Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 17 December 2003 - Byte Craft Limited announced today the release of version 1.0 of the eTPU_C Code Development System, the first full-featured C compiler for the Motorola eTPU Enhanced Time Processing Unit.

eTPU_C V1.0 supports the eTPU in Motorola's recently-announced MPC5554 PowerPC™ microcontroller. It will support other eTPU implementations as they are developed.

C language programming support for eTPU is a vital part of the developer's toolchain. The eTPU is a semi-autonomous co-processor, with machine instructions composed of multiple, relocatable fields, and a multi-threaded, event-driven design. Its architecture anticipates generated code. C offers the programmer intuitive programming instead of complex instruction selection and manual reordering.

The eTPU_C Code Development System includes an optimizing C cross-compiler, full program optimization with the BClink Optimizing Linker, and the BCLIDE (Integrated Development Environment). Executables are compatible with popular simulators and emulators for eTPU.

eTPU_C can generate host interface files that are vital to the main CPU program. With eTPU_C, the developer can create a stable interface for an eTPU program, and update it within a single make process.

Other features include: multiple eTPU engine support, named address spaces for memory management, and support for ISO/IEC PDTR 18037 (Extensions to C for embedded processors). eTPU_C generates executables in various formats, as well as a listing file showing C and generated code side-by-side.

Founded in 1979, Byte Craft is a leading developer and supplier of software engineering solutions, producing the first C compilers for many of the leading semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. Byte Craft tools are used by developers in automotive, telecommunications, consumer product, industrial and aerospace industries.

[editor's note: Motorola SPS changed its name to Freescale Semiconductor in May 2004.]