TASKING 8051 Tool Suite Offers Easy and Expert Modes, Simplifying Design of Intelligent Appliances

Advanced compiler technology reduces errors, creating robust control

Dedham, MA, March 28, 2001 — TASKING, The Embedded Communications Company, today announced availability of the TASKING 8051 Tool Suite, V6.0, with an enhanced debugging and simplified development environment that eases design of next-generation intelligent control. Already supporting more 8051 derivatives than any other vendor, TASKING extends its lead in the 8051 arena with coverage of new derivatives from vendors such as Analog Devices, Cygnal Integrated Products, Dallas Semiconductor, Domosys, Philips, and Winbond. The Tool Suite, complete with upgraded EDE, optimizing C compiler, and CrossView Pro ROM monitor debugger and simulator, offers easy/expert modes that accommodate both the beginner and the advanced user by providing simplified configuration to ease the learning curve as well as advanced control for complex applications. By using the stringent coding requirements of MISRA C, developers can ensure the quality and robustness of their code. With these strengths, TASKING's 8051 Tool Suite eases the development of a wide variety of applications ranging from information appliances and embedded communications to smart sensors and industrial control.

Recognizing that 8051 applications have become increasingly complex as more peripherals are integrated into the controller, TASKING has gone out of its way to simplify the development process. Through use of MISRA C, developers can program TASKING's C51 compiler to identify error-prone C constructs, eliminating hard-to-find coding errors early in the development cycle. Easy and expert modes maximize the resources and overall efficiency of programming teams, letting project managers allocate simpler tasks to novice programmers and delegate the complex aspects of the application to experienced users. These capabilities, along with an improved integrated development environment, give software design teams the tools they need to produce high-quality code on time and within budget.

"Easy-to-use integrated development environments maximize the productivity of programming teams designing today's complex embedded software projects," said Steven Lindquist, Director of Business Development for Cygnal Integrated Products. "An efficient compiler enables developers to pack more functionality into the small footprint of an 8051 application. TASKING meets this need, delivering a compiler with incredibly tight and fast code."

"TASKING is proud to work with companies like Cygnal who bring new capabilities to the 8051 microcontroller, expanding its role by integrating a much higher level of functionality," notes Harm-Andre Verhoef, TASKING's Product Marketing Manager for 8- and 16-bit microcontrollers. "TASKING responds to these new capabilities with greater debug support of peripherals and programmable data analysis. We recognize that developers using derivatives such as Cygnal's, with its mixed-signal, field-programmable control, need more sophisticated resources, and we deliver."

Recognizing that ease of debugging and simulation critically affects time to market, TASKING includes programmable data analysis and peripheral support simulation in the 8051 Tool Suite. The programmable data analysis feature of TASKING's CrossView Pro debugger reduces large sets of data into meaningful visual diagrams, enabling quick detection of errors in signal-processing routines. No longer do developers need to review or post-process large files of raw data. As well, through simulation of peripherals such as timers, serial ports and interrupts, developers can debug I/O functionality before hardware is available. This level of improved debugging provides the foundation necessary for applications focused on delivering smart, connected control to today's embedded communications marketplace.

TASKING's new EDE technology completely integrates the Tool Suite's optimizing C and MISRA C compilers and CrossView Pro debugger into the integrated development environment. Using an enhanced graphical interface that boasts an HTML editor and browse facility as well as an XML collapsible grid viewer, TASKING improves developer productivity through ease-of-use features and a better overview of the application code. With graphical Tags Browsing, developers can immediately overview the application's cross references as well as easily navigate through application variables and functions. CodeSense advanced coding assistance displays function parameters as you type, and CodeFolio code templates offers easy insertion of frequently occurring lines of code, greatly improving developer efficiency. With these enhancements integrated throughout the entire embedded development environment, TASKING's 8051 Tool Suite eases the development process and promotes faster time-to-market.

Availability:
The TASKING 8051 Tool Suite, V6.0 is available now on Windows, Linux and Unix platforms. 8051 customers with an active maintenance contract may upgrade to this release free of charge. A multimedia tutorial quickly familiarizes beginners with TASKING's EDE and CrossView Pro debugger. A demo version of the Tool Suite is available from www.tasking.com/8051 or on CD-ROM from any of the TASKING offices or distributors. Release notes and manual files can be downloaded from the technical support area at www.tasking.com/support/8051.

About TASKING
TASKING, The Embedded Communications Company, brings together the software technology needed to compete in the embedded communications era. TASKING's award-winning integrated development environment, compiler, debugger, embedded Internet and RTOS offerings support a wide range of DSPs and 8-, 16- and 32-bit microprocessors and microcontrollers for all areas of embedded communications. TASKING, founded in 1974, is a privately held company with headquarters in Dedham, Massachusetts, and engineering, sales and support offices in the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK. TASKING's 100,000 licensed users include the world's leading telecom, datacom, wireless and peripheral manufacturers. More information about TASKING can be found at www.tasking.com and www.embeddedcommunications.com.

TASKING, the TASKING logo, and The Embedded Communications Company are trademarks of TASKING. All other trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.