According to the VDC report, Green Hills Software ranked first among suppliers of embedded software development tools, including both compilers and debuggers. In the worldwide market for debuggers, Green Hills Software placed first, topping all competitors with its MULTI® product offering. Green Hills Software also was far and away the leader in compiler shipments, besting its closest competition by a significant margin. Green Hills Software also took top honors in three VDC user perception surveys, in which developers were asked which compilers produce the fastest code, which compilers produce the most compact code, and which development tools support the widest range of processors. In all three surveys, Green Hills Software was ranked #1.

"We found Green Hills Software to be the dominant compiler and debugger company in the embedded marketplace," said Pedro Zayas, a member of the VDC research team that conducted the study. "Developers also seemed to be very impressed with the code size and performance of Green Hills' compilers."

"The VDC report confirms what our customers have known all along," said John Carbone, Green Hills' vice president of marketing. "That Green Hills Software is far and away the number one supplier of software development tools for the embedded market. Nobody can match us, whether you're talking about product line breadth, functionality, or performance."

"We expect to extend our advantage into 1999 and beyond," continued Carbone. "As the VDC report confirms, we are still ahead of the competition (even considering recent acquisitions that have created combined companies), and will continue to enjoy a significant advantage in sales, both in compilers and debuggers."

The VDC report also showed Green Hills Software enhancing its position as a leading supplier of Ada software development tools in 1998. "Ada has proven to be a significant growth area for us," remarked John Carbone, "particularly since our introduction of the industry's first fully-validated Ada 95 compiler for embedded applications. Naturally, the fact that Ada is a standard is a strong selling point, particularly in defense applications. However, we are also seeing increased use of Ada in commercial applications, as designers select Ada 95 over other programming languages purely on its technical merits."

Green Hills' MULTI® Integrated Development Environment (IDE) automates all aspects of embedded software development and optimization. The MULTI tool chain features a family of optimizing compilers, window-oriented text editor, RTOS-aware source-level debugger, instruction set simulator, performance profiler, project builder, run-time error checker, graphical browser, and version control system.

MULTI's optimizing compilers, available for C, C++, Embedded C++, Ada 95, FORTRAN, and Pascal programming languages, support all major 32-bit and 64-bit advanced microprocessor families, including those from Intel, Motorola, ARM, Hitachi, NEC, and Siemens. In May of this year, Green Hills' compilers took top honors in the first test results released by the EDN Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC).

Incorporated in 1982, Green Hills Software, Inc., is a leading supplier of software development tools for 32- and 64-bit embedded systems. Green Hills Software offers a family of optimizing C, C++, Embedded C++, Ada 95, FORTRAN and Pascal compilers. The company's unique MULTI software development environment automates the compile-edit-build-debug cycle by integrating advanced facilities such as an RTOS-aware source-level debugger, performance profiler, program builder and version control system.

Green Hills Software's tools support all major 32-bit and 64-bit advanced microprocessor families and target environments, including instruction set simulators, ROM Monitors, commercial and home grown real-time operating systems (RTOS) and in-circuit emulators (ICE).

Green Hills Software is headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA., and has US offices in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, and Florida. International headquarters are located in the United Kingdom, with offices in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. For sales information on Green Hills Software products, please call 1-805-965-6044 or email inquiries to sales@ghs.com.

For additional information on the VDC report, please contact Venture Development Corporation 1-508-653-9000 or visit their website at www.vdc-corp.com.