Perihelion Ports Helios RTOS to ARM's Thumb; ARM to Target Communications and Set-top Box Applications.SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 12, 1995--Perihelion continues its support for the Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) family of RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. microprocessors with the announcement that it is porting its Helios Real-time Operating System (operating system) Real-Time Operating System - (RTOS) Any operating system where interrupts are guaranteed to be handled within a certain specified maximum time, thereby making it suitable for control of hardware in embedded systems and other time-critical applications. to ARM's Thumb-aware processors. An ARM Thumb-aware processor can execute both 32-bit ARM code and 16-bit Thumb code. Object code averages a decrease of between 25 to 35 per cent versus comparable ARM code, thus making the Thumb ideally suited to high volume applications where code density is crucial. "A port of Helios-ARM for Thumb will mean a decrease in code size of at least 30 per cent against comparable 32-bit systems," said Paul Beskeen, technical director, Perihelion perihelion (pĕr'əhē`lēən), point nearest the sun in the orbit of a body about the sun. See apsis. . "Helios-ARM has already found applications in low cost communication devices and set-top applications. Adding Thumb support will enable lower cost applications and allow greater functionality in environments constrained by power consumption and size considerations." Helios-ARM is a modular real-time multi-tasking operating system based around a micro-kernel. It supports a POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX) An IEEE 1003.1 standard that defines the language interface between application programs and the Unix operating system. compliant interface and allows the generation of ROMmed Embedded Applications. Perihelion has been working with ARM Limited since 1990, as well as collaborating with ARM partners VLSI Technology, GEC GEC Gaseous Electronics Conference GEC Gigabit EtherChannel GEC Geriatric Education Center (US government; HRSA) GEC General Electric Co. GEC Google Earth Community (online community) Plessey and Sharp. "Perihelion's rapid incorporation of support for the Thumb is yet another demonstration of our close partnership with ARM, and our commitment to provide the most complete system software solution for the ARM architecture. Thumb is a neat extension to the ARM architecture that allows ARM's expansion into the 16-bit microcontroller marketplace," added Beskeen. Pricing and availability Helios for ARM's Thumb-aware processor is priced from $3,950.00 and will be available from Perihelion in November 1995. Perihelion Background Founded in 1986, Perihelion is one of the few European software houses to have successfully developed a commercial micro kernel operating system for the multiprocessor and embedded market places. Perihelion's operating system, Helios, has been ported to the ARM, SGS SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SGS Symantec Gateway Security (appliance) SGS School of Graduate Studies SGS Subgrid Scale SGS Singapore Government Securities SGS Shell Global Solutions Thompson Transputer, Intel i860, Motorola 68K and Texas Instruments DSP (1) (Digital Signal Processor) A special-purpose CPU used for digital signal processing applications (see definition #2 below). It provides ultra-fast instruction sequences, such as shift and add, and multiply and add, which are commonly used in math-intensive processors. CONTACT: Perihelion Julia Gadd Perihelion Distributed Software 44-1749-344-345 |
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