SystemCrafter announce improved version of their ground-breaking SystemC synthesis tool

Ipswich and Oxford, UK -- November 24, 2005 – SystemCrafter and Orange Tree Technologies today announced Version 2.0 of the award-winning SystemCrafter SC SystemC package. This new version of the tool has been developed to make it far easier to manage and develop SystemC projects, and also simpler for new users to get started with SystemC synthesis.

SystemCrafter SC automatically synthesises hardware designs written in SystemC to VHDL. The VHDL can then be used with commonly available tools to target Xilinx FPGAs. This enables engineers and programmers to design, debug and simulate hardware and systems using their existing C++ development environment.

The new GUI has the look and feel of standard software compiler GUI’s that will be familiar to both hardware and software engineers. The intuitive design flow enables automatic integration with the user’s C compiler for simulation and handles the management of all a project’s files. Build options are stored and the tool automatically selects the correct input files for system simulation, gate-level simulation and VHDL generation.

Jonathan Saul, CEO of SystemCrafter, commented “This new version is part of the ongoing development of SC, with features being added based on feedback from the hundreds of evaluators and users.”

The price of the tool is $2995 for a perpetual licence and includes support and maintenance for Version 2. The package can be purchased direct from the web at www.systemcrafter.com. A free evaluation version of SystemCrafter SC can be downloaded and used for 30 days. Discounts are available for students and universities.

There is a natural synergy between SystemCrafter's software and FPGA development boards. If you have SystemCrafter SC installed, and an FPGA development board plugged into your computer, you can literally go from an empty C++ project to working hardware prototype in hours. SystemCrafter SC is available with the ZestSC1 FPGA development board developed by Orange Tree Technologies. This board has a High Speed 480Mbits/sec USB interface. The FPGA is the Xilinx Spartan-3 with up to one million logic gates, and there is also up to 8Mbytes of SRAM. The board is provided with full software support for Windows and Linux, together with example logic cores for all the FPGA interfaces for use with SystemCrafter SC. The price for Zest SC1 is from $275, depending on FPGA type and memory size.

About SystemC

SystemC is a worldwide standard for modelling hardware and software systems using the C/C++ language with a library for hardware constructs. As well as allowing hardware and software to be simulated in the same framework, it is also more compact than VHDL or Verilog. It is faster to write, and more maintainable and readable, and can be compiled into an executable specification for fast simulation. www.systemc.org

About SystemCrafter

SystemCrafter brings customers the power of fourth-generation electronic design synthesis, and makes it easier, faster and less risky to create advanced IC designs. To fulfill this mission, they have created SystemCrafter SC. SystemCrafter SC is a software tool that automatically synthesizes designs written in the industry-standard SystemC language to electronic hardware. SystemCrafter have invested heavily in the engineering development of SystemCrafter SC, but keep sales and marketing costs very low by selling it exclusively through their website. This enables them to sell the tool at a price within range of all chip designers. SystemCrafter was founded in 2002, and is based in Ipswich, England, about 70 miles northeast of London. Their website is www.systemcrafter.com.

About Orange Tree Technologies

Orange Tree Technologies is committed to providing the highest performance and best value FPGA-based platforms. These boards can be used in a variety of systems to deliver extreme data processing performance. Orange Tree also manages the sales and marketing for SystemCrafter. Target markets include military, aerospace, telecommunications, imaging and machine vision, industrial control, and education. Their website is www.orangetreetech.com