Express Logic's ThreadX(R) RTOS Gains MIPS(R) SDE Kernel-Aware Debug Support.

Eclipse Plug-in Now Offers ThreadX Kernel-Aware Debugging For MIPS([R]) Cores

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Express Logic, Inc., the worldwide leader in royalty-free real-time operating systems (RTOS) and First Silicon Solutions (FS2), a division of MIPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MIPS), today announced ThreadX kernel-aware debug support for the MIPS([R]) SDE software development toolkit.

ThreadX kernel-aware debug support is the first announced plug-in for FS2's recently introduced Eclipse-based Navigator[TM] IDE. The Navigator IDE and Eclipse CDT debugger are fully integrated with the MIPS GNU-based SDE toolkit. With kernel-aware support, developers are able to develop and debug applications using Express Logic's ThreadX RTOS faster due to the greater levels of visibility at the thread and task level.

Kernel awareness provides on-demand views of kernel data structures such as threads, queues, semaphores, and other objects of interest during the debug process. For example, at any point in time, a developer can set a breakpoint and, on hitting that point, examine the list of threads and determine if any are waiting for a resource held by another thread. The Eclipse plug-in provides the following ThreadX views:

* Comprehensive thread list view with thread status and objects on which the threads are blocked/suspended, if any.

* Views of all majors ThreadX objects include semaphores, block-pools, queues, event flags, and byte pools.

* Views of stack usage for individual threads.

"ThreadX kernel awareness support in the MIPS toolchain enables developers to shorten development time by giving them greater visibility into ThreadX objects throughout the development process," commented William E. Lamie, president of Express Logic. "The FS2 Navigator IDE and Eclipse CDT debugger coupled with the SDE toolkit gives ThreadX developers a low-cost, robust option for MIPS-Based device development."

"Express Logic's ThreadX RTOS is an important part of the MIPS Ecosystem and is widely used by our licensees. We're pleased to announce the availability of ThreadX kernel-aware debugging integrated into our Eclipse-based Navigator IDE," said Rick Leatherman, vice president and general manager of FS2. "Supporting an integrated ThreadX debug environment will allow MIPS licensees to cost-effectively reduce time-to-market."

MIPS SDE toolkit is a comprehensive software development environment for embedded applications, including C/C++ compiler, assembler, linker, libraries and utilities. SDE combines the MIPS([R]) SDE GNU tools with MIPS Technologies proprietary runtime libraries in source and binary form, preconfigured for MIPS evaluation and development platforms (Malta[TM], SEAD[TM], MIPSsim[TM]). MIPS SDE supports MIPS32[R] and MIPS64[R] Instruction Set Architectures (ISAs), including the MIPS32[R]4K([R]), 24K([R]), and 34K[TM] processor cores, and runs on PC Linux, Windows, and Sun Solaris operating systems.

ThreadX is a small-footprint, royalty-free source code RTOS for SoC and other resource-constrained devices in consumer electronics, wireless networking, medical equipment and industrial automation. ThreadX supports the full range of MIPS processors, including the MIPS32 4K and 24K cores, and provides unique SMTC support for the multi-threading MIPS32 34K family.

Shipping and Availability

The list price for the FS2 Navigator IDE is $995, and $1,990 with the ThreadX kernel-aware plug-in. Both are available from FS2. www.fs2.com.

About FS2

First Silicon Solutions (FS2) specializes in hardware verification and debug technologies including on-chip instrumentation, custom silicon IP, development tools and design services for programming, testing and debug of embedded systems in FPGA, SoC, SOPC, ASSP and ASIC designs. FS2 provides full system solutions with IP blocks for processor, logic and complex system-level designs, along with hardware and software tools for improved debug and analysis at all stages in the development cycle - from system design and verification to software development and optimization. FS2 products enable silicon vendors and their customers to take their designs from "first silicon" to production faster, with a better understanding of the design performance and overall operation - for faster time-to-market and higher quality products. FS2 is a division of MIPS Technologies, Inc. Additional information about First Silicon Solutions is available at www.fs2.com.

About Express Logic

Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Express Logic offers the most advanced run-time solution for deeply embedded applications, including the popular ThreadX([R]) RTOS, the high-performance NetX[TM] TCP/IP stack, the FileX([R]) embedded MS-DOS compatible file system, and the USBX[TM] Host/Device USB protocol stack. All products from Express Logic include full source-code and have no run-time royalties. For more information about Express Logic solutions, please visit www.expresslogic.com, call 1-888-THREADX, or email inquires to [e-mail].

ThreadX and FileX are registered trademarks, and NetX, CANX, USBX, preemption-threshold, picokernel, UDP fast path technology, are trademarks of Express Logic, Inc. MIPS, MIPS32, MIPS64, FS2, First Silicon Solutions, Navigator, 4K, 24K, and 34K are trademarks or registered trademarks of MIPS Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.