More platforms than Clapham Junction…

The word ‘platform' has become quite the thing recently. Have marketing people got tired of using the phrase ‘total solution' or does ‘platform' relate to something new and tangible?

Cadence's chief technology adviser Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli defines a platform as: "A precisely defined articulation point, where the successive refinements of the specification meet with abstractions of potential implementations." Er.. right.

Jeff Jussel, v-p of marketing at the design tool company Celoxica, kindly translates: "A platform is a combination of design methodology, EDA tools and design IP (hardware and software) that allows engineers to quickly generate implementations of particular applications from high-level design specifications by building on pre-existing design knowledge."

Mike Casey at LSI Logic simplifies further: "It's a concept of a pre-configured, part-finished item so there's just a veneer of finishing that needs to be done by the customer."