Home
About PCB-Search
Advertising
Contact Us
Free Magazines
PCB Blog
PCB News
PCB Resources

PCB and Electronics News

Mentor Graphics Extends Catapult C Synthesis Product; Enables 20X to 100X Faster Verification with SystemC

WILSONVILLE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2005--Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) today announced extensions to its Catapult(TM) C Synthesis algorithmic synthesis tool, a leading electronic system level (ESL) design tool. These extensions enable the Catapult C Synthesis tool to automatically create SystemC transaction-level models and wrappers, allowing designers to rapidly explore architectural tradeoffs and simulate their designs 20X to 100X faster than traditional register transfer level (RTL) using verification environments that support SystemC, like Mentor's ModelSim.

"The combination of algorithmic synthesis from pure ANSI C++ with an integrated SystemC verification environment provides a powerful solution for ESL design," said Simon Bloch, general manager of the Mentor Graphics Design Creation and Synthesis Division. "For the first time, designers now have a methodology for easily implementing a 'golden source' from the algorithmic level of abstraction down to technology-specific RTL. With the ability to generate SystemC models, designers can now rapidly explore architectural tradeoffs and verify their design, while re-using existing C++ and SystemC testbenches throughout the flow."

Venkat Rangan, senior staff engineer for QUALCOMM, commented on the Catapult C Synthesis verification extension, "The new enhancements to Catapult C promise to automate the time-consuming process of SystemC model creation. Automatic SystemC model generation has great potential to accelerate block- and system-level verification, which would enable designers to produce better hardware much faster than before."

Traditionally, designers had to manually re-write their C algorithms into SystemC, a slow and painstaking process of incremental refinement, adding the structure, parallelism, and interfaces necessary for SystemC. Instead of this manual progressive refinement, the Catapult C Synthesis tool now automatically adds these hardware details to the algorithmic C++ model to generate a cycle- and bit-accurate behavioral SystemC model.

Hardware designers can then employ Mentor's scalable verification platform to rapidly verify generated models. The interface of the SystemC model has the same behavior as the RTL generated by Catapult C Synthesis, but is optimized to simulate 20-100X faster. Designers can, therefore, more rapidly explore and verify architectural tradeoffs and achieve faster verification of their optimized designs.

The Catapult C Synthesis tool enables designers to use algorithmic C++ models as a "golden source." The tool employs interface synthesis and sequential-to-structural transformations to automatically generate SystemC or RTL hardware descriptions without changing the original sequential C++ source. Currently, Catapult C Synthesis uses C++ to produce behavioral SystemC models that simulate 20-100X faster than RTL, with future releases intended to generate more abstract transaction-level SystemC models that simulate more than 1000x faster than RTL.

The tool's interface synthesis technology also helps generate transactors that synchronize timed RTL with a sequential or transactional test environment. This connection allows designers to use a single sequential C++ or SystemC-based testing environment for the entire design flow. Catapult C Synthesis can also generate a testbench that automatically compares the C++ input to the RTL output, providing debug information for specific synchronization points in the case of a simulation mismatch. These capabilities allow designers to use or re-use sequential C++ descriptions and testbenches to generate technology-specific hardware without actually modifying the algorithmic model, delivering on the promise of a C++ golden source.

Pricing/Availability

The price of the Catapult C Synthesis tool currently ranges from $89,000 to $275,000. The tool is available immediately on both term and perpetual licenses. Visit http://www.mentor.com/products/c-based_design for more information.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of over $700 million and employs approximately 3,850 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.

Mentor Graphics is a registered trademark and Catapult is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

Contacts

Mentor Graphics, Wilsonville
Nathan James, 503-685-0449
nathan_james@mentor.com
Sonia Harrison, 503-685-1165
sonia_harrison@mentor.com

Nielsen Technical Services to Provide Personal and Private Responses to User's Questions

June 25th, 2005 - Minneapolis, Minnesota - Chris Nielsen, Owner of Nielsen Technical Services today announced that the company would continue to provide support and answer questions asked by those "in the dark" at no cost, as long as the time required does not get excessive. To avoid embarissment and provide personal service, questions asked generally will not be published and the identity of the person asking will not be made public.

"Sure, we could publish the questions and answers on our site since it would be keyword-rich and make it easier to create content, but why use our potential clients in such a manner? They deserve our complete attention and we should not be distracted by thinking about how to use their questions and our answers as marketing material.", said Nielsen, when asked if his company had plans to treat users like cattle.

"No, for over 5 years we have been answering any and all questions that we receive to the best of our ability and never chanrged unless the time required to answer was more than one should resonably expect, or research was needed. People need to know we will not nickel and dime then to death, and the valuable information we have gained over the years should not be kept "secret". We have found that we gain more by giving our information away then we would ever gain by trying to keep it to ourselves. This is the reason behind our publishing our search engine submission list at www.best-free-search-engine-list.com."

"I have, on several occasions, taken to tutoring a young person on what is required for search engine optimization or SEO via email. I would provide detailed instruction and they would do all the work. This provides them with a valuable skill, and costs very little of my time in general. We are now planning a training program that while it may not be free, will be very inexpensive and contain all of the methods and techniques that we have used and refined for the past 5 years."

About Nielsen Technical Services
Nielsen Technical Services provides Internet consulting and specializes in "General" search engine optimization or SEO. General SEO does not use ranking or positioning, but rather focuses on the actual traffic increases that can be seen in a site's web traffic reports. The company also provides site maintenance and help with site usability and functionality. Press release creation and optimization services are also provided, which is why you found this one so easily.

Contact
Chris Nielsen
7141 Oak Pointe Curve
Minneapolis, MN 55438 USA
952-943-0170
prresponse@nielsentech.com

Answer the Phone: Your Identity is on the Line

Beverly Hills, CA -- (ArriveNet - May 06, 2005) -- There hasn't been much good news in the battle against identity theft lately, with fraudsters staying one step ahead of the game. But don't panic, our old friend the telephone has come to the rescue.

We're all aware of the problem of identity theft, but did you know that your local pizza chain has had a solution for years? You recognize it as the system that prevents little Johnny from having twenty pizzas delivered to your door at midnight: the pizza chain calls you immediately after the order is placed to verify the validity of the order. Because little Johnny is afraid to be caught, he'll think twice about causing this pizza-related havoc.

TeleSign's patent-pending verification system has transferred this pizza concept to the high-tech world. It works like this: after filling out a form on a website, the user is prompted to enter his phone number. A robotic system then places a call to that number and speaks aloud a unique three digit code. Once that code is entered into the website, the authentication is complete. This system can be implemented at any point on a website: at registration, purchase, a specific time interval, or at the request of a user.

Email verification is the current standard for user authentication, but email may end up filtered, junked, bulked, or trashed. Because of spam, viruses, and phishing, email filtering has become so aggressive that even legitimate emails don't reach the inbox. But a telephone call cannot be stopped, making this the perfect time for the introduction of TeleSign’s solution.

The future of ecommerce is threatened by rampant fraud and lack of trust. TeleSign will force anonymous users to expose their faces by revealing their working phone numbers.

To try an interactive demo, visit (http://www.telesign.com/demo2/demo.asp) and have your phone ready.

For more information about TeleSign’s products and services, visit (http://www.telesign.com/demo2/) or email press2@telesign.com.

About TeleSign Corp.
TeleSign is a leader in innovative internet security solutions and provider of intelligent telephone-based verification solutions for any entity conducting business online where trust is essential and where fraud is a concern. TeleSign’s patent-pending Verification System provides a critical layer of security for the e-commerce world and is a proven deterrent against ill-intentioned web users. The company’s first product, the TeleSign Verification System, blends the latest internet, security and telephony technologies into a powerful new tool to combat fraud and enhance trust in e-business.

TeleSign Corp. seeks to provide simplified solutions for any company conducting business online where trust is essential and where fraud is a concern. TeleSign’s patent-pending Verification System provides a critical layer of security for the e-commerce world and is a proven deterrent against ill-intentioned web users. TeleSign’s Verification System is able to legitimize a web user’s claimed identification at a miniscule cost and with little inconvenience to all parties involved.

TeleSign’s Verification System is based upon the premise that ill-intentioned web users hesitate to disclose their working phone numbers. By placing a computer-generated telephone call coupled with a unique security code, we insist that a web user provide a legitimate telephone number or be rooted out. The company’s first product, the TeleSign Verification System, blends the latest internet, security and telephony technologies into a powerful new tool to combat fraud in e-commerce.

Visit http://www.telesign.com/demo2/ or call 310-276-5900 for more information.

TeleSign Corporation
Contact: Sam Gonen
Telephone: (310) 276-7843
Email: press2@telesign.com

Choose from over 300 different titles including Computer,
Electronics, and Engineering Magazines for Qualified Professionals.