Xilinx Streamlines Embedded System Design With New Platform Studio Version 8.1i

Xilinx, Inc. (Nasdaq: XLNX) today announced immediate availability of the 8.1i version of the Xilinx(R) Platform Studio tool suite for embedded processing design. This latest release incorporates a new graphical user interface that streamlines platform-based design by making common, repetitive tasks both easy and intuitive. Platform Studio 8.1i also delivers an extensive array of usability features to further simplify, abstract and accelerate embedded system development with the Xilinx PowerPC(TM) hard processor and MicroBlaze(TM) soft processor cores.

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"Embedded engineers want access to all design options and features during the development process. But, perhaps more importantly, they need to get new systems up and running quickly," explains Mark Aaldering, vice president of the Embedded Processing and IP Divisions at Xilinx. "We continue to embed more intelligence and automation into our Platform Studio tools, so developers can save time and focus their resources on bringing the highest quality, differentiated systems to market faster."

Intuitive Tool Suite

The improved menu-based graphical user interface and usability features introduced with the 8.1i release encompass virtually all aspects of the tool suite, making it easier and faster for embedded developers to construct systems that meet their requirements. The new system block diagram viewer enables engineers to visualize the entire system hierarchy, and then automatically create detailed design documentation using the design report generator. The new system assembly panel provides color-coded graphical connectivity views to aid editing of bus connections, which can be used in conjunction with the 'click-to-connect' feature to prevent incompatible connections. Simplified filtering capabilities also enable developers to rapidly generate custom design views. Other enhancements include new, intuitive intellectual property (IP) core configuration dialogs and IP core search capabilities.

Kick-Start Development

To kick-start the design process, Platform Studio 8.1i provides automated board support with its Base System Builder wizard for Xilinx development boards (including floating point support for the MicroBlaze processor), as well as reference and evaluation boards from numerous embedded partners. New simulation and debug features enable execution tracing with hardware debuggers and logic analyzers as well as processor register views from hardware logic simulators. Additionally, the 8.1i version offers enhanced support for C++ compiler/linker and scripts as well as new network installation capabilities.

Platform, Pricing and Availability

Platform Studio 8.1i supports PowerPC and MicroBlaze processor designs for the Xilinx Virtex(TM)-4, Virtex-II Pro, Spartan(TM)-3 and Spartan-3E Platform FPGAs. It is immediately available for the following computing platforms: Windows(R) 2000 SP2, SP3, SP4, and XP SP1, SP2, Solaris(R) 2.8/5.8 and 2.9/5.9, as well as Linux(R) Red Hat(R) Enterprise 3.0.

The Platform Studio suite is conveniently bundled with a processing IP library, software drivers, documentation, reference designs and the MicroBlaze soft processor IP core in the new 8.1i release of the Xilinx Embedded Development Kit (EDK) for $495 US list. Evaluation versions of the Xilinx Integrated Software Environment (ISE(TM)) 8.1i logic tools, ChipScope(TM) Pro hardware debugger, and numerous third-party tools and technologies are also included. For complete information on the Platform Studio tools and EDK, visit http://www.xilinx.com/edk.

About Xilinx

Xilinx, Inc. is the worldwide leader of programmable solutions. For more information, visit http://www.xilinx.com. #0617

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