CAST Expands IP Library with Four New Peripherals-Related Cores

December 14, 2000, D&R IP Workshop, Grenoble, France -- CAST, Inc. today announced four additions to its family of intellectual property (IP) cores for electronic design:

C8237 Direct Memory Access (DMA) Controller
C8254 Programmable Timer/Counter
C8259AS Synchronous Programmable Interrupt Controller
C8279 Programmable Keyboard/Display Interface

These peripherals-related cores further expand the company's line of products and services focused on 8- and 16-bit microprocessor-based systems. "Mainstream designers need workhorse cores like these," said Hal Barbour, president of CAST. "DMA and interrupt controllers are common in many systems, and designers can easily integrate these with our timer/counter for popular applications like a PCI-to-ISA bridge."

The new cores are available now, in synthesizable source code or optimized for Altera and Xilinx programmable devices. They have been designed for easy reuse, verified by comparison with actual devices in a hardware modeler, and come complete and ready to use with a full set of deliverables.

OpenMORE rating of these cores is underway: the C8237 rates three stars, while the C8254 rates four (one star and over indicates good reusability; see www.openmore.com for details). As with all CAST cores, customization and support services are available to help ensure design project success.

About the New Cores

The new cores are designed for use in systems with 8051 and other popular microprocessors.

The C8254 Programmable Timer/Counter is both powerful and flexible, and it can be used as an event counter, elapsed time indicator, programmable one-shot, and many other applications. Designers can program the core to match their system requirements, and can set the counter for their desired delay output.

The C8237 DMA core is compatible with the Intel™ 8237 DMA chip found in most DOS computers. It can be considered as a primitive secondary processor whose job is to relieve the main processor of much of the burden of Input/Output handling. The C8237 features three ways to transfer data: I/O to Memory, Memory to I/O and Memory to Memory.

The C8259AS Synchronous Programmable Interrupt Controller is cascadable and compatible with many popular buses, including the Intel™ 386EX. It is also available in an asynchronous version (CAST C8259A) that matches the original Intel device.

The C8279 Programmable Keyboard/Display Interface offers replacement compatibility with an Intel device in widespread use. Its keyboard portion provides a scanned interface to a 64-contact key matrix, while its display portion provides a scanned display interface for LED, incandescent, and other display technologies.

About CAST, Inc.

CAST provides practical, affordable IP products and services for designers of 8- and 16-bit microprocessor-based systems. Operating since 1994, the company has a reputation for quality products and responsive, comprehensive support. The company is located near New York City, and works with an international network of IP developers and distributors.

CAST, Inc., 11 Stonewall Court, Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07675
Phone: 201/391-8300 Fax 201/391-8694
www.cast-inc.com info@cast-inc.com

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