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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2001-- Embedded designers now have access to a full range of advanced third-party development tools for Altera Corporation's (Nasdaq:ALTR) Excalibur(TM) ARM®-based embedded processor solution and Nios(TM) soft processor core through the new Excalibur Partner Program (EPP), the programmable logic company said today. Altera's new EPP reduces customer's overall time to market by providing third-party development tools which include compilers, debug and trace tools, and Real Time Operating Systems to help design complex system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions.

``It is important that we offer our customers seamless access to both reliable and innovative tools in order for them to make the most of the time-to-market advantages our devices inherently offer,'' said Anna Chiang, director of marketing for Excalibur business unit at Altera. ``By forming strong partnerships with the leaders in the field for advanced microprocessor development tools, we have achieved just that.''

With the EPP, Altera is bringing together industry leaders that offer operating systems, embedded software development tools, and EDA tools support for the Excalibur ARM-based devices and Nios soft embedded processor solutions. Founding members of the EPP include Agilent Technologies with its trace debug solution, Mentor Graphics with its X-RAY Debugger support, and Red Hat with Linux OS support for the Excalibur ARM-based products, Embedded Performance Inc., Beach Solutions, and Lauterbach.

``As a member of the Excalibur Partnership Program, we are able to provide innovative debug tools to Altera's broad and diverse customer base,'' said Jim Majewski, on-chip debug business manager, of Agilent's design validation. ``Providing on-chip tracing and control capabilities, our TracePort Analyzer and Emulation Probe enables customers to rapidly debug ARM-based Excalibur products.''

``Mentor Graphics brings industry-leading embedded software development tools to Altera's PLD users through the Excalibur Partnership Program,'' said Mike Kaskowitz , vice president and general manager of Mentor Graphics, embedded software division. ``The XRAY Debugger will dramatically shorten development cycles as it is tightly coupled to the Altera rapid prototyping environment based around system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC).''

``With the Excalibur embedded processor solutions, Altera has created an exciting new platform for Red Hat Linux,'' said Michael Tiemann, CTO of Red Hat. ``The flexibility of our open source solutions, combined with the flexibility of Excalibur's programmable hardware functionality, creates a game-changing platform for embedded developers. We have had an excellent relationship with Altera's management and technical staff, and are pleased to see Altera expanding its relationships to expand support for both the Excalibur product family and Red Hat Linux.''

About Altera's Excalibur Embedded Processor Solutions

Combining logic, memory, and a processor core, Altera's new Excalibur embedded processor solutions allow engineers to integrate an entire system on a single programmable logic device (PLD). The Nios soft core embedded processor and the ARM-based hard core embedded processor offer the flexibility of processor cores with the integration of SOPC logic.

Excalibur embedded processors can be used in any application requiring processors and PLDs with gate counts up to 1,000,000 gates. They offer full integration with Altera's APEX(TM) PLD architecture, and are supported by the Quartus® II development tool, which is optimized for the Excalibur embedded processor families.

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. ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holders.

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     Ami Dorrell, 408/544-6879
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