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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 2001--Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) today introduced DSP Builder, an intuitive DSP development flow that simplifies the design of DSP systems on programmable logic. Immediately available, the DSP Builder interfaces industry leading system-level design software Simulink® from The MathWorks with Altera Quartus® II development software.

DSP Builder provides a seamless design flow, allowing DSP engineers to design algorithms in MATLAB(TM), enabling system integration in Simulink and porting to HDL for design in the Quartus II development software. Designers can automatically generate an RTL design and RTL test bench from Simulink for quick timing and simulation. Further easing the DSP engineer's transition into programmable logic devices (PLDs), the design flow also enables floating-point to fixed-point analysis.

``The DSP Builder from Altera allows our common customers to harness the true capabilities of programmable logic for a variety of emerging high-performance DSP applications,'' said Ken Karnofsky, director of DSP and Communications at The MathWorks. ``DSP Builder provides a complete design environment where the users can go from system design to hardware implementation in a very short time period.''

``A fundamental shift is taking place in the design of DSP processors. With the introduction of Altera's DSP Builder, DSP engineers can more easily adopt PLDs in place of traditional DSPs without having to learn a new programming language,'' said Will Strauss, DSP industry analyst and president of Forward Concepts. ``Over time, we're likely to see PLDs play a greater role in a whole host of DSP applications.''

Designers can use the various signal processing intellectual property (IP) blocks provided with DSP Builder to create the hardware implementation of a Simulink system model. The DSP Builder contains bit and cycle accurate Simulink fixed-point blocks, which cover basic operations including arithmetic or storage functions as well as complex functions such as forward error correction, filtering, and modulation.

``Engineers are no longer forced to learn a new tool to achieve higher performance and greater cost efficiencies,'' said Justin Cowling, director of IP marketing at Altera. ``In providing a seamless flow between Simulink and our Quartus II development software, designers can immediately reap the benefits of designing signal processing systems on programmable logic.''

Price and Availability

The Altera DSP Builder (ordering code: IPT-DSPBUILDER) is available now and is priced at $1,995. The DSP Builder can be purchased and downloaded from the Altera IP Megastore(TM) web site at http://www.altera.com/IPmegastore. A free full-featured 30-day trial version of DSP Builder is also available for download from the IP Megastore web site. Simulink and MATLAB are available from The MathWorks today at http://www.mathworks.com.

About Altera

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company®, was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Altera's CMOS-based PLDs are user-programmable semiconductor chips that enhance flexibility and reduce time-to-market for companies in the communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. By using high performance devices, software development tools, and sophisticated intellectual property cores, system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions can be created with embedded processors, memory, and other complex logic together on a single PLD. Altera common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera is available on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.

Note to Editors: Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations and all other words that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Simulink is a registered trademark of The MathWorks. MATLAB is a trademark of The MathWorks. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holders.

     Altera Corporation
     Bruce Fienberg, 408/544-6866
     bfienber@altera.com
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     Matthew Stotts, 415/369-8117
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