The History of Synopsys Tools: Revolutionizing Programmable Logic Design

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In the early days of electronic design automation (EDA), companies like Synplicity Inc. played a crucial role in shaping the landscape of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Founded with the mission to simplify FPGA and ASIC design, Synplicity's innovative tools quickly gained popularity among top-tier electronics manufacturers.

A Brief Look Back

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SynpLogic was founded in 1991 by former employees from Xilinx. Their primary focus lay in developing software solutions for designing programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), and Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs). These versatile chips were essential components used across various electronic systems, including communications equipment, military/aerospace applications, consumer electronics, semiconductors, computers, and more.

The Synplicity Toolset

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Synplicity's toolset was renowned for its ease of use while maintaining high performance. Some key products within their portfolio included:

1. AMBA Fabric and Peripherals: A range of IP ( Intellectual Property) blocks designed specifically to support the ARM® Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMB).

2. ARC Processor Cores: Synopsys' own family of low-power, RISC-based microprocessors.

3. ASIP Designer: An Application-Specific Instruction-Set Processing design tool used for creating custom processor IP.

4. CATS : A synthesis and synthesis analysis toolset designed to meet the needs of today's complex ASIC designs.

5. Certitude: A Formal Verification solution that checks RTL (Register Transfer Language) against specification models at both HDL (Hardware Description Language) and gate levels, ensuring correctness before silicon tapeout.

6. Circuit Check: An interactive digital logic simulation tool used for design verification and testbench creation.

7. CODE V : Synopsys' leading optical design software solution for the development of optics and laser systems across a wide range of industries including consumer electronics, telecommunications, semiconductor equipment manufacturers (SEMs), medical devices, scientific instruments, and more.

8. coreAssembler: An assembler tool that assembles code from assembly language into object files ready to be linked with other Synopsys or third-party tools in the design flow.

9. coreBuilder : A synthesis solution used for synthesizing HDL designs directly into netlist formats supported by various FPGA and ASIC synthesis tools.

10. coreConsultant: An expert consultation service that provides technical support, training, IP integration services, and more to help customers successfully use Synopsys' design products effectively within their SoC (System-on-Chip) flows.

11. CoStart Enablement Services : A comprehensive set of services designed to assist customers in quickly integrating Synopsys tools into their existing design environments.

12. Custom Compiler: An RTL-to-GDSII flow that allows designers to create, synthesize, and place-and-route custom SoC designs using a single interface.

13-16: Custom WaveView, Data Converters, Datapath are not covered in this article due to space constraints but were also part of Synplicity's product offerings at the time.