Metrowerks to Add Support for Hitachi’s SuperH Architectures to CodeWarrior; CodeWarrior Initially to Support SH-2, SH-3 and SH-4
SAN JOSE, Calif. — September 30, 1997 — Metrowerks Inc. (NASDAQ:MTWKF, TSE/ME:MWK) announced this week at the Embedded Systems Conference West in San Jose that the company will support Hitachi's SuperH architecture in its CodeWarrior development tools for the embedded market.
The new compilers, linkers, assemblers, and debuggers tuned for Hitachi's family of SuperH microprocessors will be made available to customers in the second quarter of calendar 1998 for C, C++, and Java.
Metrowerks will support both Windows CE executables format (Microsoft COFF) as well as the industry-standard ELF/DWARF executable formats. CodeWarrior support for Hitachi's family of SuperH microprocessors is a direct result of Metrowerks' strategy to offer CodeWarrior embedded development tools for the RTOS/Windows CE market, proprietary OS market, and the embedded Java technology market.
"Support for the SuperH microprocessor architecture is an important part of our strategy to move strongly into the embedded systems market," said Greg Galanos, president and chief technology officer, Metrowerks. "Our goal is to provide our customers with as many targets as possible to choose from to support their embedded software development, and we are very pleased to be working with Hitachi to support the SuperH family of microprocessors."
Mr. Toshimasa Kihara, general manager of Microcomputer & ASIC Business Operation, Hitachi, Ltd. said, "We are pleased that Metrowerks brings CodeWarrior support to the SuperH microprocessor. The collaboration with Metrowerks, a leader in software development tools, will allow us to further expand the SuperH's acceptance in the multimedia market around the world."
About SuperH Family Hitachi's 32-bit SuperH RISC microprocessors (SuperH family) features Hitachi's own architecture and provides high-performance, low-power consumption, and high code efficiency. SH-3, the 3rd generation of SuperH family, has been selected by major OEMs of Windows CE-based HPCs. The SuperH family of products are used in a wide range of applications in the multimedia market with more than 1,400 design wins.
About Hitachi Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1996 (ending March 31, 1997) consolidated sales of 8,523 billion yen (US$ 68.7 billion/a). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's Web site at http:/ www.hitachi.co.jp.
About Metrowerks Embedded Systems Products CodeWarrior solutions for the embedded systems market start with the CodeWarrior Integrated Development Environment, or "IDE," a unified environment available for both desktop and embedded application development. The CodeWarrior IDE contains a complete set of tools including class browsers, debuggers, editors, and a state-of-the-art project manager which obsoletes "make" files.
CodeWarrior embedded tools all feature the CodeWarrior two-machine source-level debugger which plugs seamlessly into the CodeWarrior IDE and communicates with the new MetroTRK (Target Resident Kernel).
MetroTRK, developed by Metrowerks and available in source to Metrowerks' licensees, is a software debug monitor for use with CodeWarrior source-level debuggers. MetroTRK is suitable for use as a board-level software debugger, or, in its extended form, as an application-level debugger.
CodeWarrior highly optimizing compilers, linkers and assemblers are available for the 68K, PowerPC, x86 and MIPS families of microprocessors for C, C++, and Java. Metrowerks has already announced that in 1998, it will add support for the NEC VR/V8xx, ARM, and Hitachi SuperH families of microprocessors.
CodeWarrior all-in-one programming tools are the foundation for Metrowerks' entry into the three major embedded markets: the proprietary OS market; the RTOS/Windows CE market; and the embedded Java technology market.
With over 100 software engineers, Metrowerks invests 35% of the company's revenues in CodeWarrior research and development. Metrowerks has the resources to create state-of-the-art embedded tools. With the CodeWarrior IDE already used by over 100,000 registered desktop users in 75 countries, Metrowerks' CodeWarrior IDE development costs can be amortized over a very large number of users. This competitive advantage enables Metrowerks to sell CodeWarrior embedded tools at the ground-breaking price of under $ 1,000 per seat. Note (a): At an exchange rate of 124 yen to the dollar.
Note to Editors: Metrowerks, the Metrowerks logo and CodeWarrior are registered trademarks, and MetroTRK is a trademark of Metrowerks Inc. SuperH is a trademark of Hitachi Limited. All other company and product names may be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective companies/holders, and are hereby recognized.
Statements in this press release are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including successful and timely development of the product and customer acceptance of the product.
CONTACT:
Metrowerks Inc.
Gordy Davies, 512/873-4797
[email protected]