Altera and PLD Applications Unveil PLD Industry's First Full Hot Swap CompactPCI Board.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 1999--

Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) and PLD Applications today unveiled the programmable logic industry's first demonstrated full hot swap CompactPCI board. The new board, developed by Premier Altera Megafunction Partner Program (AMPP(SM)) member PLD Applications, can be used as a development board, CompactPCI bus analyzer, data acquisition board or a general-use, full hot swap CompactPCI board for telecommunications, industrial, medical and instrumentation applications. The board is based on Altera's FLEX(R) 10KE devices and includes in-system programming support for quick, easy embedded system development.

"PLD Applications is widely known as an innovative supplier of PCI-related intellectual property (IP) cores," said Craig Lytle, senior director of Altera's IP business unit. "This new CompactPCI development demonstrates their transition to full system-level solutions by providing the first system with IP, hardware and software support in one package."

Unique in the industry, the PLDA/Altera hot swap solution enables "full hot swap," which allows the system to automatically recognize and respond to the insertion or extraction of a CompactPCI subsystem. By contrast, competitive solutions require the user to manually inform the system of a configuration change. The new CPCI10K-PROD board from PLD Applications provides demonstrable support of full hot swap at both the IP and board level.

"Support of the PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers Group (PICMG) full hot swap specification is a non-trivial feature," said Jean Yves Brena, president of PLD Applications. "Altera's FLEX 10KE programmable logic devices have the performance, flexibility and density to provide this capability, and still reserve plenty of room for custom logic."

About PLD Applications' Full Hot Swap CompactPCI Board

The CPCI10K-PROD is an Altera FLEX 10KE/S-based prototyping board that can be used in 5-volt or 3.3-volt, 32-bit or 64-bit, 33-MHz or 66-MHz CompactPCI environments. The board provides electrical, functional and timing compliance with CompactPCI and supports PLD Applications' 32-bit and 64-bit PCI target and master/target interfaces, also available through the Altera AMPP program. A connector provides support for in-system programming via Altera's ByteBlaster(TM) parallel port cable. Optional on-board SRAM is available in densities from 64 to 2048 kilobytes. A daughter board for additional analog-to-digital (A/D) custom processing functions is also available.

Pricing and Availability

PLD Applications' CompactPCI development board is available now from PLD Applications for $3990. The development board includes a prototyping version of PLD Applications PCI cores and can be ordered directly from PLD Applications at http://www.plda.com or through its distributors' network.

About PLD Applications

PLD Applications is an engineering company specialized in programmable logic-based electronic systems. As a member of AMPP, PLD Applications main activities are the development of megafunctions (IP), products that help designers save time to market, increase flexibility and reliability. Since its creation, PLD Applications has focused on the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) market, and has developed a strong competence in this area. PLD Applications' range of products includes: -0-

--   CompactPCI megafunctions available in master/target and target
     only, 32/64 bits, 33/66 MHz

--   CompactPCI prototyping and production boards

--   Software drivers

--   VHDL test bench

--   CompactPCI analyze

--   PCI consultancy services and training

About Altera

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company(TM), was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices and associated logic development software tools. Programmable logic devices are semiconductor chips that can be programmed on-site, using software tools that run on personal computers or engineering workstations. User benefits include ease of use, lower risk, and fast time-to-market. Altera's CMOS-based programmable logic devices address high-speed, high-density and low-power applications in the telecommunications, data communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. Altera common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera can be obtained on the Internet at http://www.altera.com. A photograph can be located at http://www.businesswire.com/altera.

Note to Editors: Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, AMPP, FLEX, ByteBlaster, and specific device designations are trademarks and/or service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.