Metrowerks to Support Arm Microprocessors; CodeWarrior to Support Architecture 3 and 4 of Advanced RISC Machines
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 the ARM architecture in its CodeWarrior development tools for the embedded market.
The new compilers, linkers and assemblers, and debuggers, tuned for architecture 3 and 4, including the 7500E, the StrongARM, and THUMB-enhanced ARM architectures 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 (Microsoft COFF) as well as the industry-standard ELF/DWARF executable/debug formats. CodeWarrior support for the ARM 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.
"Adding support to CodeWarrior for the ARM architecture, one of the most powerful microprocessor architectures for embedded applications, is a natural evolution for Metrowerks as we expand our presence in the embedded systems market," said Greg Galanos, president and chief technology officer, Metrowerks. "With the addition of ARM support, as well as support for THUMB and StrongARM, Metrowerks will cover an even broader spectrum of the most successful RISC and CISC architectures from within one of the world's easiest to use and most powerful development environments."
"One of the keys to gaining market share in the embedded world, and keeping it, is to assure customers that their programming efforts will be fast, clean, and cost efficient," said M.P. Muller, vice president of Business Development at ARM. "We are very pleased that our relationship with Metrowerks, and the CodeWarrior support for ARM microprocessors, has provided our customers the kinds of competitive advantages that improve their products, and speed the time to market."
Pricing and Availability
CodeWarrior for ARM is scheduled for release in the second quarter of calendar 1998, priced at US$ 899 each. Academic pricing will be US$ 119. All purchases include free product updates and technical support for one year from Metrowerks.
About Advanced RISC Machines
ARM is a leader in microprocessor Intellectual Property. ARM designs and licenses fast, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals and "system-chip" solutions for embedded control, consumer/educational multimedia, DSP and portable applications. ARM licensees include NEC, Philips, Sony, Sharp, Texas Instruments, Samsung, and Lucent Technologies. For more information, visit the ARM website at http://www.arm.com .
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 to Editors: Metrowerks, the Metrowerks logo and CodeWarrior are registered trademarks, and MetroTRK is a trademark of Metrowerks Inc. ARM is a trademark of Advanced RISC Machines 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]
www.metrowerks.com
or
Cain Communications (for ARM)
Mark Alden, 408/341-8978
[email protected]