Design tool developer Altium has added a range of new capabilities to its Designer environment that handles both FPGA and board designs.
Designer 6.5 includes its own compiler for Altera’s NIOSII soft core, and that compiler has been spun out as a separate tool to use in a standard Altera FPGA flow. Other additions include a new code compression technology for Infineon’s C166 processor that can significantly reduce the amount of memory space required in the system.
The new release also includes a Device Software Framework to improve the portability of embedded applications across multiple different processors and FPGAs, which means that legacy code and code form other projects can be more easily ported across to new designs later in the design cycle. It also includes more translation from existing PCB design tools such as Or CAD and PADs to allow designers to re-use existing layouts and then modify them.
There is also support for LatticeXP non-volatile FPGAs and MachXO programmable logic devices.
Altium Designer is claimed to be the only unified electronic product development system that allows engineers to take a design from concept to completion within a single application. It brings together hardware, software and programmable hardware development within a unified environment. u
For more information, visit www.altium.com
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