Open Model Forum Announces Public Release of Simulator Interface

Business Wire, July 3, 1996

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 3, 1996--The Open Model Forum (OMF) today announced the first public release of a specification which defines a standard simulator interface to support models developed in VHDL, Verilog, or C.

There are two interface simulator application program interfaces (APIs) which define the Open Model Interface (OMI). The first is based on Synopsys' SWIFT model interface; the second is based on the IEEE Std. 1364 VPI, a standard interface to Verilog simulator data.

The OMI will support two independent styles of integration giving model developers maximum flexibility in their implementation. "The goal of OMF is to move the industry closer to a universal model interface," said Will Hobbs, chairman of the OMF. "We are pleased with the close cooperation of the member companies whose joint efforts have produced this specification."

The specification was developed to provide a simulator-independent interface for complex IC models. The interface is designed to improve model availability, streamline distribution, and reduce development costs. The creation of an open procedural interface to simulators permits OMI-compliant models to be used with any OMI-compliant simulator, regardless of the language in which the models are developed.

To provide proof of concept, the OMF technical committee has begun a prototyping effort which uses VHDL, Verilog, and a SWIFT model from Synopsys, compiled to an OMF compliant interface. The prototypes run on IKOS' VHDL simulator (Voyager) and Cadence's Verilog Simulator. These prototypes were demonstrated at the 1996 Design Automation Conference (DAC) in Las Vegas, June 3 through 6. The OMF executive and technical committees are actively promoting the draft specification and soliciting inputs before they release it to the IEEE for standardization. The next two events are focused on informing Europe. The first is at a Colloquium on Standards in Design Automation in Prague, Czech Republic in the week of 7/7; for more information, see their website at http://dv.kp.dlr.de/IT-NCP/benefit/evesum1.html. The second event is the OMF Workshop in Munich on 7/12, being held at KEMPINSKI Hotel Airport, Terminalstrasse/Mitte 20, 85335 Munich.

The OMF Technical Committee is chaired by Stephen Peters of Intel and consists of members from IKOS, Synopsys, Cadence, VeriBest, and Texas Instruments. Upon completion of the prototyping efforts in July, the Technical Committee will incorporate lessons from the prototyping effort and reviewer input, and submit the specification to the IEEE for consideration as a standard. The IEEE OMF DASC committee is chaired by Gabe Moretti of VeriBest.

The Open Model Forum is a group of Electronic Design Automation (EDA), semiconductor, and model companies which began meeting to address issues surrounding digital simulation model availability. The executive committee is chaired by Will Hobbs of Intel and consists of representatives from IKOS Systems, Texas Instruments, Cadence, Viewlogic, VeriBest, Mentor Graphics, and Synopsys. The OMF mission is to increase access to digital simulation models by defining an open procedural interface between models and simulators that enable model interoperability while protecting all parties' intellectual properties.

CONTACT: IKOS Systems

Larry Melling, 408/366-8522 (OMF Secretary)

or

Intel Corporation

Will Hobbs, 503/264-4369 (OMF Chair)