Product category: Design and Development Software
News Release from: LynuxWorks | Subject: SpyKer and VisualLynux
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 5 May 2003
Tools evolve to
handle real-time embedded systems
LynuxWorks has enhanced both its SpyKer embedded system trace tool and the VisualLynux crossdevelopment tool
LynuxWorks has enhanced both its SpyKer embedded system trace tool, and the VisualLynux crossdevelopment tool that brings the functionality and convenience of Microsoft Visual Studio to embedded-system developers. SpyKer 2.0 includes new features that dramatically increase visualisation capabilities, provide greater system execution visibility and allow developers to better understand the causes of system crashes post-mortem.
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 5 May 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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SpyKer 2.0 is a dynamically instrumented system trace analyser that enables developers of both enterprise and Embedded Linux and LynxOS applications to not only gather, display and interact with data concerning their applications, but also decrease development costs, accelerate development and debugging with easy, anytime visibility into the product and enhance product quality and reliability.
VisualLynux 5.0, the innovative tool which allows Microsoft Visual Studio users to transparently target LynxOS and BlueCat embedded Linux operating systems with their applications, will now support the family of Microsoft.NET products including the popular Visual Studio.NET and Visual C++.NET.
VisualLynux 5.0 installs on top of existing Visual Studio installations.
Developers are provided with all the commands and standard tools they need to streamline the design and creation of applications targeted to run on LynxOS and BlueCat Linux.
"LynuxWorks is dramatically increasing the value of development tools by providing developers with toolset enhancements specifically designed to provide a more detailed understanding of system operations and fine tune the performance of the operating system", said Bob Morris, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, LynuxWorks.
Further reading
Embedded Linux is made for Xilinx developers
BlueCat-ME makes LynuxWorks the first embedded RTOS provider to enable developers to work with Linux on both PowerPC and MicroBlaze architectures and the popular LynxOS for PowerPC
RTOS helps create COTS defence systems
RTOS board support package for Radstone Technology's PowerPC 7D single board computer offers rugged commercial off-the-shelf embedded systems for defence applications
Operating systems support 32bit FPGA processors
LynuxWorks now supports the full range of Xilinx 32bit embedded processing solutions
"SpyKer 2.0 and VisualLynux 5.0 enable faster time-to-market by leveraging an easy-to-use visual development environment and any-time visibility into program execution".
SpyKer 2.0 can be used by applications programmers, technical support professionals, and systems management personnel to collect trace data on the execution of a Linux or a LynxOS system.
A trace analyser is an extremely powerful tool commonly used in the embedded systems industry for gathering systems execution information, analogous to a software logic analyser.
For highly specialised embedded applications, programmers need to know exactly what the CPU is doing at any point in time.
SpyKer's dynamic kernel instrumentation capability provides instant visibility into valuable system information, eliminating the annoyance and configuration management headaches of switching to a specially instrumented kernel.
The graphical user interface (GUI) enhancements of SpyKer 2.0 provide more save and state options, zoom out display, current priority display and display filtering allowing for greater and more refined visibility into the system.
SpyKer 2.0 also has a powerful capability that allows users to understand relationships between events using histograms.
With the histogram capability, both the length of time spent in interrupt context and the timing information between two event points can be displayed as a histogram of timings over the entire trace.
This allows users to easily visualise any event relationship and timing data.
Another new feature is the addition of library code instrumentation, an innovative approach to provide detailed information on system operation with minimal intrusion to system performance.
Additionally, the ability to display a trace post mortem is included, provided there is a separate memory board that allows data to be written out to a non-volatile buffer in case of a system crash.
This capability allows the developer to understand what occurred just before the system crash.
VisualLynux 5.0 provides a high degree of automation when leveraging Visual Studio for embedded development.
VisualLynux wizard dialogue boxes are available to capture LynxOS and BlueCat Linux-specific configuration information as well as application wizards that create application skeleton code using many Posix API features.
Remote debugging and target download/viewing tools are also included to allow the Visual Studio environment to function as a true cross-development IDE.
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