Embedded Technology Journal Update

a techfocus media publication :: May 9, 2006 :: volume III, no. 06

FROM THE EDITOR

Over the past couple of years, the crisp shadow of an open source movement has obscured the proprietary suns of embedded software IDEs, ironically illuminating everything in its path. Eclipse has gone from zero to ubiquity in the device software space in a remarkably short time. This week's new feature article takes a closer look at the phenomenon, its history, its present, and its future.

Thanks for reading! If there's anything we can do to make our publications more useful to you, please let us know at: comments@embeddedtechjournal.com

Kevin Morris – Editor
Embedded Technology Journal

ANNOUNCEMENTS

FPGA Design Verification: Techniques for Creating a Fully Functional Design
There exists a hierarchy of verification techniques and tools for use during the coursee of FPGA development that can greatly reduce the risks of using the devices. This paper considers the tools and techniques that may be used in the course of a verification cycle and examines the benefits and shortcomings of each.
To download the paper, click here

FREE FPGA Debug Kit from Tektronix
Are you validating and debugging your FPGA designs with the latest test methodologies? Our NEW FPGA Debug Kit provides a comprehensive overview of the FPGA design process, FPGA debug methodologies and steps to reduce the debug process. You’ll receive a 12-page technical guide and 20-minute archived webinar that will help you keep pace with the increased debug needs of FPGAs.
Download the FPGA Debug Kit NOW!

FPGA AND STRUCTURED ASIC JOURNAL
A weekly e-mail newsletter from techfocus media (publishers of Embedded Technology Journal) dedicated to the design and application of FPGA and structured ASIC technology.
SUBSCRIBE NOW - FREE!

CURRENT FEATURE ARTICLES

Eclipsing all Others
Socialized Software IDE Makes it Big
Innovation Big and Small - Chapter 2
Bucking the Trend
Innovation Big and Small - Chapter 1
The Adventures of Chuck & Roger
Death of the Hardware Engineer
A Dirge for the Digital Designer
ESC Revisited
Connecting Dots in the Chaos
Parallelizing PCB
Mentor's Multi-node Router Goes Auto

JOURNAL WEBCASTS

JOURNAL WEBCASTS NOW ON DEMAND:

"Designing 2Gbps Parallel I/O with the LatticeSC FPGA" sponsored by Lattice Semiconductor
Click here to watch!

Lattice's new 90nm LatticeSC family--general introduction, sponsored by Lattice Semiconductor.
Click here to watch!

Eclipsing all Others
Socialized Software IDE Makes it Big

There was a time when the device software tools business was simple. Life was good. Proprietary environments from different vendors competed for the hearts and minds of software developers by boasting about their robust feature sets, their remarkable performance, their broad platform support, and their competitive price tags. Titanic niche warriors like Wind River, Green Hills, and Accelerated Technology battled in the brains of embedded developers for build and debug supremacy. The embedded development world was an island unto itself, and the industry liked it that way.

Then trouble came. Over in the desktop and enterprise development worlds, it seemed, a revolution was afoot. The dominance of the desktop development environment of Microsoft had sewn the seeds of a socialist revolution. A not-so-secret society had spawned a groundswell of collaborative development among several companies and independent software developers who wanted to create an alternative for themselves – to take control of their own development destinies. Following in the footsteps of the Linux phenomenon, Eclipse was born.

Conceived in late 2001, Eclipse arrived as the alternative to the ubiquitous Microsoft Visual Studio series. It is an open-source integrated development environment (IDE) based on open-source development principles similar to Linux. Eclipse is described as "an open source community whose projects are focused on providing a vendor-neutral open development platform and application frameworks for building software." Championed by an organization called Eclipse Foundation, Inc., the original incarnation of Eclipse came from IBM, who released their Eclipse platform into open source and worked with other companies including Borland, MERANT, QNX, Rational, Red Hat, SuSE, TogetherSoft and Webgain to form a consortium overseeing the further development of the platform. In 2004 the Eclipse Foundation was organized into the not-for-profit corporation that continues today.
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