Embedded Systems Conference - CHICAGO, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Zinc
Software (Pleasant Grove, Utah) today introduced its award-winning Zinc(R)
Application Framework(TM) (ZAF) for Wind River Systems' (NASDAQ:WIND)
Tornado(TM) development environment. For the first time, embedded systems
developers building products based on Wind River's VxWorks(R) real-time
operating system can add a full-scale graphical user interface without
sacrificing time to market or product resources. At the same time, Zinc has
become one of Wind River's premier WindLink(TM) for Tornado partners.
Once the exclusive domain of the personal computer, the graphical user
interface (GUI) is rapidly becoming a check off item for monitoring, managing,
and interacting with many embedded devices including PDAs, telecommunications
equipment and imaging products. However, the unique and varied requirements
of embedded and real-time devices have often made available GUI solutions
unsuitable.
"Traditional GUI solutions such as X/Windows derivatives and Microsoft
Windows CE are too large and suffer from legacy 'PC' approaches that are not
technically or financially ideal for real-time embedded solutions," said
Robert Bishop, founder of Zinc Software. "ZAF for Tornado is targeted
specifically at the embedded market, where product differentiation is still
king and every byte of memory adds dollars to the end product."
"Until now, companies requiring GUIs on embedded devices were forced to
either use expensive hardware capable of supporting a full scale GUI, or build
a minimal GUI solution from low-level 2D graphic primitives," commented
Curt Schacker, vice president for Wind River Systems. "ZAF hits the sweet
spot between these two scenarios -- a full scale GUI with a footprint of
around 500K. We are extremely pleased to have Zinc Software as a premier
WindLink partner addressing this timely issue."
Complete GUI Solution for Embedded Products
Zinc Application Framework provides a complete object oriented, C++ API
for the creation of graphical user interfaces and event-driven applications.
It includes a portable visual design tool, portable makefile utility,
hypertext-based on-line documentation, and numerous examples and tutorials.
By default, ZAF's user interface objects display the popular Windows 95/NT
look, yet any user interface object -- ranging from windows and buttons to
notebooks and tables -- may be easily customized to deliver a unique
appearance and feel.
ZAF enables international user interfaces through transparent support for
both ISO (single byte) and Unicode (double byte) character sets. With ZAF's
built in support, developing localized and multilingual applications is
trivial.
Familiar Development Environment Maximizes Productivity
ZAF's intuitive, next-generation API is completely portable, allowing ZAF
applications to target Windows and Motif platforms, as well as Tornado. This
flexibility allows user interface developers to build and test a complete GUI
on their preferred development platform and deploy to VxWorks-based embedded
products at any time.
WindLink for Tornado Partner Program
WindLink for Tornado is a focused marketing program designed to help
hardware and software developers and system integrators create and sell
Tornado-compatible or Tornado-integrated products in the real-time operating
systems (RTOS) marketplace. Premier Partners are committed to developing an
application with Tornado and to using Tornado as their preferred operating
environment and system. Premier Partners also have dedicated engineering
staffs available to upgrade their products along with releases of Tornado
upgrades.
Availability
Zinc Application Framework for Tornado is now available from Zinc
Software. For more information about Zinc's products and services, call
801-785-8900 or stop by the Wind River booth (#811) for a comprehensive
demonstration at the Embedded Systems Conference East in Chicago,
March 31 - April 2, 1998.
Zinc Software
Since 1990, Zinc Software has developed and marketed innovative products
to help developers meet the challenges of portable/international application
development. Zinc has sold more than 30,000 development licenses in over
89 countries through its offices in North America and Europe, as well as
through resellers around the world.
NOTE: Zinc is a registered trademark and Zinc Application Framework is a
trademark of Zinc Software Incorporated. Wind River Systems and VxWorks are
registered trademarks and Tornado and WindLink are trademarks of Wind River
Systems, Inc. All other names mentioned are trademarks, registered trademarks
or service marks of their respective companies. |
