Announcing the eCos 1.3.1 net developers release

["Paul Beskeen" <paulb at redhat dot com>]

Announcing the eCos 1.3.1 net developers release.

In this, the third major public release of eCos, we have added a wealth of
new features, enhancements, and have further extended the target platform
coverage. New features include support for the current net gcc toolchains, a
revised configuration system, a beta of the eCos TCP/IP stack, and a PCI bus
support library. Contributed features include the i386 PC platform port from
Patrick O'Grady.

The eCos net developers site http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ecos/ has been
updated to include full details, documentation, downloads, and install &
build instructions for the new 1.3.1 release.

The configuration system has been completely revised and updated. Major new
elements include:
* Package management that supports the extension of eCos functionality via
third party add-on packages
* A standardized configuration save file format that is human readable and
editable, and compatible between both GUI and command line configuration
tools.
* Enhanced web based help and component documentation system integrated into
the GUI configuration tool
* The Component Definition Language (CDL) has been radically revised and has
now been implemented as a TCL extension for maximum flexibility. CDL is now
fully documented in the Component Writers Guide.
* Template support for straightforward control of multiple configuration
elements, which can be used to provide easy access to standard eCos
configurations such as a debug stub boot ROM.
* Best of all, the source of the new configuration tools and underlying
libCDL technology has been open sourced under the GNU Public License (GPL).

A companion beta version of the eCos TCP/IP stack has been released in
conjunction with 1.3.1. The stack is derived from the OpenBSD source base
and provides UDP, TCP, ICMP and BOOTP protocol support on an IPv4 standards
base. Device driver support for Cirrus Logic EP72xx evaluation boards and
Motorola MBX is included. The stack, ethernet core support, and device
drivers are all distributed as configurable eCos packages. See
http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ecos/tcpip/ for further details.

A PCI bus support library has also been added that provides generic PCI bus
based device initialization, discovery, and configuration. The library has
been ported to both the VR4300 DDB-VRC4373 and StrongARM EBSA285 development
boards.

New architectures and platforms added in this release include:
* ARM Thumb
* ARM9
* Cirrus Logic CL-PS7111 and EP72xx
* Cogent CMA222 and CMA230 ARM boards
* Hitachi SH3
* Intel StrongARM
* Intel x86 PC (beta)
* Matsushita AM33
* Motorola MBX evaluation board
* NEC MIPS VR4300

For full details the latest set of targets support see
http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ecos/hardware.html and the NEWS file in the
eCos sources for other features and changes.

Windows users should be aware that building the gcc toolchains will require
use of the new Cygwin 1.1.0 release. This is currently undergoing final
tweaking and is planned to be released later this week. Watch out for news
of this release on http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/

This is the first release of eCos since the merger of Red Hat and Cygnus
Solutions was completed. Red Hat is dedicated to continued enhancement and
maintenance of the eCos system. Developers can look forward to upcoming
releases that further expand the architectural and board coverage, extend
the functionality of the TCP/IP stack, add a Linux version of the GUI
configuration tool, and add major new features such as a Linux/Posix
compatibility layer based on the upcoming EL/IX standard - see
http://sourceware.cygnus.com/elix/ for more details.

The merger has brought about some minor changes to eCos's Mozilla-derived
public license, the most fundamental of which is simply the change of name
from Cygnus eCos Public License (CEPL) to Red Hat eCos Public License
(RHEPL). The license terms themselves have not changed in any material way
other than alterations necessary to accommodate the change in company
details.

Comments and questions on this release should as usual be sent to the
discussion list ecos-discuss@sourceware.cygnus.com and problems reported via
http://sourceware.cygnus.com/ecos/problemreport.html

Happy Hacking!
Paul.