Altera Offers First C-code-based DSP Design Flow for FPGAs

New Tool Flow Delivers the Benefits of Reconfigurable DSP Solutions to Designers of DSP Systems

San Jose, Calif., September 4, 2002 --Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) today announced the availability of the FPGA industry's first C-code-based design flow for digital signal processing (DSP) systems. This flow allows DSP software engineers to target programmable logic devices (PLDs), without having to learn hardware description language (HDL), thereby reducing the overall system cost and number of devices on their board.

"By offering the programmable logic industry's first C-code-based design flow for DSP development, Altera opens the doors to a broad range of DSP designers who wouldn't otherwise use FPGAs," said Ahmed Shihab, technical director at Alcahest, a design consultancy active in the development of DSP systems. "The combined capabilities of Altera's DSP Builder and SOPC Builder tools offer significant benefits to the entire DSP development community, allowing designers to use programmable logic for a wider range of DSP applications."

Altera provides users with industry-standard software development tools such as the GNUPro compiler and debugger, an open-source C/C++ development tool suite optimized for the Altera® Nios® embedded processor. A key feature of this new flow is the support of 'C' function calls for DSP hardware accelerators, designed at the system level using The MathWorks' Simulink and Altera's DSP Builder tools. Altera's comprehensive portfolio of more than 60 DSP intellectual property (IP) cores can be used as function calls for the Nios processor. This complete system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) design flow is handled seamlessly by Altera's SOPC Builder tool, including the integration of memory, communications peripherals, and processor busses.

"For software engineers who have traditionally used 'C' code to implement their DSP designs with processors, using a familiar C-code-based design flow to target FPGAs is a big advantage," said Justin Cowling, Altera's director of intellectual property marketing. "Altera is providing customers with the broadest and most cost-effective solutions based on Stratix™ devices, the highly successful Nios processor, and parameterizable DSP IP cores."

Using IP cores as hardware accelerators instead of generic multiply-accumulators (MACs) allows algorithms to be executed up to 20 times faster. For example, a FIR filter that executes in one cycle on an FPGA can take up to 20 cycles on a digital signal processor.

More information on the new C-code-based DSP design flow can be found on the Altera web site at http://www.altera.com/solutions/dsp/software/dsp-sof_index.html

Pricing and Availability

Altera's complete C-code-based DSP design flow is supported now in DSP Builder version 2.0 and SOPC Builder version 2.6. Subscription pricing for Altera's DSP Builder version 2.0 is $1,995 and includes 12 months of software upgrades. The DSP Builder tool is available for download for a free 30-day evaluation from Altera's DSP Solutions Center at http://www.altera.com/dsp. SOPC Builder version 2.6 is now integrated with Altera's Quartus® II version 2.1 design software, with subscription pricing of $1,995, including 12 months of software upgrades. Simulink and MATLAB are available today from The MathWorks at http://www.mathworks.com.

About the DSP Builder software

DSP Builder interfaces the industry-leading system-level design software Simulink from The MathWorks with Altera's Quartus II design software. DSP Builder provides a seamless design flow, allowing DSP engineers to design algorithms in MATLAB, enabling system integration in Simulink and porting to HDL for design in the Quartus II design software. Designers can automatically generate an RTL design and RTL testbench from Simulink for quick timing and simulation. Further easing the DSP engineer's transition to programmable logic, DSP Builder also enables floating-point to fixed-point analysis. More details about DSP Builder can be found on the Altera web site at http://www.altera.com/products/software/system/sys-dspbuilder.html.

About the SOPC Builder software

SOPC Builder streamlines the process of integrating large blocks of IP and accelerates development of complex SOPC designs. Designers can use the tool to quickly combine system-level components such as embedded processors, memories, peripherals, and user-created IP blocks to build their own custom SOPC. For processor-based designs, SOPC Builder automatically generates custom software development environments for each ARM® or Nios processor included in the system. SOPC Builder is now integrated with Altera's Quartus II design software, and ships automatically to all current registered Quartus II software and Nios embedded processor subscribers. For more information on SOPC Builder, visit http://www.altera.com/sopcbuilder.

About Altera

Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR) is the world's pioneer in system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. Combining programmable logic technology with software tools, intellectual property, and technical services, Altera provides high-value programmable solutions to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. More information is available at http://www.altera.com.

Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations and all other words that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Simulink is a registered trademark of The MathWorks. MATLAB is a trademark of The MathWorks. ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holders.