For the reasons summarized below, AMX 386/ES has reached its end of life and will no longer be offered for sale to new developers.

AMX 386/ES was first released on Nov 15, 1994 as KADAK moved its popular protected mode kernel from its original assembly language foundation to C. At that time, the Systems & Software Inc. (SSI) Link & Locate tools were the only choice for embedded system development using C compilers from MetaWare, Microsoft, Borland and WATCOM. The SSI tools included replacement modules for many C library components which, having been developed for Windows^® users, were unsuitable for embedded system use. SSI also provided its VisualProbe Debugger with task-aware support for AMX 386/ES using KADAK's KwikLook interface.

Through a series of acquisitions and mergers over recent years, the SSI tools were branded as the BeaconSuite Tools and were eventually taken over by Lineo Inc. In recent months, Lineo has declared this product line at its end of life and will no longer be offering the tools for sale.

Fortunately, Paradigm Systems Inc. has stepped into the breach. KADAK has long supported Paradigm's 16-bit tools for real-mode applications using AMX 86. Paradigm has now released its 32-bit toolchain including C/C++ compiler, assembler, librarian, linker, locator and debugger. These tools (derived from the Borland 32-bit equivalents) have been tailored for embedded systems development.

KADAK has repackaged AMX 386/ES with the name AMX 386/ET to distinguish it from its predecessor. The extension ET indicates that this product retains its embedded target purpose. AMX 386/ET v3.00a is functionally identical to AMX 386/ES but supports only the Paradigm toolset.

AMX 386/ET also replaces AMX 386/EP which was discontinued in May 2001. However, unlike AMX 386/EP, AMX 386/ET does not provide support for DOS and PC BIOS operation.

Motorola MCF5272 Support

The latest releases of AMX and KwikNet support the Motorola MCF5272 ColdFire^® processor. AMX now includes board support for the Motorola M5272C3 Development Board. The board has been used to test the KwikNet Ethernet device driver for the Motorola MCF5272 Fast Ethernet Controller (FEC) operating at 10 or 100Mbps with KADAK's KwikNet TCP/IP Stack.

MCF5272 support is available now for software development using either Metrowerks or Diab-SDS tools. This announcement demonstrates KADAK's continuing strong commitment to developers using the ColdFire processor family in embedded designs.

FAA Flight Certification

The GLS-1250 GPS Landing System from Universal Avionics Systems Corporation interfaces with their Flight Management System to provide SCAT-I approach capability at suitably equipped airports around the world. This mission-critical avionics system which incorporates AMX for PowerPC has received FAA Flight Certification to DO-178B Level B.

Universal Avionics has taken several products developed using AMX with KwikNet, FTP and 100 Mbps Ethernet through FAA Flight Certification DO-178B Level C. Some of these products are as follows:

• TAWS Terrain Awareness and Warning System
• FMS Flight Management System
• Vision 1 Dynamic Terrain Imaging
• Unilink Communications Management Unit

Technical Support Subscriptions Now Available

All KADAK software products are sold with technical support and software updates included free of charge for one year from the date of product purchase. After that initial one year period, updates were then made available for purchase from time to time, as the need arose.

KADAK has recently revised its update policy to more closely mirror standard industry practice. After the initial year of free support, developers can now purchase a Technical Support Subscription which provides a one year extension of technical support and software updates.

A Technical Support Subscription for the software products which you have licensed for a particular application may be purchased for 20% of the then current price of those products. Each Technical Support Subscription includes a one year extension of technical support and free software updates during that year.

After lapse of a Technical Support Subscription, support can be reinstated by purchasing a Technical Support Subscription for 35% of the then current price of the relevant products. Upon reinstatement, copies of all applicable Engineering Change Notices will be supplied along with a copy of the latest version of the software products.

New Bits

• AMX 4-ARM and AMX 4-Thumb board support has been added for:
  • the Atmel AT91 processor as provided with the Atmel AT91EB40 Evaluation Board.
  • the Samsung S3C4510 processor as provided with the ARM Evaluator-7T Board.

New on our Website

• Major reorganization of site content
• New website look and navigation
• Added privacy statement to Get Info page
• Added search capability
• Added site index and brief/booklet/manual access to site map
• Updated KwikNet and KwikPeg demos and manuals
• Added AMX 386/ET and related products (replaces AMX 386/ES, AMX 386/EP and related products)
• Revised AMX MA32, AMX CFire, AMX PPC32 manuals
• Revised AMX/FS and KwikLook manuals
• Revised AMX 4-ARM and AMX 4-Thumb manuals
• Revised KwikNet Device Driver manual
• Updated AMX 4-ARM, AMX 4-Thumb and AMX 386/ET memory sizes
• Published Nov 15/01 press releases
• Added Universal Avionics GLS-1250 to showcase
• Added FAQ for ARM processor selection

Current Software Releases

The following table lists the version number for the current release of each KADAK software product.

Real Hard Time ~ real time embedded systems design What you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask.

• What is the difference between AMX 4-ARM and AMX 4-Thumb?

  AMX 4-ARM operates on any ARM core which adheres to the ARM v4 or v5 architecture specification. AMX 4-ARM operates in ARM mode at all times, even if the core includes Thumb enhancements. Hence, AMX 4-ARM cannot execute instructions encoded using the Thumb instruction set.

  AMX 4-Thumb operates on any ARM core which adheres to the ARM v4T or v5T architecture specification. AMX 4-Thumb operates in both ARM and Thumb modes. Hence, AMX 4-Thumb requires a core which implements the Thumb instruction set.

  AMX 4-Thumb starts in ARM mode and switches to Thumb mode on entry to a task. The task can execute ARM or Thumb code using the inter-working veneers supported by most ARM compilers and linkers. When interrupts or exceptions occur, the processor switches to ARM mode. AMX 4-Thumb ensures that the proper mode context is maintained, switching to Thumb mode if required when resuming a preempted task or starting a new task.

• What variants of the ARM processor do you support?

  That depends on your interpretation of the term "ARM processor". ARM Ltd. provides the v4, v4T, v5 and v5T architecture specifications. AMX 4-ARM will operate on any processor which adheres to these specifications. AMX 4-Thumb will operate on any processor which includes the Thumb extensions as indicated by the "T" in the architecture name.

  Note that the v5 (v5T) architecture simply adds enhanced instructions to the v4 (v4T) specification. AMX does not require these instructions for its operation and does not preclude your application from benefitting from their use.

  ARM Ltd. also describes a variety of CPU cores. These are specific designs which incorporate other features such as DSP enhancements (example: ARM7E and ARM9E families) and Java support (example: ARM7EJ-S and ARM9EJ). There may or may not be an actual silicon implementation of these CPU cores. AMX will operate on those CPU cores which follow the v4, v4T, v5 or v5T architecture specification. But AMX does not provide support for the DSP or Java features, if any, within the CPU core.

  ARM Ltd. also describes a variety of processor cores. These are designs which incorporate a particular CPU core and, in most cases, implement some form of memory management scheme using an MMU or PRU to provide instruction and/or data caching. There may or may not be an actual silicon implementation of these processor cores. AMX will operate on the processor cores which follow the v4, v4T, v5 or v5T architecture specification. AMX also provides cache management services for processor cores (such as the ARM9 and ARM9E families) which implement ARM's well defined coprocessor CP15 commands for cache control.

  Finally, there are specific silicon microcontrollers derived from the ARM architecture specification or from a CPU or processor core. In some cases these are test chips manufactured for ARM Ltd. for use on ARM development boards prior to availablity of the developer's own ARM ASIC. The NEC ARM7TDMI test chip is an example. Other microcontrollers (such as the Atmel AT91x40 family) are standard chips which include timers, UARTs and interrupt control ready for incorporation into an end product. Although AMX will operate on any microcontroller which follows the v4, v4T, v5 or v5T architecture specification, it may not support the complement of peripheral devices incorporated within the chip. This topic is addressed in greater detail in the answer to the next question.

• What microcontroller features do AMX 4-ARM and AMX 4-Thumb support?

  AMX includes an exception supervisor which handles the processor exceptions generated by the ARM processor. AMX supports both IRQ and FIQ interrupt sources, providing an interrupt controller is available to arbitrate interrupt requests. AMX includes support for all ARM processor cores which implement the interrupt controller defined by the ARM DDI 0062D Reference Peripherals Specification. AMX also supports the custom interrupt controllers provided in the Atmel AT91x40, Samsung S3C4510 and Intel SA-110, SA-1100 and SA-1110 processors.

  AMX requires a real time clock to provide application timing services. AMX includes a clock driver for all ARM processor cores which implement the real time clock (timer) defined by the ARM DDI 0062D Reference Peripherals Specification. AMX also supports the custom timers provided in the Atmel AT91x40 and Samsung S3C4510 microcontrollers. Clock drivers for the 21285 Core Logic timer and the Intel SA-1100 and SA-1100 timer are ready for use with AMX 4-ARM on StrongARM platforms.

  The AMX Sample Program makes use of a simple, polled serial driver for console output. In most cases, the ARM processor core does not include an integrated serial (UART) interface. An external, board dependent UART interface must be provided. AMX includes a sample driver for the ST16C552 serial (UART) interface provided on the ARM Development Board. AMX also supports the custom UARTs provided in the Atmel AT91x40 and Samsung S3C4510 microcontrollers. Sample drivers for the 21285 Core Logic serial device and the Intel SA-1100 and SA-1100 UARTs are ready for use with AMX 4-ARM on StrongARM platforms.

  Note that AMX does not provide support for the DSP or Java features, if any, incorporated into a specific ARM CPU or processor core or derivative microcontroller.

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