• About TAP-in open source
• What People are saying about Synopsys open source

Synopsys’ Commitment to EDA Tool Interoperability
As system-on-chip (SoC) designs push technology to new levels of complexity, interoperability is crucial to improving design quality and streamlining the development cycle. Synopsys is an innovator within the EDA industry, providing programs to facilitate EDA tool interoperability that benefit customers. Programs include in-Sync®, TAP-in ^SM, EDASpine, S.U.R.F. and the Library Vendor Program. Making Synopsys’ widely used formats available to everyone through an open source model for formats and reference implementations further demonstrates Synopsys’ commitment to champion interoperability for IC design.

Open Source
The concept of "open source" distribution of EDA interface formats and reference implementations is new to the EDA software and user community. The idea behind open source for interoperability is similar to that of open source software in other industries. When EDA developers on the Internet can read, use, and modify the formats, they evolve. A large community is involved, all with a vested interest in supporting and enhancing the original formats. This happens at a speed that is astonishing compared to traditional cycles for EDA standards. It builds open standards that can be used now, rather than theoretical specifications that take years to develop. The key is that the community wants the standard to succeed. This model is now being successfully applied to EDA formats to increase interoperability.

Open source for formats, through Synopsys’ TAP-in Program, provides free and open access for everyone to widely used formats via the Internet. Simply visit the Synopsys Web site, agree to the Open source License Agreement, and download formats that are used in virtually every IC design today, along with reference implementations (i.e., syntax checkers and parsers). Open source for formats leverages an existing community of EDA developers who have a vested interest in the positive outcome of the standard’s development. Synopsys manages the process, receives input from the community, puts the changes back into the standard and redistributes it.

The Benefits of Synopsys Open Source Formats

• Openness - no fees, the standard is instantly accessible to everyone via the Internet
• Faster Design Turnaround Times - smooth interoperability of EDA tools
• Real World Testing - determines enhancements to the standard
• Strong Community - develops with a vested interest in success of the standard
• Evolution at Internet Speed - standard evolves and matures quickly
• Increased Reliability - input from community quickly uncovers and solves problems, ensuring a mature, reliable standard
• Continued Progress - encouraged by feedback from the community

What People are Saying About Synopsys Open Source
"The Synopsys design constraint language is the de facto industry standard - it’s intuitive and engineers understand it," said Chris Malachowsky, vice president of hardware engineering at NVIDIA. "We use it as the golden source of our timing and physical requirements from which we drive our entire CAD methodology. The move to put this language into open source will of course mean fewer translators, but the ultimate benefit will be in the quality of results from our tool flow. We are extremely pleased to see that Synopsys is championing interoperability through this move to open source licensing."

"Monterey has worked very closely with Synopsys on Liberty^TM and SDC, both of which are formats we use for interoperability with Dolphin. By offering formats through open source, Synopsys is making their standards a reality. The fact that we have been able to build a coherent joint design flow strongly reinforces our decision to work very closely with them," said Jacques Benkoski, president and CEO of Monterey Design Systems.

"The world of EDA is opening up. This announcement [Synopsys open source formats] shows that EDA vendors are now realizing the benefits of an open environment, not that the world is completely open yet. Synopsys should be congratulated. Now it’s time to get input for the needed .lib enhancements. Open source is proving to be a good vehicle for rapid standards evolution," wrote Gary Smith, Chief EDA Analyst of Dataquest.

"We would like to add the Liberty (.lib) format to our list of supported formats, and later on also SDC for design constraints. We build parsers ourselves, but we would like to test compliance with the standard that Synopsys sets. I read the announcement that Synopsys is now offering formats via open source. This is a very positive development, since it should stimulate usage and development of Liberty (.lib + STAMP) and SDC based tools considerably," said Rob Dekker, president of Verific Design Automation Inc.

Integrated System Design former Technical Editor Tets Maniwa said, "I applaud your efforts. It’s a very, very good move for the industry and Synopsys because it [Synopsys open source formats] will form even tighter bonding with your tools."

"Synopsys has continually been advancing innovation in EDA interoperability through programs like the TAP-in, in-Sync and EDASpine," said Rich Goldman, Vice President for Strategic Market Development at Synopsys. "Our adoption of an open source model furthers our commitment to interoperability, enabling our customers to design at Internet speed. We believe that this approach will serve as the model for successful standards development in the future."