Cadence Delivers Version 2 of the OpenAccess Database Source Code to the OpenAccess Coalition

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 2002--Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CDN - News), the world's leading supplier of electronic design products and services, announced the release of OpenAccess version 2 database source code to the OpenAccess Coalition. This is a major, incremental version of next-generation code for the electronics industry's first open, standard database. The OpenAccess database is expected to accelerate time-to-revenue for electronics companies by allowing them to focus on product development instead of integrating the design flow. It also decreases the cost of innovative, interoperable products developed by electronic design automation (EDA) companies.

As committed to the Coalition, Cadence® released the OpenAccess version 2 application programming interface (API) reference document to the OpenAccess Coalition in February 2002. With the release of the version 2 database source code, electronics companies and electronics design companies, who are members of the OpenAccess Coalition, can begin exploratory development on the open design infrastructure. Cadence expects to release the community-ready OpenAccess version 2 database to the Coalition in December 2002. The Coalition is expected to release the code to the industry community early in 2003.

"As a new member of the OpenAccess Coalition, Philips is eager to begin taking advantage of applications developed on the version 2 source code," said Timothy J. Ehrler, Senior Principal Methodology Engineer, Philips Semiconductors. "Access to an open, high-speed, industry-standard design database will accelerate the development of our next-generation technology design environment, allowing us to concentrate on design development issues and methodologies instead of expending resources building a working flow between design tools."

"Cadence has done an outstanding job of consistently delivering high quality technology on schedule," said Don Cottrell, vice president of technology, Si2. "The contents of this release package actually exceed the contractual expectations, re-emphasizing that OpenAccess is real."

OpenAccess version 2 source code is an enhancement to version 1, which was released in February. Version 1 supported digital design representations only and was designed for Cadence internal use. It was later released as a proof-of-concept to provide data model training and familiarity for third-party developers. OpenAccess version 2 supports digital and custom/analog IC design representations and was designed for use by any developer of electronic design automation tools. It includes a broader set of capabilities, community-defined extensions, detailed documentation, and the entire infrastructure needed to create applications for the database.

"Cadence is pleased to deliver on its commitments for the OpenAccess database technology," said Lavi Lev, executive vice president and general manager, Cadence IC solutions business. "This release of source code is a major step in providing a design infrastructure that will accelerate complex chip designs."

About the OpenAccess Database and the OpenAccess Community

OpenAccess is an application programming interface (API) and high performance, high-capacity database created as an interoperability platform for complex digital, analog, and mixed-signal IC design. The architecture has been designed for easy integration and fast application development. Today's design environments are a complicated mix of design tools with proprietary applications and associated databases with incompatible file formats and syntaxes. IC design engineers spend an inordinate amount of time integrating them with thousands of lines of translator code. The resulting flows are fragile and error-prone. Engineered for industry-wide interoperability, the OpenAccess database allows users to construct flows incorporating design tools from multiple sources to best suit their needs.

The OpenAccess Coalition is a community effort to provide true interoperability -- not just data exchange -- among IC design tools. It will achieve this through an open, common API and reference database implementation supporting that API for IC design. The OpenAccess Coalition is a neutral organization operating under the bylaws of Si2, an electronics industry not-for-profit organization.

A Change Team elected from members of the OpenAccess Coalition will be responsible for enhancing the scalable API and database. More information about the OpenAccess Coalition is available at www.OpenEDA.org.

About Cadence

Cadence is the largest supplier of electronic design technologies, methodology services, and design services. Cadence solutions are used to accelerate and manage the design of semiconductors, computer systems, networking and telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics, and a variety of other electronics-based products. With approximately 5,600 employees and 2001 revenues of approximately $1.4 billion, Cadence has sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CDN. More information about the company, its products and services are available at www.cadence.com.

Cadence and the Cadence logo are registered trademarks of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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