Microsoft unveils .Net Micro Framework

NUREMBERG: Microsoft corporation announced the availability of the software development kit (SDK) for the Microsoft .Net Micro Framework here at Embedded World 2007. With its ability to work seamlessly with Visual Studio, the .Net Micro Framework extends the power of Microsoft’s embedded offerings into the realm of smaller, less expensive and more resource-constrained devices.

“The .Net Micro Framework was built from the ground up as a .Net solution for small embedded devices,” said Colin Miller, director of the .Net Micro Framework at Microsoft. “It brings the reliability and efficiency of the .Net environment to a new set of applications such as home automation systems, industrial sensors, retail displays and healthcare monitors. Development on this platform works seamlessly with the same tools that are used throughout the Microsoft family of platforms. This decreases the distinction between embedded application development and other application development tasks and helps reduce the cost and risks of these projects” he added.

“The .Net Micro Framework is a proven platform that opens up a new area of embedded development and adds to the momentum of Microsoft embedded technologies,” said Pieter Knook, senior vice president of the Mobile and Embedded Devices Division at Microsoft.

The .Net Micro Framework SDK enables developers to take full advantage of the C# development language and the rich development and debugging experience that Visual Studio provides. In addition, the SDK offers user-extensible hardware emulation and seamless, graphical debugging of emulated and real hardware to deliver robust solutions in less time than ever before.

The .Net Micro Framework SDK not only works seamlessly with Visual Studio and offers an extensible emulator, but is also supported by a number of hardware platforms based on the ARM7 and ARM9 processor cores.

According to the company release the framework also enables device developers to connect these hardware platforms to virtually any peripheral hardware through industry-standard communication connections and custom-managed drivers.

CIOL Bureau