Altera opens software support for PLDs with Mentor, Synopsys pacts
Semiconductor Business News
(02/23/00, 09:28:10 AM EDT)
SAN JOSE--Altera Corp. here today announced a major shift in its programmable logic software strategy, opening up the availability of development tools for its chips from third-party design automation companies. In separate pacts, Altera has agreed to enable Synopsys Inc. and Mentor Graphics Corp. to support its entire customer base with synthesis and simulation software for programmable logic devices.
"It is clear that synthesis tools developed by independent EDA tool vendors consistently provide best-in-class results, delivering significantly better performance than proprietary tools," said Erik Cleage, senior vice president of marketing at Altera. "This trend will continue as the complexity, size, and performance of PLD devices expands.
"Similarly, behavioral simulation is important in system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) design, and Mentor Graphics is the simulation supplier of choice for these designs," Cleage added.
Altera will offer synthesis and simulation tools from Mentor and Synopsys to subscribers of its own development software. Subscribers will be able to use Synopsys FPGA Express or Mentor's LeonardoSpectrum as synthesis tools for high-level designs, said Altera. Mentor's VHDL and Verilog HDL simulation tool--ModelSim--will also become available to Altera's PLD customers.
Single-vendor versions of the synthesis and simulation tools will be fully integrated into Altera's Quartus and MAX+PLUS II development tool products for a complete design environment, said the San Jose company. Synopsys and Mentor tools will be available in March 2000 with new subscriptions. Altera is charging $2,000 for a single-user PC-based license and $2,995 for Unix-based floating-node license.
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