Consumer Demands Lead to Creation of Seamless Interface by High Level Design Systems and Cooper & Chyan Technology
by Sarah Reid
At the insistance of mutual customers, High Level Design Systems Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) and Cooper & Chyan Technology (Cupertino, CA),
today announced the cooperative marketing agreement that will allow the companies to provide a seamless interface between their respective design planner and router tools.
The package will integrate HLDS' Physical Design Planner and Cooper & Chyan's IC Craftsman routing tool. The interface is offered as an option that can be bundled with HLDS' Physical Design Planner. Executives have estimated the cost of the package to be between $10,000-$15,000.
HLDS will actually be responsible for
writing the code for the interface, as well as developing the bi-directional interface itself. CCT engineers will be consulted on development issues. The two companies have been working together on this project for close to a year, with consistent input on the project from AMD (Austin, TX), a mutual customer. AMD has been working closely with the two companies, encouraging and inspiring the interface which will make their design process simpler, said Bob Wiederhold, executive vice president and COO of
HLDS.
HLDS and CCT expect to continue to enhance and build on the interface for the next six to 12 months, Wiederhold said.
Both companies will contribute to marketing and support efforts for the interface, most significantly by exchanging licenses. This exchange will facilitate the development and testing of the interface, customer support, and marketing projects.
In its current state, the marketing agreement relates exclusively to this design planner/ router interface. However,
if customers express a need for further interfaces, the companies will work together, Wiederhold said.
Executives from both HLDS and CCT gave glowing reviews of their own tools, but Jack Harding, president and CEO of CCT humbly added, "We have two high quality products that are only as good as the interface between them."
Sarah Reid is the online copy editor for isdmag.com, the Web site of
Integrated System Design.
