HP Revs Up Automotive Market With Tools to Debug Motorola MPC555 Microprocessor.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 1998-- Hewlett-Packard Company, the world's leading supplier of logic analyzers, today announces it will target its logic analyzers for the automotive market, offering new options that will allow the analyzers to work with the Motorola MPC555 microcontroller.

The MPC555 was developed for the rugged environment of the automotive industry and can manage all engine- and transmission-control functions for automobiles.

"As the number of electronic components in automobiles escalates, designers need tools to help them debug system problems faster while improving the quality of the finished product," said Patrick J. Byrne, general manager of HP's Colorado Springs Division. "Our HP 16600A and 16700A series logic analyzers are ideal for the automotive environment because their emulation and logic-analysis capabilities give designers a complete view of system activity."

The HP 16600, 16700 and 16702 are integrated systems that combine an HP logic analyzer for real-time analysis with a new HP emulation module, emulation probe or inverse assembler. The combination of a logic analyzer and an emulation module or probe will provide a complete debug environment with run control and a debugger connection. EMULATION PROBE

Using the on-board debug port of the Motorola MPC555 processor, the HP emulation probe provides high-speed code downloading, easy setting of breakpoints, access to all processor registers and the capability to modify memory content.

Designers can control software-program execution by single-stepping through code, setting or modifying breakpoints and running code at full speed in the target system. At any time, they can run individual lines of code to ensure that associated hardware operates properly. Increased program control simplifies debugging of hardware and software that have been integrated during product development.

The HP emulation module offers the same capabilities as an emulation probe, but it is built into the logic-analysis system. Both the emulation module and emulation probe are compatible with industry-leading debuggers. LOGIC ANALYSIS

The probe or module, when used with an HP 16600, 16700 or 16702 logic analyzer, gives designers a complete view of all system activity. For example, a user can monitor processor activity in relation to other important system signals, such as those from a CAN bus, A/D channels or other processors or I/O devices. Designers can time-correlate these events using timing, state and oscilloscope measurements with their source code -- all on the same display. Because logic-analyzer probing is non-intrusive (that is, it does not affect the microprocessor's performance), designers can run and debug systems at full speed. POST-PROCESSING

Using either the emulation module or probe, automotive designers receive detailed information on code execution with minimal impact on the target system. To accommodate the MPC555's internal FLASH and RAM, HP's systems were designed to reconstruct executed FLASH and RAM opcodes (operational codes for computers) from branch trace "show cycle" information.

To post-process captured data, HP offers these additional tool sets: -0-

--   HP source-correlation tool set -- coordinates a logic analyzer
  trace with the source code that produced it;
--   an HP system-performance-analysis tool set -- lets users profile
  and analyze system performance to identify software or hardware
  bottlenecks; and
--   an HP serial-analysis tool set -- lets users view and acquire
  serial data streams to detect problems in peripheral
  communications systems.

-0- INVERSE ASSEMBLER

Another analyzer support tool, the HP inverse assembler, translates a captured trace into numbers of bus cycles and other MPC555 mnemonics, such as memory read/write, interrupt acknowledge or input/output (I/O) read/writes. U.S. PRICES AND AVAILABILITY -0-

  HP E5900 Option 050 emulation probe for MPC555       $3,495
  HP E5901 Option 050 emulation module for MPC555        3,495
  HP E5902 Option 050 migration package                 1,500
  HP inverse assembler for MPC555                        1,995
  HP 16600A logic-analysis mainframes              start at 10,400
  HP 16700A logic-analysis mainframes               start at 9,900

-0-

Delivery is estimated at four weeks from receipt of order for all products. ABOUT HP

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global provider of computing, Internet and intranet solutions, services, communications products and measurement solutions, all of which are recognized for excellence in quality and support. It is the second-largest computer supplier in the world, with computer-related revenue in excess of $35.4 billion in its 1997 fiscal year. HP has 127,200 employees and had revenue of $42.9 billion in its 1997 fiscal year.

Information about HP logic analyzers is online at http://www.hp.com/go/logicanalyzer.

NOTE TO THE EDITOR: Sales information may be obtained by calling 1-800-452-4844 ext. 6097. Please do NOT use editor-contact or corporate telephone numbers for sales information.

Information in this release applies specifically to products available in the United States. Product availability and specifications may vary in non-U.S. markets.

If you choose to review this item, your readers will receive the quickest response to their inquiries by mailing them to Hewlett-Packard Company, Test and Measurement Organization, 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd., MS 54LAK, Santa Clara, Calif. 95052.