Express Logic, Inc. and Blue Water Embedded have announced the availability of the PrismX graphics toolkit for the STMicroelectronics STM32 processor family. PrismX, a complete GUI software development solution for resource-constrained devices such as STMicroelectronics Cortex-M3-based STM32, delivers the graphical
capabilities and time-to-market edge needed for medical, industrial, office automation and consumer markets, where user interfaces play an essential role in device design. PrismX is a ThreadX RTOS-integrated port of Blue Water Embedded’s Prism technology marketed and supported by Express Logic.
Incorporating leading-edge GUI development tools and libraries, PrismX is comprised of the PrismX Runtime Framework, a full-featured GUI toolkit; PrismX Micro, a GUI toolkit for monochrome to 8-bit color-depth targets; and PrismX Insight, a desktop GUI design and resource editing tool. Integrated to take advantage of
STM32’s capabilities, PrismX delivers a high-performance graphical drawing library and a GUI widget set for this platform.Together, ThreadX and PrismX provide an elegant solution for incorporating advanced UI appearance using the onboard RAM and flash of STM32 devices.
Demonstrations of the PrismX GUI design package on an STM32F10C system are available online
(www.rtos.com/downloads/threadx_demo/) and can be viewed live March 1-3 in the Express Logic booth (Hall 11- Stand 124) at Embedded World 2011 in Nuremberg, Germany. The demonstration involves a simple media player application using many PrismX features, including gradient-filled 3D buttons, anti-aliased fonts,
screen transition animations, and scrolling lists.
The STM32’s limited onboard RAM requires that PrismX execute without a traditional graphics frame buffer. To work around this, all drawing operations cause immediate updates to external GRAM memory of the LCD. With companies requiring graphics on some of the most resource-constrained architectures, this minimalist RAM requirement is central to the design of the PrismX framework. The PrismX framework can also be configured to stream graphics assets directly from external serial flash devices, further reducing the need for onboard nonvolatile storage.
The PrismX development platform, PrismX Insight, offers a large range of data output formats such as C++ source code, XML screen description files, and binary resource files, enabling developers to tailor output to the
requirements and capabilities of target systems.
PrismX works with Express Logic’s ThreadX RTOS to provide a graphics capability for embedded
applications requiring graphical displays and user interfaces. The PrismX GUI package includes the PrismX Core Library, the PrismX Insight Development Tool, all documentation and a screen driver. Full support includes integration files for the ThreadX RTOS, and project files and demo code provided for IAR’s EWARM
tool suite.
Pricing and Availability
PrismX for the STM32F10C is available in full source code form, royalty free, at license prices starting at $9,500.