MicroAPL and Motorola offer assembler translation tool for ColdFire
3rd November 1997 -- In partnership with Motorola, Inc, MicroAPL Ltd today announced the availability of PortAsm/68K for ColdFire, a source-level assembler porting tool which translates 680x0, CPU32, and CPU32+ family assembly language to run on ColdFire processors.
Motorola's ColdFire architecture is derived from the 680x0 family, but with a simplified set of instructions and addressing modes in order to provide high performance at low cost and low power consumption. 680x0 assembly-language programs will typically require modification before they will run on ColdFire. PortAsm/68K for ColdFire automates this process, making it practicable to port large amounts of assembler code rapidly and reliably.
Under a special agreement between Motorola and MicroAPL, PortAsm/68K for ColdFire will be distributed free of charge to Motorola's customer base, and is also available for downloading from the MicroAPL web site http://www.microapl.com. MicroAPL will also provide an internet-based support service for the product.
"MicroAPL's PortAsm/68K enables customers to leverage their existing 68K assembler source code when moving to ColdFire, allowing them to retain much of their software investment and get to market quicker", said Mike Frawley, Manager of Systems Engineering and Tools Program for 68K/ColdFire at Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector.
Richard Nabavi, Managing Director of MicroAPL Ltd, commented: "The ColdFire architecture offers an excellent upgrade path for 680x0, CPU32, and CPU32+ embedded systems, and we are delighted to be working with Motorola to ensure that customers with a large investment in 680x0 assembly language can benefit from the advantages of ColdFire."
The new version of PortAsm/68K is based on MicroAPL's existing CISC-to-RISC translation technology, which has been widely used to port 680x0 and x86 assembly language to run native on PowerPC CPUs. PortAsm is an optimizing source-level translation tool, which carries out an extensive analysis of the source program to eliminate unnecessary side effects and to produce an efficient equivalent in the target environment. Source-level debugging can be carried out on the translated code. In the embedded market, PortAsm has been used for major projects in telecoms, industrial automation, aviation, defense, and consumer electronics. Amongst the many well-known desktop applications ported to the PowerPC architecture using PortAsm are Word Perfect for Macintosh, MicroFrontier's ColorIt!, and HyperCard, a product of Apple Computer, Inc.
MicroAPL Ltd was founded in 1979, and is based in London, England. It specializes in translation tools for moving existing software to the new generation of RISC processors, as well as providing consultancy services in systems development and cross-platform porting. Demonstration software and further information on PortAsm and other MicroAPL products and services can be found on the MicroAPL web site: http://www.microapl.com
With 1996 worldwide sales of $7.9 billion, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector is the largest U.S. based broad-line supplier of semiconductor solutions. Motorola is one of the world's leading providers of wireless communications, semiconductors and advanced electronic systems, components and services. Major equipment businesses include cellular telephone, two-way radio, paging and data communications, personal communications, automotive, defense and space electronics, and computers. Motorola semiconductors power communication devices, computers and millions of other products. Motorola's 1996 sales were $28 billion.
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