Novas Software Improves Performance, Ease of Use of the Market-Leading Debussy Debug System

New Release Offers Reduced Memory Use and Faster Response Times For Up to 2X Improvement in Interactive Debug Tasks

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 2002-- Novas Software, Inc., the leader in debug systems for complex chip designs, today announced the availability of the latest version of its market-leading Debussy® knowledge-based debug system. The new release features improvements in memory usage, as well as more efficient response times - up to two times faster for key interactive operations. The release also adds a variety of new ease-of-use and design navigation enhancements, aimed particularly at multi-million gate designs and complex timing issues.

Debussy is the most widely used independent debug system for complex chip design. Built on Novas' unique Design Knowledge Architecture that facilitates a knowledge-based approach to debug, it combines a host of interactive and intuitive tools for locating, isolating, understanding and resolving design errors. Last month Novas introduced its second-generation technology platform for advanced debug, targeting enhanced performance as the first step in a strategy focused on further improving overall verification productivity.(1)

"As designs continue to get larger and more complex, it is important that our debug technology tracks closely to the needs of designers facing these challenges. For Debussy, that means enhanced performance and more and better ways to handle sophisticated design techniques," said George Bakewell, director of technical marketing for Novas. "We believe a high level of customer involvement in shaping our product direction makes this release a timely and useful response to their most pressing needs."

Faster, Easier to Use

The new release of Debussy achieves it performance improvements through architectural enhancements and best practice software engineering techniques that allow the system to use less memory and process data more quickly. For example, the time it takes to draw the waveform for a complex Verilog file has been improved by two times over previous versions. In addition, some data can now be generated at compile time, eliminating the need to load data for the same operation multiple times throughout the debug process.

Novas has also added enhanced support for specialized design tasks such as clock-tree schematics and timing debug. New design navigation utilities in Debussy make it easier and more intuitive to locate, calculate and compare important timing information, and also map it to schematics of the design.

This latest version of Debussy offers expanded platform support. It is available for the first time on 64-bit platforms, including 64-bit Solaris and Hewlett-Packard versions of the Unix operating systems, in addition to Linux, IBM/Aix and Windows NT workstations. With this release, Debussy takes advantage of the 64-bit implementations of logic simulators currently offered by leading EDA vendors.

Availability

The new version 5.2 of the Debussy debug system is available immediately. Complete details on all the latest enhancements are available at http://www.novas.com. Current customers under maintenance agreements can download the new software release at their convenience.

About Debussy

Novas' Debussy provides an efficient and user-friendly environment that reduces the time it takes to find the causes of design problems and to figure out how complex designs work. The system offers a variety of tools for visualizing and analyzing designs at different levels of abstraction. Users consistently report that the Debussy system cuts their debug time in half. Debussy supports standard chip design and verification flows through industry alliances with more than 25 leading providers of commercial logic simulators, formal verification software, and hardware emulators.

About Novas

Novas is the pioneer of independent debug systems for complex chip designs. The Company's Debussy® knowledge-based system cuts the cost of verification by dramatically reducing the time it takes to locate, isolate, and understand the causes of unexpected design behavior. Debussy increases designer and design team productivity during the time-intensive verification and debug phases. Novas has over 7,000 systems in use at hundreds of customer sites worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.novas.com or send email to info@novas.com. Novas is located at: 2025 Gateway Place, Suite 480, San Jose, Calif. 95110. Phone: 408-467-7888. Fax: 408-467-7889, 1-888-NOVAS-38.

Novas Software and Debussy are registered trademarks of Novas Software, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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