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Posted: March 2, 1998

The design-automation group of International Computers Ltd. (ICL, Manchester, England) and NEuW, a European network of design engineers, are codeveloping methods for the creation of cores based on ICL's VHDL+ hardware-description language and Supervise tool set. The work focuses on telecommunications and mobile applications.

VHDL+ adds behavioral features to VHDL to allow high-level design of complex systems; Supervise can simulate such systems. Cores will be created by entering specifications using VHDL+. Supervise tools will then be used to validate, demonstrate and evaluate the core models.

The partners say the approach lets potential customers evaluate cores without exposing core data. Supervise and VHDL+ "offer a powerful, high-level design environment, enabling fast production of core models in a form that can be safely evaluated by potential buyers," said Steve Hodgson, ICL's design-automation manager. "Separation of the interfaces provides clear descriptions of how the IP can be used without the unnecessary detail of how it is implemented."

Xilinx Inc. (San Jose, Calif.) and five of its third-party core-development partners in the Xilinx AllianceCore program will announce seven new products this week. The offerings include predefined communications, RISC-processor and processor-peripheral cores for Xilinx field-programmable gate arrays and board-level evaluation tools for prototyping FPGA-based system designs. Xilinx is also offering a new edition of its Core Solutions Data Book, with detailed descriptions of almost 120 cores and core-based development tools.

AllianceCore partner V-Automation Inc. (Nashua, N.H.) offers the V8- micro RISC 8-bit FPGA-based RISC microprocessor. It is also shipping the IntelliCore Prototyping System (IPS), which includes four Xilinx XC4000 FPGAs. IPS can test the V8 plus other VAutomation cores in target Xilinx devices. In Xilinx net-list format, the V8 lists for $9,950; IPS for $1,495.

Integrated Silicon Systems Ltd. (Belfast, Northern Ireland) offers a high-level data-link-controller (HDLC) core, which it will customize and deliver for such telecom applications as X.25, ISDN and frame relay. List prices start at $15,000.

Virtual IP Group Inc. (Sunnyvale, Calif.) has released the T1 Framer and 8237 direct-memory-access (DMA) controller cores. The T1 Framer is used in telecommunications equipment; the 8237 is common in embedded-microprocessor-based systems. Xilinx net-lists for the T1 and 8237 cores cost $6,000 and $2,250, respectively.

Memec Design Services (Mesa, Ariz.) offers XF9128 video-terminal logic-controller core, a programmable video-display-interface controller for ASCII terminals. It costs $5,000.

NMI Electronics Ltd. (Halesowen, England) has fielded the AllianceCore evaluation card, which lets designers evaluate the functionality of NMI or customer-developed memory-controller and processor-peripheral cores in Xilinx XC4000 and XC9500 devices. Pricing starts at $5,800.

All AllianceCore products are available from the partners. Data sheets for each core and the Core Solutions Data Book are available from the Xilinx Web site, and a free hard copy of the data book is available from the Xilinx literature hotline at (800) 231-3386.

Edited by Michael Santarini, with a contribution from Loring Wirbel.