Green Hills Software's MULTI Integrated Development Environment and Optimizing Compiler Available For LSI Logic's ZSP Digital Signal Processors

Business Wire, Feb 19, 2002

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 2002

Green Hills Software today announced the availability of its MULTI(R) Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and optimizing compilers for LSI Logic's ZSP(TM) digital signal processors.

MULTI, together with Green Hills' optimizing compilers, automates all aspects of embedded software development for ZSP processors, while producing the industry's fastest, most compact ZSP code. Available to ZSP developers free of charge on a 30-day trial basis, MULTI is ideal for developing embedded software for multiprocessor systems that combine one or more ZSP processors with ARM, MIPS, or PowerPC host controllers.

"As high-performance DSPs like the ZSP run increasingly sophisticated signal processing applications, easy-to-use development tools like MULTI are becoming indispensable for maximizing programmer productivity," said Tuan Dao, vice president of LSI Logic's DSP products division. "The MULTI IDE, together with Green Hills' compilers, make it easy for our customers to quickly deploy complex applications that take full advantage of the ZSP's high-performance superscalar capabilities."

"The ZSP is a very advanced DSP, employing an orthogonal instruction set and superscalar design that enables designers to maximize performance and code density without having to master complex VLIW instruction sets," said John Carbone, vice president of marketing at Green Hills. "MULTI(R) and our optimizing compilers take ZSP programmer productivity to a new high. Designers are able to achieve stellar performance and power savings while programming in a high-level language with full debug support."

The ZSP400 is a family of high-performance, synthesizeable, 16-bit, superscalar DSP cores. Featuring a peak performance of 800 MIPS at 200 MHz, ZSP400 cores can execute 400 million multiply-accumulate operations per second. ZSP cores come equipped with two 16 x 16 multiply-accumulate units, two 40-bit accumulators, and up to one Mword of on-chip memory. ZSP cores can also be embedded with ARM, MIPS, and other host processors, together with memory, LAN and WAN interfaces on a single device to produce a complete system on a chip.

MULTI greatly simplifies the development and production of fast, compact code for the ZSP core, including multiple cores integrated on the same chip. Featuring a window-oriented editor, ZSP-optimized source-level debugger, graphical program builder, project manager, and run-time error checker, MULTI also includes a version control system, performance profiler, and real-time EventAnalyzer(TM). MULTI also features an instruction set simulator, is fully integrated with LSI logic's own cycle-accurate simulator, and supports advanced data visualization tools such as MATLAB.

MULTI's optimizing C compiler produces the industry's fastest, most compact ZSP code. The compiler takes full advantage of the ZSP's superscalar capabilities, employing software pipelining to keep the ZSP's two multiply-accumulators and ALUs operating at full speed.

The heart of the MULTI IDE is a ZSP-optimized source-level debugger. The debugger supports process- and system-level debug, provides a separate window for each process, supports mixed assembly and high-level language formats, and includes a language-sensitive expression evaluator. The MULTI debugger also features incremental debug capability and a graphical memory viewer. The MULTI debugger supports a variety of host/target connectivity options, including Green Hills' own high-speed emulation probe, the Green Hills Probe(TM).

MULTI 2000 for Windows starts at $5,900 (US) and $9,900 (US) for Solaris. Both versions are available immediately.

More on ZSP

ZSP is LSI Logic's superscalar RISC Digital Signal Processor (DSP) technology. All ZSP technologies are offered in an open architecture format that is synthesizable and licensable. ZSP consists of two generations of DSP architectures, the first being offered as the ZSP400 core(s) for general-purpose communication DSP applications. ZSP capability expanded in 2001 to include a second-generation architecture (ZSPG2), with initial implementation in a quad-MAC ZSP600 core.

More on LSI Logic Corp.

LSI Logic Corp. (NYSE:LSI) is a leading designer and manufacturer of communications, consumer, and storage semiconductors for applications that access, interconnect, and store data, voice and video. In addition, the company supplies storage network solutions for the enterprise. LSI Logic is headquartered at 1551 McCarthy Boulevard, Milpitas, Calif. 95035, 866/574-5741 (within U.S.), 719/533-7679 (outside U.S.), http://www.lsilogic.com.

More on Green Hills Software Inc.

Founded in 1982, Green Hills Software Inc. is the technology leader for real-time operating systems and software development tools for embedded systems. Green Hills Software's royalty-free INTEGRITY(TM) and ThreadX(R) real-time operating systems, fully integrated with its market leading compilers and MULTI(R) Integrated Development Environment, provide a total development and run-time solution that addresses both deeply embedded and maximum-reliability applications.