
As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector offers multiple DigitalDNA™ solutions which enable its customers to create new business opportunities in the consumer, networking and computing, transportation, and wireless communications markets. Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $7.3 billion (USD) in l998.
Motorola is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 1998 were $29.4 (USD) billion.
-- Ends --