PR: Wind River Systems and Willows Software Offer New Solution for Bringing Standard Windows Software to Real-Time Products
Jim:
A belated answer to your question: The standards for almost *all* software are being defined by Microsoft-and they are based on Windows. It looks like WRS has started to recognize that fact that Microsoft Standards will come to dominated the embedded market.
The Windows Factor keeps creeping forward. Step by step, inch by inch....
Cheers,
Dave
-------------------WIND Press Release----------
Industry Standards and Open Systems Fuel the Convergence of the Desktop and Embedded Markets
ALAMEDA, Calif., and SARATOGA, Calif., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Wind River Systems (Nasdaq: WIND) and Willows Software, Inc. today introduced Willows RT for Tornado(TM), a new solution for bringing standard Windows(R) software to the real-time embedded market. For the first time, developers of network computers, intelligent terminals, medical instrumentation devices and other embedded products can write their applications to the standardized Win32 application programming interface (API) and deploy them on top of the VxWorks(R) real-time operating system, part of Wind River's Tornado development environment. "As the de facto standard for software development, the Microsoft Windows API has been the backbone for tens of thousands of software programs," said Laurent Gharda, vice president of marketing and sales for Willows Software. "Willows RT for Tornado gives developers of embedded systems the opportunity to leverage this huge body of code. It also gives their companies the opportunity to capitalize on their investment in Windows API experience. Both of these advantages lead to shorter time-to-market, reduced costs and better products."
Portability through Industry Standards
In the past, real-time performance and the Win32 API were mutually exclusive. With Willows RT for Tornado, any vendor offering Win32 applications can, using existing source, target their software to thousands of Tornado installations worldwide, offering customers immediate real-time support. Conversely, developers using Tornado can integrate any portion of existing source-based Windows software -- databases, graphics, office tools, and so on -- into their real-time embedded system. Products developed using Willows RT for Tornado are also portable across the widest range of microprocessors including 68K, CPU32, PowerPC, i960, x86,
SPARC, and MIPS and all architectures supported by Wind River Systems' Tornado development environment for embedded computers.
"While there are still pure plays in both the embedded and desktop world, many companies are looking for a way to combine the best of the two. The answer is portability," said David Larrimore, vice president of marketing for Wind River. "Wind River provides the processor portability and Willows is the leader at providing solutions to move Windows applications across multiple platforms. Once again our focus on industry standards has enabled us to provide a world class solution for bringing products to market quickly."
Willows RT for Tornado-Based on the Willows Toolkit for creating a seamless migration path from Windows applications to other platforms, Willows RT for Tornado enables developers to move Windows-based software directly to Tornado. The embeddable library is based on a single set of source code that can be compiled and linked for the target environment, allowing developers to deliver cross-platform, full-featured applications that run at native executive speeds to call API functions, receive messages, load resources, and launch other Windows applications and DLLs. The application code remains completely compatible with Windows.
Tornado Development Environment Available for UNIX, Windows 95, and Windows NT host platforms, Tornado consists of three integrated components: the Tornado tool suite, a set of powerful tools and utilities on both the host and the target; VxWorks, the industry's most powerful and scalable real-time operating system, which executes on the embedded target processor; and a full range of communications options, such as Ethernet, serial line, BDM, ICE, or ROM emulator for the target connection to the host. Completely open and extensible, Tornado also facilitates the use of third-party and custom tools. Tornado was awarded EDN Magazine's 1995 Embedded Development Software Innovation of the Year award and
was included in EE:Times' Best 1995 Technologies Special Report. Tornado is used by thousands of developers and has more than 80 ISV (independent software vendor) and IHV (independent hardware vendor) partners.
Availability - A single seat license for Willows RT for for Tornado will be available from Wind River Systems in the first quarter of 1997. Call local Wind River office for pricing information.
Willows Software, Inc.
Willows Software's mission is to be the leading supplier of products and services to migrate Windows applications to alternative platforms. Willows will remain compatible with Microsoft Windows and industry standards through built-in extensibility. Willows' technology allows developers to focus on building the best possible applications, independent of platform, and deploy them on Windows, UNIX, Macintosh, network and real-time operating systems, and other platforms
with little or no extra development effort. Willows Software is located in Saratoga, California. Telephone: 800-814-6351 or 408-777-1820. Fax: 408-777-1827. World Wide Web: willows.com. |
