Altera Unveils OpenCore Plus; Next Generation of Intellectual Property Evaluation introduced by Altera.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 26, 2001

The next generation of intellectual property (IP) evaluation was ushered in today by Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) with its introduction of OpenCore(R) Plus evaluation, the industry's first hardware evaluation mechanism that allows engineers to complete IP-based design and verification in hardware prior to purchasing and licensing the related IP.

Using OpenCore Plus evaluation, engineers will be able for the first time to generate a program file for time-limited hardware evaluation on any board. They will also be able to perform free RTL simulation with all leading VHDL and Verilog simulators.

OpenCore Plus evaluation builds on Altera's industry-first "try-before-you-buy" philosophy for IP, which was introduced as OpenCore evaluation in 1996. OpenCore Plus further extends Altera's leadership in the IP arena by supporting functional simulation support for all VHDL and Verilog simulators and providing users with the ability to test their designs in hardware prior to purchase.

"For emerging high-speed interfaces such as POS-PHY 4, HyperTransport, and CSIX, simulation alone cannot guarantee true interoperability," said Justin Cowling, director of IP marketing at Altera. "Users need the ability to test their entire design in hardware and be able to test interoperability with ASSPs on their board. With OpenCore Plus evaluation they can verify an IP based design on any Altera device on any board."

Availability

The first cores available for OpenCore Plus hardware evaluation include FIR compiler, NCO compiler, Reed-Solomon encoder, Reed-Solomon decoder, symbol interleaver/deinterleaver, and FFT/IFFT. All these cores are available for hardware evaluation prior to licensing in the APEX DSP development kit launched this week. More information about OpenCore Plus evaluation can be found on Altera's IP Megastore(TM) web site at http://www.altera.com/IPmegastore.

About Altera

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company(R), was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Altera's CMOS-based PLDs are user-programmable semiconductor chips that enhance flexibility and reduce time-to-market for companies in the communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. By using high performance devices, software development tools, and sophisticated intellectual property cores, system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions can be created with embedded processors, memory, and other complex logic together on a single PLD. Altera common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera is available on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.

Note to Editors: 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. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holders.