Cadence Delivers OpenAccess Source Code

The manufacturer says . . .

Murray Disman says . . .

Cadence Delivers Source Code to OpenAccess Coalition OpenAccess API and Reference Implementation Enable Design-Tool Interoperability SAN JOSE, Calif.--Dec. 16, 2002--Cadence Design Systems, Inc., the world's leading supplier of electronic design products and services, announced that it has delivered to the OpenAccess Coalition source code for the OpenAccess reference database implementation. The delivery of this source code marks a major milestone for the OpenAccess Coalition. OpenAccess will enable electronics companies to more quickly and easily create integrated design flows of tools from multiple vendors and internal technology. "I'm pleased to announce that we've reached this objective in our effort to create a truly open API and database architecture for electronics design," said Steven E. Schulz, president and CEO of Si2. "The OpenAccess Coalition expects to make the database source code freely available to design engineers worldwide in our open-community source program via OpenEDA.org in early January, 2003." The application programming interface (API) and the source code for the reference implementation exceed the requirements of the original agreement, and have been delivered ahead of schedule. Beta testing enabled Cadence and the OpenAccess Coalition to improve and extend the reference database by uncovering bugs and limitations. The resulting source code is a versatile, high-performance, high-capacity data highway and persistent archive that has been engineered for fast development of current and future large chips. The OpenAccess interoperability platform offers lower risk, greater control, and easier maintenance for design engineers. "Cadence has delivered a high-quality, well-documented, full-feature API and reference implementation," said Scott Peterson, director of Platform Tools and Methodology, LSI Logic, and chairman of the OpenAccess Coalition. "We are very pleased with the progress, and look forward to the delivery of multi-vendor plug-and-play design tools that will minimize cost-of-ownership and increase design efficiency." With the development of this initial version of the OpenAccess source code complete, EDA and electronics companies will be able to download and connect to an industry-standard platform, easing the interoperability investments for vendors and end-customers. Electronics companies will be able to leverage the design infrastructure to accelerate complex chip designs and address the challenges of nanometer silicon design. Cadence is adopting OpenAccess as its common API and unified database for its mainstream products for IC design. It is preparing to deploy OpenAccess in a tightly coupled design system that will interoperate with applications developed by third-party companies and customers. Cadence will extend its current applications by bridging existing data structures to OpenAccess. Cadence also intends to use OpenAccess as the core database technology for its new products. Cadence executive vice president and general manager for the IC Solutions Business, Lavi Lev, said "A collaborative development process led to this completed source code and enabled Cadence to achieve a major landmark. OpenAccess is the first design technology built from the ground up for community use as a common API in a multi-vendor environment. OpenAccess proves that collaboration between the electronic design industry and its customers can lead to new technology that will propel industry growth."

The release of the production version of the OpenAccess source code is an important step in achieving interoperability of EDA tools from different vendors, as well as user-developed tools. OpenAccess is the name of an EDA suppler and user initiative, and is also the name of the database technology contributed by Cadence. Other databases can be implemented under the OpenAccess API. According to the coalition, the OpenAccess Coalition is a community effort to provide true interoperability, not just data exchange, among IC design tools, through an open-standard data access interface (API) and reference database implementation supporting that API for IC design. The coalition operates under the governance and bylaws of the Silicon Integration Initiative (Si2), a not-for-profit organization. Si2 expects to be able to offer the database in January, 2003, as a result of the source code delivery from Cadence. This issue of the database will support physical design tools and verification tools. Features will be added to a planned June, 2003 release to support floor planning and synthesis tools. Other additions planned for the June release include improved parasitic models and completion of the design rules library. Celestry Design Technologies, Mitsubishi Electric, and Tektronix have just joined the OpenAccess Coalition. Mitsubishi is the first Japanese company to join the coalition that now has 16 members. Mentor and Synopsys, Cadence's primary competition, are missing from the coalition.

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