| Datalight FlashFX software supports Windows CE |
Jan. 07, 2002
[Updated July 6, 2005] -- Datalight today announced that it will release FlashFX 5.10, offering full support for Microsoft Windows CE .NET (previously code-named 'Talisker'), 30 days following the release from Microsoft. FlashFX dramatically simplifies the configuration of resident flash arrays (RFAs) in Microsoft Windows CE .NET-based devices and provides vital capabilities such as wear leveling that can extend the life of embedded devices.
For many small, mobile devices including cell phones, in-dash global positioning (GPS) or support systems, and hand-held inventory control modules, regular data updates cause constant read-erase cycles to the flash device. Over time, those flash sectors wear out, become unusable, and lose data, effectively ending the useful life of the embedded device. Datalight?s patented technologies extend the life of embedded hardware designs: Variable Block Format (VBF) provides media management, wear-leveling, write-interruption protection, and garbage collection capabilities. Bad Block Management (BBM) maps bad blocks dynamically throughout the life of the product.
FlashFX directly supports all popular resident flash memory devices and installs into the Windows CE .NET Platform Builder's Component Catalog for all CPUs, allowing integrators to 'drag and drop' FlashFX components into their embedded adaptation.
FlashFX technologies ease development, extend product life. FlashFX dramatically reduces the programming complexities involved in incorporating resident flash arrays by simply presenting flash memory as a disk drive to Windows CE .NET and applications. With FlashFX 5.10, a programmer can open, read, write, and delete files in the same manner that applications interact with hard disk and floppy disk drives; FlashFX automatically manages the intricate hardware interactions. This simplifies the application development process, cuts development time, and makes more effective use of system resources.
Datalight's Seamless Flash Architecture allows the Windows CE .NET operating system image, applications, application data, and registry to be saved in flash memory as disk files, giving designers complete flexibility in their use of flash space and eliminating the need to reserve space for future growth. By emulating a standard disk drive, the software reduces flash memory allocation granularity to the standard 512-byte disk sector size. This results in significantly more disk space for storing application data while eliminating the need to determine exactly how much space must be reserved in each dedicated partition. This can dramatically reduce the need for product hardware redesigns caused by a lack of application data storage.
A free 30-day source evaluation enables developers to create a flash disk of up to 2 MB in size to evaluate FlashFX Pro or FlashFX performance and reliability. A Datalight source code agreement is required.
(Click here for further information)
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