Altera to Begin Shipping Synopsys' FPGA Express to More Than 20,000 Customers

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.----April 19, 2000--Synopsys, Inc. , the technology leader for complex integrated circuit (IC) design, today announced that on April 26, Altera will begin shipping Synopsys' FPGA Express(TM) software supporting Altera's MAX®, FLEX®, APEX(TM) and the new ACEX(TM) family of high-performance PLDs. FPGA Express contains improved timing accuracy for Altera's APEX 20K and APEX 20KE devices, and is fully integrated within Altera's design flow. The product is the result of the two companies' recent strategic OEM agreement to provide joint customers with world-class design tools.

``This is all about providing our customers with the best overall tools for designing high gate-count PLDs,'' said David Greenfield, Altera's director of development tools marketing. ``As our customers move toward designing higher density, higher performance devices, they can rest assured that Synopsys' FPGA Express will help them achieve optimal quality of results and the performance needed to meet their design requirements.''

``The availability of FPGA Express to Altera's customers means that they have access to a rich set of fully integrated, easy-to-use design tools that support system-on-a-programmable-chip designs for use in leading-edge applications, including communications, telecommunications and networking,'' said Jackie Patterson, director of FPGA marketing at Synopsys. ``We will continue to work with Altera to lead with support for their future industry-leading programmable logic device families.''

FPGA Express Includes Improved Timing Accuracy

FPGA Express is a powerful VHDL and Verilog HDL synthesis tool that provides high-speed, high-gate count PLD design capabilities. The product now contains improved timing models in synthesis that more closely correlate with timing from place and route for Altera's APEX 20K and APEX 20KE devices.

FPGA Express provides FPGA designers with a high level of design control-from push-button to performance-oriented-all within an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) environment. It contains architecture-specific optimization and mapping capabilities for all leading programmable logic devices. FPGA Express is tightly integrated with Altera's MAX+PLUS II® and Quartus(TM) development tools.

FPGA Express Supports Altera's High-Density PLDs

FPGA Express supports Altera's MAX 9000, MAX 7000B, MAX 7000A, MAX 7000S, MAX 7000, and MAX 3000A families of high-speed, high-density devices. It also supports Altera's FLEX 8000, FLEX 6000, FLEX 10KA and FLEX 10KE families of low-cost, high-performance devices. Support is also provided for Altera's advanced 0.18 micron, seven-layer metal, 1.8-V process APEX 20K and APEX 20KE devices, as well as for Altera's newest ACEX 1K family for low-cost, high-performance design needs.

Pricing and Availability

Synopsys FPGA Express is available immediately from Altera for all new subscriptions and as an upgrade shipment for all existing customers on active subscription. Priced at $2,000 for a single-user PC-based license, an annual subscription entitles customers to received the latest version of Altera's MAX+PLUS and Quartus development tools, as well as all software updates for twelve months. For more information contact your local Altera sales representative.

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 lower-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.

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS) is a leading supplier of electronic design automation (EDA) solutions to the global electronics market. The company provides comprehensive design technologies to creators of advanced integrated circuits, electronic systems and systems on a chip. Synopsys also provides consulting services and support to its customers to streamline the overall design process and accelerate time-to-market. Additional information about Synopsys is available at http://www.synopsys.com.

Note to Editors: Synopsys is a registered trademark of Synopsys, Inc. FPGA Express is a trademark of Synopsys, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

Contact:
     Synopsys, Inc.
     Heather Kettmann, 650/584-4723
     kettmann@synopsys.com
         or
     KVO Public Relations
     Sonia Harrison, 503/221-2369
     sonia_harrison@kvo.com