Synplicity Enhances Synplify Pro Product to Overcome IP Integration Barriers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.----Nov. 13, 2000-- Synplicity, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNP), a leading supplier of software for the design and verification of semiconductors for Internet infrastructure, today announced it has enhanced its Synplify Pro(TM) synthesis solution to support designers integrating intellectual property (IP) into high-density FPGAs. With this new release, the synthesis product includes support for FPGA designs containing both Verilog and VHDL modules, known as ``mixed-language'' designs. Additionally, the new release offers support for IP cores whose timing is modeled in the STAMP format, enabling improved timing performance in designs using pre-synthesized IP. Synplicity® also announced the Synplify Pro software supports the Xilinx Modular Design Flow. Synplicity has improved quality of results for Xilinx Virtex-II devices and Altera APEX20K/E families while adding new support for devices from Actel, Lattice Semiconductor, Lucent, QuickLogic and, for the first time, Triscend.

``Today, it has become commonplace to utilize IP in FPGAs in order to quickly add functionality and meet stringent time to market requirements,'' said Andy Haines, vice president of marketing for Synplicity. ``However, integrating the modules can be tricky and time consuming if the IP module is written in a language different from the primary design language, or the timing of the IP module is unknown. With today's enhancements to our Synplify Pro synthesis solution, we believe that we have eliminated two major hurdles associated with design reuse and have helped to ease the design of complex FPGAs.''

Mixed-Language and STAMP Support

The new Synplify Pro release offers mixed-language support, giving designers the ability to mix Verilog and VHDL modules within a design. Traditionally, a designer would have to manually re-implement an IP module if it were written in a language different from the primary language of the design. The Synplify Pro software enables communication between the modules, eliminating the need to re-implement the IP module. This becomes increasingly important as programmable logic design density increases and design reuse becomes a necessity. This mixed-language support can also benefit a team of designers implementing complex FPGAs by allowing individual designers to work on portions of the design in their language of choice.

The software also includes support for the STAMP modeling format, enabling synthesis to understand timing within IP modules and therefore better optimize its surrounding logic. STAMP is a popular modeling format that is part of Synopsys Liberty(TM) program.

Enhancements for Xilinx Customers

The enhanced family of Synplify® products includes new quality of results improvements for Xilinx Virtex-II FPGAs, including Dynamic SRL support, automatic inference of Up/Down counters and support for simultaneous read and write for BlockRAMs. With this release, sequential shift components are automatically inferred and then implemented as an SRL (Shift Register Lookup) table, significantly improving performance in designs using these components.

For the first time, the Synplify Pro software includes support for the Xilinx Modular Design Flow. Using the Synplify Pro product within the Modular Design Flow, design teams can easily define modular boundaries for each team member, and generate separate netlists and constraints for each section of the design. This approach is important for the design of very complex devices where portions of the design must be completed incrementally.

Enhancements for Altera Customers

This new release of Synplify software includes several new quality of results improvements for Altera's APEX20K and APEX20KE family of devices including automatic inference of Up/Down counters, improvements for timing optimization, mapping of cascade/carry chains, automatic inferencing or ROMs and mapping to LPM ROMs and NativeLink support for Unix. Together these improvements provide APEX users with significantly faster performing devices.

Support for New Devices from Leading Vendors

For the first time, the Synplify products include support for Triscend's A7 and E5 device families, which offer a configurable SoC solution to address high-performance, customizable SoC applications. Additionally, the Synplify synthesis solutions now offer support for Actel 54SXS and eX families, Lattice SuperFAST and SuperWIDE families, Lucent Orca4 family and QuickLogic QuickDSP family.

Pricing and Availability

The Synplify 6.1 and Synplify Pro 6.1 synthesis solutions are available now. Pricing for the Synplify software starts at $9,000 (U.S.) and pricing for Synplify Pro software starts at $19,000 (U.S.). Current customers on maintenance will be upgraded at no additional cost.

About Synplicity

Synplicity, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNP) is a leading provider of software products that enable the rapid and effective design and verification of semiconductors used in Internet infrastructure hardware and other electronic devices. The company leverages its innovative logic synthesis, physical synthesis and verification software solutions to improve performance and shorten development time for complex programmable logic devices, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) integrated circuits. Synplicity's fast, easy-to-use, affordable products offer extremely high quality of results, support industry-standard design languages (VHDL and Verilog) and run on popular platforms (Windows 98/2000, Windows NT and UNIX). The company is located at 935 Stewart Drive, Sunnyvale, Calif. 94085. Telephone: 408/215-6000; Fax: 408/990-0290; E-Mail: info@synplicity.com.

The specific features, functionality and release timing of any new products or new versions of current products remains at the sole discretion of Synplicity, Inc., and no warranty is made as to when or if specific features, functionality or releases may occur.

Synplicity and Synplify are registered trademarks of Synplicity, Inc. Synplify Pro is a trademark of Synplicity, Inc. All other brands or products are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their owners.

Contact:
     Tsantes & Associates
     Steve Gabriel, 408/369-1500 x27
     steve@tsantes.com
     or
     Synplicity, Inc.
     Jeff Garrison, 408/215-6000
     jeff@synplicity.com