REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 29, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the Microsoft® Windows® CE operating system Embedded Toolkit for the Visual C++® development system 5.0, an add-in to Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 designed to make it easy for OEMs and embedded developers to build new products for Windows CE 2.0. The Embedded Toolkit enables system adaptation by OEMs and development of ROM-based applications and drivers by third-party developers against custom configurations of Windows CE using hardware development platforms. The Embedded Toolkit gives developers access to all the power of an integrated development environment (IDE) and includes all cross-compilers and assemblers for Windows CE on supported processors.
“The Windows CE Embedded Toolkit for Visual C++ further solidifies the Windows CE platform as a standard for the embedded market by giving OEMs full access to the power and flexibility of Windows CE,” said Harel Kodesh, general manager of the consumer appliance group at Microsoft. “Through the wide availability of the Embedded Toolkit, embedded developers worldwide can now create products built on the growing set of Windows CE-supported processors using a wide variety of third-party hardware development platforms, gain full access to the rich feature set delivered by Windows CE 2.0, and tailor their ROM footprint by taking advantage of the componetized architecture of Windows CE.”
Comprehensive Set of Productivity-Enhancing Features
The Windows CE Embedded Toolkit for Visual C++ 5.0 provides an integrated development environment consisting of windows, menus, toolbars, directories and other elements that allow developers to create, test and refine their code from a single environment:
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The text editor, resource editors, project build facilities, incremental linker, source-code browser, integrated debugger and online users guide are all easily accessible from the IDE.
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A drop-down build bar lets developers easily retarget applications for any of the Windows CE – supported processors.
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Resource editor adds, edits and deletes program resources efficiently.
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Project workspace with Class View, File View and Info View project tools lets developers view program files and helps organize the files for maximum efficiency.
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Project management using the Microsoft Visual SourceSafe
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project-oriented version control system integrates into the IDE for efficient team development (available separately).
Complete Set of Tools for Building Embedded Products
The Windows CE Embedded Toolkit for Visual C++ includes a complete set of tools for building embedded products targeting the Windows CE operating system:
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Cross-compilers and assemblers for all supported processors (MIPS, PowerPC, SH3, and x86 architectures)
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Remote debugger for debugging to a Windows CE-based target device
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CESYSGEN, a utility to build custom configurations of the Windows CE operating system and support development of applications and device drivers targeting the custom configuration
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ROM Image generation utility
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Parallel Port Shell (PPSH), a utility that allows developers to download binary files to hardware development platforms through the parallel port on the development host
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Support for Windows CE hardware development platforms, including the Hitachi D9000, a highly flexible and configurable processor-agnostic hardware and software development platform, and the PC-based hardware development platform for Windows CE, which runs the x86 version of the Windows CE kernel on a 486 or greater PC. The Embedded Toolkit can easily support additional hardware reference platforms from semiconductor partners and third-party vendors.
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Higher-level encapsulation of the Win32® API via Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) for Windows CE and ActiveX
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technologies via the Active Template Library (ATL) for Windows CE for easy access to Windows CE services -
Complete documentation, including API reference, sample applications and information about embedded programming, is included with InfoViewer online help.
Beta Version Available via the Web
Developers who want to receive the beta version of the Embedded Toolkit should visit Microsoft’s Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/developer/ . The Embedded Toolkit will be available to developers through the retail channel with expected customer availability in the first quarter of 1998. Pricing for the Embedded Toolkit has not yet been announced. For more information on Microsoft’s complete line of development tools for Windows CE, visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/developer/ .
The Windows CE operating system included in the Embedded Toolkit is licensed for testing and development purposes only and must be tethered to a PC to operate. OEMs creating final product must license the Windows CE operating system from Microsoft prior to production. For more information on licensing the Windows CE operating system, please send e-mail to [email protected].
Windows CE is a Win32-based pre-emptive, multitasking, graphical, high-connectivity operating system, designed specifically for embedded applications, which enables lower development costs and shorter time to a broader market.
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