1998-09-21 , E/IC-1031/39
Product News From Philips Semiconductors

Developing applications for smart cards requires simulation and thorough testing before the code is fixed in ROM to ensure the accuracy, security and reliability of the card program and features. Philips Semiconductors, in partnership with Raisonance, now offers designers simulator development tools for Philips' family of multi-application smart card controller ICs - SmartXA - the world's first true 16-bit CISC smart card ICs.

Launched by Philips Semiconductors in May 1997, the open SmartXA architecture is optimized for high security and high-speed multi-provider cards. Based on a unique smart card hardware firewall which isolates different applications from each other, SmartXA ensures secure and safe handling of several applications from different service providers on a single card. To meet the demand for high-speed transactions, SmartXA is approximately 30 times faster than standard  80C51-based microcontrollers. The combined high security and high-speed features provide an ideal platform for multi-application card operating systems, such as MULTOS and high level languages like Java.

The new SmartXA simulator tools enable efficient development of smart card operating systems and accurate simulation of all the features in software that are implemented in the hardware of the chip. For the first time, designers can reflect a perfect software image of the real chip without restrictions by reproducing the dynamic behaviour of the CPU, the memory spaces, and all the internal peripherals.

To offer designers both visibility and understanding on the user program execution, the SmartXA tools provide a complete set of views of all parts of the chip and a high level symbolic access to the user variables. Powerful commands, such as complex breakpoint facilities, trace management and code coverage enable a full and easy control on execution to debug the most complex programs.

To meet designer's needs, the project manager tool performs a multi-module capability, to develop simultaneously the OS and user applications. The simulation itself permits multi-processor execution to establish a connection between SmartXA and the reader processor enabling a total simulation, including error generation, to be performed in a virtual mode. In addition, the serial flow (from/to the UART) can be redirected to a physical communication port of the PC-host to reproduce the smart card behaviour and enlarge the image on-screen.

The SmartXA simulator is supplied with a complete software package including an optimizing ANSI C compiler, an assembler (ASM51-like) and a linker locator. All the tools are smoothly integrated with the simulator into a Windows based (95/NT) development platform.
Applications for the SmartXA technology and simulator tools include E-commerce, internet services, banking, Pay-TV and network access.

Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, is the ninth largest semiconductor supplier in the world. Philips Semiconductors is a leader with a proven reputation in the development and production of cryptocontroller and contactless smart card ICs as well as in components for radio frequency identification. Philips Semiconductors' innovations in digital audio, video and mobile technology position the company as a leader in the consumer, multimedia and wireless communications markets. Sales offices are located in all major markets around the world and are supported by regional application labs.

Founded in 1988,  Raisonance S.A. is based near Grenoble in the French Alps. The company is a specialist developer of tools for Philips Semiconductors 80C51 and 80C51-XA microcontrollers, and offers the most comprehensive range of tools from C Compilers to Real-Time Emulators. By introducing innovative and unique solutions, Raisonance provides high quality dedicated products to suit the specific needs of the smart card market. Raisonance development tools are distributed and supported worldwide.

Java is a registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
MULTOS is the trademark of MAOSCO Ltd.
Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.