SAN JOSE, Calif., September 22, 1997--Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ:XLNX) today announced delivery of the next version of its Foundation Series software. Xilinx Foundation Series version 1.3 software combines easy-to-use VHDL design tools, advanced synthesis and optimization technologies and push-button design flows that enable designers to produce expert VHDL designs in minutes. 

"The overwhelming acceptance of our Foundation Series solutions confirms that Xilinx is truly bringing push-button VHDL design to the desktop," said Rich Sevcik, Xilinx senior vice president software. "With Foundation Series software, we are fueling the industry’s adoption of VHDL-based programmable logic design through complete design solutions and the industry’s highest clock rates." 

Version 1.3 software also includes Xilinx new architecture-specific optimization capabilities to easily balance area and speed tradeoffs for optimum design results. These advanced capabilities deliver a 20 percent improvement in design clock rates with reductions in synthesis run-times of up to 50 percent compared to previous versions. 

Advantages of Xilinx Next Generation Software Technology 

Version 1.3 represents the first release of the Foundation Series solutions to deliver the advantages of the next-generation Xilinx software technology. The design implementation technology features advanced place-and-route software delivering incremental design capabilities called SMARTguide. These Xilinx-exclusive capabilities leverage results from previous designs passes to reduce runtimes and shorten design iterations to under ten minutes. As engineers incrementally design complex circuits, the SMARTguide feature allows users to work in their preferred methodology. Version 1.3 SMARTguide enhancements include timing repeatability and improved synthesis-based incremental design results. Additionally, new structured placement algorithms, automatically optimizing the alignment of busses using tri-state buffers, circuit packing algorithm enhancements, and algorithmic improvements in timing-driven place-and-route capabilities all increase design performance by 15 percent, and deliver higher device utilization. 

Powerful, Push-Button VHDL Design 

Foundation Series 1.3 software delivers a complete, mixed HDL and schematic design environments featuring new design entry capabilities, such as the integrated HDL Editor and the Language Assistant features, which make VHDL design creation fast and easy and enable designers to complete push-button VHDL design in minutes. 

The HDL Editor feature provides extensive edit and search capabilities with language-specific color coding of keywords, as well as integrated on-line syntax checking to scan VHDL code for errors. The Language Assistant feature speeds design entry by providing a lookup list of typical language constructs and commonly used synthesis modules like counters, accumulators, and adders. The language assistant also provides support of pre-implemented or user-defined VHDL templates allowing users to quickly specify new design functions and re-use previously defined functions in new design projects and across design teams. Additionally, Version 1.3 software includes a new graphical state editor that enables fast, intuitive graphical entry of both simple and complex state machines, including automatic generation of VHDL code for immediate design synthesis after entry. 

Support of industry leading FPGA and CPLD families 

Foundation Series 1.3 software supports the complete Xilinx XC4000XL FPGA family available now and the XC9500 CPLD family of the industry’s most aggressively priced ISP CPLDs. The XC4000XL FPGA family has devices ranging in density from 466 to 7448 logic cells and is available for -3, -2, and -1 speed grades. The XC4000XL family represents the industry’s most complete family of 3.3-volt-optimized FPGAs. The XC9500 CPLD family combines Flash technology with an advanced architecture optimized for pin-locking and in-system programming (ISP) capabilities and ranges in density from 36 to 288 macrocells. 

Foundation Series 1.3 software is available for popular PC platforms and supports both the Windows 95, and Windows NT operating systems. Foundation Series software pricing starts at $495 on PCs, with special introductory pricing starting as low as $99. 

Founded in 1984, Xilinx is the world's largest supplier of programmable logic solutions producing industry-leading device architectures and world class design software. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., the company pioneered the market for field programmable gate array (FPGA) semiconductor devices that provide high integration and quick time-to market for electronic equipment manufacturers in the computer, peripheral, telecommunications, networking, industrial control, instrumentation, consumer, and high reliability/military markets. For more information on Xilinx, access the World Wide Web site at www.xilinx.com. 

Xilinx is a registered trademark of Xilinx, Inc. All XC-prefix products, SMARTguide, and Foundation Series referenced above are trademarks of Xilinx, Inc. Other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. 
#9735