CodeWarrior Professional 4 Successfully Compiles POOMA II Applications to
Support the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative
AUSTIN, Texas October 15, 1998 -Metrowerks Inc. (NASDAQ: MTWKF, TSE/ME:MWK)
announced today that CodeWarrior Professional 4 will be a target compiler
for the first developer release of the Los Alamos National Laboratories
(LANL) POOMA II C++ framework developed and used as a part of the
Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI).
POOMA (Parallel Object-Oriented Methods and Applications) is an
object-oriented framework for developing a new level of high-performance
scientific computing applications. POOMA II is used by LANL, as part of the
Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI), a national
tri-laboratory and Defense Programs collaboration.
In support of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), ASCI is a program
that will extend the Department of Energy’s computational capability to
simulate the behavior of nuclear weapons.
ASCI will usher in the applications and technologies needed to shift from
nuclear test-based methods of assurance to a simulation-based program to
obtain confidence in the safety and reliability of the United States
nuclear weapons in the absence of nuclear testing.
This level of simulation requires high-performance computing far beyond
what is currently available, so applications must be rewritten to
incorporate refined physics algorithms, three-dimensional capability and
efficiency on advanced platforms. These new challenges have driven several
software development efforts within Los Alamos to move towards highly
sophisticated object-oriented development utilizing C++, such as the POOMA
Framework.
POOMA II is being used in a variety of applications to solve problems in
hydrodynamics, neutron transport, accelerator design, and fusion device
transport modeling. The implementation of POOMA II is stringently adherent
to the ISO C++ standard and utilizes many advanced language features,
particularly in the area of generic programming. Because CodeWarrior has a
very high level of compliance with the ISO C++ standard, it is one of only
a handful of compilers worldwide with the capabilities required to compile
POOMA II applications.
CodeWarrior Professional 4 has made dramatic improvements in partial
specialization, partial ordering, member templates, and the standard
library which have enabled the scientists at LANL to use CodeWarrior for
POOMA II development. They also use the CodeWarrior IDE for managing
projects and the integrated debugger for debugging complex template-based
code.
“Metrowerks has made improvements in its C++ compliance which allow us to
build very sophisticated numerical software, like POOMA II, within an
integrated environment,” said John Reynders, ASCI Senior Project Leader for
Computational Sciences at Los Alamos. “Currently, CodeWarrior is the only
cross-platform IDE for C++ development used within an ASCI code project at
Los Alamos. The integrated debugging environment and efficient compiler
combine to enhance our productivity and reduce our development time.
“The work undertaken by the scientists at LANL on POOMA II pushes the upper
limits of using the C++ language for mathematical computational analysis,”
said Greg Galanos, president and chief technology officer, Metrowerks. “We
are very excited that Metrowerks’ CodeWarrior C++ technology has been
chosen as a target compiler for this strategic initiative. We look forward
to working closely with LANL on ASCI with respect to additional
optimizations in code generation technology to benefit this very important
strategic effort.”
CodeWarrior Professional 4 Pricing and Availability CodeWarrior
Professional 4 is priced at US$449, and is available from Metrowerks and
Metrowerks authorized resellers. Academic pricing is US$119. All purchases
include one free update and technical support for a year from Metrowerks.
Site license pricing is also available by contacting Metrowerks at
800-377-5416, or by sending a request to: sales@metrowerks.com. For pricing
and availability outside the USA, contact a local international distributor
or call 512-873-4700.
About Metrowerks
Founded in 1985, Metrowerks develops, markets and supports CodeWarrior
software development solutions for a number of operating systems targeting
the most popular microprocessors. Intended for use for embedded systems or
desktop computers, the cross-platform compilers support C, C++, Java, and
Pascal, and allow programmers to build applications from one unique
Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Metrowerks’ CodeWarrior products
are used by more than 100,000 registered users in 80 countries. For more
information, please visit the Metrowerks web site at
(http://www.metrowerks.com/)www.metrowerks.com.