PRESS RELEASE
Release date: 25th May 2004
Relogix now available to translate x86 assembly-language to C
25th May 2004 — MicroAPL Ltd, specialists in automated porting and code
transformation tools, today announced the general availability of
Relogix/86, an advanced new software conversion tool which takes
80×86-family assembler source files and automatically re-codes them in
readable, maintainable C. The new product follows the launch last year of
Relogix/68K, which performs a similar conversion for 680×0 and ColdFire
assembler code.
Unlike other translation tools, Relogix produces natural, maintainable,
commented C source files, comparable to those which a skilled human
programmer would produce if asked to re-write an assembler source file in
C. As well as reorganizing the program flow to use standard C flow-control
constructs such as ‘if’, ‘for’ and ‘case’ statements, Relogix also chooses
sensible data types and names for the C variables which correspond to
register- and stack-based data in the original assembler program. The C
code which is output by Relogix follows user-specified style guidelines,
and is intelligently commented even where the code flow has been
substantially altered during the conversion.
Relogix/86 can translate most 32-bit x86 or Intel IA32 assembler code
written for the ‘flat’ memory model, and is aimed at both desktop and
embedded applications. It can be used either to port code to a new
architecture, or simply to provide enhanced maintainability of the software
by engineers who may not be familiar with the original assembly language. A
version to handle 16-bit segmented code is planned for release later this
year.
Richard Nabavi, Managing Director of MicroAPL, commented: “This product is
part of a planned rollout of Relogix assembler-to-C translators. Over the
coming months we will be announcing further products for migrating
assembler code from other major architectures, including some 8- and 16-bit
CPUs.”
Examples of the translations Relogix produces can be found on the MicroAPL
web site http://www.microapl.co.uk/asm2c. Relogix is sold both as a
standalone tool and as a cost-effective porting service over the internet.
MicroAPL also offers traditional consultancy services based on the Relogix
technology.
MicroAPL Ltd was founded in 1979 and is based in Sussex, England. The
company specializes in translation tools for porting legacy software to new
architectures, as well as providing consultancy services in systems
development and cross-platform porting. In addition to Relogix, MicroAPL
offers PortAsm, a range of assembler-to-assembler porting tools which
target modern architectures such as the PowerPC and ColdFire. MicroAPL’s
tools have been widely used for major porting projects in both the embedded
and desktop computing arenas, and have been licensed by major semiconductor
manufacturers. Further information on Relogix, PortAsm and other MicroAPL
products can be found at http://www.microapl.co.uk.