Android for MIPS platform gains debugging support

By Eric Brown
2009-11-18

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MIPS Technologies announced the availability of an Arriba for Android Porting Kit (APK) for the MIPS architecture, co-developed with Viosoft. The Arriba APK includes a suite of tools for porting Android to MIPS-based platforms, and includes Android versions of Viosoft's Arriba Linux debug and profiling tools, plus MIPS Technologies' System Navigator EJTAG probe, the companies say.

Announced in June when MIPS followed up on Embedded Alley's Android to MIPS port by announcing additional hardware and software partners for MIPS/Android implementations, the Viosoft technology is said to support Android development on both single- and multi-core MIPS processors.

Working in conjunction with the core Android SDK (software development kit) introduced by Embedded Alley, which was since acquired by Mentor Graphics, the Arriba APK combines Viosoft's mature Arriba Linux debug and profiling technologies, along with MIPS' System Navigator EJTAG probe technology to provide "complete source-aware run and debug control of the platform under development," says MIPS Technologies.

Improving Android visibility

The Arriba APK provides visibility throughout all layers of the Android stack, from the Linux kernel and device drivers through Android libraries, application framework, and the Dalvik VM (virtual machine), says Viosoft. The APK is said to feature a set of plug-in modules that offer insight into the Android software stack, including the Android System Level Event Analyzer. Developers are said to be able to set breakpoints in any task, analyze all program variables and view call stacks, and register contents, among other tasks.

All MIPS processors are supported by the APK, from MIPS architecture licensees' designs to MIPS' complete offering of licensable cores, including the 1004K coherent processing system, says MIPS.

Viosoft has long supported the MIPS platform with its Linux-friendly development tools. In September, 2008, MIPS announced it was integrating two of Viosoft's Eclipse debugging plug-ins into its Linux development platform: the Arriba Linux Developer (ALD) and the Viosoft Linux Event Analyzer (LEA).

Stated Art Lee, VP of business development, Viosoft Corp., "[The Arriba APK is] the industry's first fully integrated, multi-language embedded development environment providing complete support for source aware Java, C/C++ and Linux development, debug and deployment. With this level of visibility and control, the Arriba APK can dramatically reduce development time, risk and costs."

Availability

The Arriba Android Porting Kit (APK) for MIPS is available now from MIPS Technologies. The Arriba APK includes one free year of development tool maintenance, along with 60 days of support from Viosoft, says MIPS. More information may be found at MIPS, here, and at Viosoft, here.

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