ACCESS today announced the immediate availability of the ACCESS Linux Platform Development Suite (SDK and Tools) via a newly-created developer portal designed to provide support and services for third party Independent Software Vendors (ISVs). The ACCESS Linux Platform Development Suite is now immediately available to all registered members of the ACCESS Developer Network (ADN).

The Development Suite is a complete, integrated development environment (IDE) that leverages open source tools such as Eclipse and Glade, integrated and extended for the needs of mobile applications. The ALP Development Suite includes all the necessary components, tools, samples and documentation to develop, run, test and debug native applications for mobile devices based on the ACCESS Linux Platform.

The ALP SDK kit includes:

• A complete Eclipse-based set of development tools
• The Glade 3 Interface Editor for GTK Apps
• The ACCESS Linux Platform Simulator which runs on the Linux desktop and provides seamless application debugging
• A Compilation Toolchain: gcc, linker and gdb
• The VirtualPhone Tool which simulates a carrier network for telephony applications
• Scratchbox, which enables command-line development and cross-compilation for ARM device targets
• Headers and libraries
• How-To Documentation and an Integrated API Reference

Also freely downloadable from the newly created ADN Portal is the ACCESS Garnet VM Compatibility Kit, a stand-alone kit enabling developers to test their ACCESS Garnet OS-based applications’ compatibility with ACCESS Linux Platform. The ACCESS Garnet VM provides the ability to run existing ACCESS Garnet OS (formerly known as Palm OS Garnet) applications on the ACCESS Linux Platform.

“We have a great history building a successful developer ecosystem and supporting mobile developers,” said Larry Berkin, senior director developer ecosystem & technology acquisition, ACCESS Systems Americas, Inc. “By making the ACCESS Linux Platform Development Suite and ACCESS Garnet VM Compatibility Kit freely available, we begin building and growing a robust mobile Linux application ecosystem benefiting developers, operators and handset manufacturers while providing end users a choice of market-ready applications.”

Successfully field-tested by select ISVs since early 2007, the ACCESS Linux Platform Development Suite has also been productively used by developers creating mobile applications for the Orange Application Package for ACCESS Linux Platform that is part of the Orange Signature strategy intended to deliver a consistent customer experience across a variety of devices and applications.

The newly created ACCESS Developer Network Portal is a community-driven website designed to stimulate development of mobile applications for ALP. In addition to technical tools and documentation, ADN provides new social networking features to facilitate developer community interaction via discussion forums and feedback mechanisms that include a bug tracking and feature request system.

The ACCESS Linux Platform Development Suite and the ACCESS Garnet VM Compatibility Kit are immediately available free of charge to registered members of the ACCESS Developer Network. Previously registered Garnet developers and new developers are encouraged to register and build a profile on the new ADN Portal.