FS2 ANNOUNCES COMPREHENSIVE SUITE OF TOOLS FOR
ACTEL® CORE8051™ MICROCONTROLLER DEVELOPMENT

FS2 OCI® (On-chip Instrumentation), debugger software, and FlashPro Lite
programmer work together for fast and easy development with Actel’s New
Core8051 Microcontroller IP Core and Platform8051 Development Kit.

PORTLAND, OREGON, October 6, 2003 – First Silicon Solutions (FS2) today announced a complete tool suite supporting Actel’s new Core8051™ 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) intellectual property (IP) core (see related Actel press release, "Actel's New Core51 MCU Delivers Price/Performance From 35 Cents/MIPS on a Single Actel FPGA." The tool suite, based on FS2’s unique On-chip Instrumentation (OCI®) debug core technology, provides users with a scalable set of tools for every step of the development and debug cycle. Actel’s Core8051 delivers industry-leading price/performance for as low as 35 cents per MIPS in a single Actel field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

The tool suite starts with an FS2 OCI debug block embedded in the Core8051 MCU IP core. With a single target connection provided by Actel’s FlashPro Lite device programmer, the FS2 System Analyzer software communicates with the OCI block enabling fast debugging of real-time code. This single target connection utilizing one piece of hardware saves time and costs for the Actel ProASIC Plus™ FPGA user and implements a reliable single point of connection to the target system.

The FS2 system delivers exceptional scalability and flexibility. A basic set of features is included with the new Actel Platform8051 Development Kit, also introduced today. The basic system provides complete run-control of the target microcontroller, software breakpoints, hardware breakpoints, and access to internal registers and memory. For a low incremental cost, users can add software feature upgrades to obtain higher-level performance typically found in much more costly and complex debug tools. The advanced features include triggers that can be set on combinations of address, data, and bus cycles and real-time trace display of executed instructions.

"OCI coupled with a single multi-purpose JTAG interface will save Actel Core8051 and Platform8051 developers time and money. It delivers advanced features at price points that are unmatched in the industry for this class of processor," said Rick Leatherman, President of FS2.

Yankin Tanurhan, Senior Director, Applications and IP Solutions Group at Actel, said, “We worked closely with FS2 to customize the OCI and system analyzer software to support the unique features and capabilities offered by Actel’s Core8051 product. Through our joint development efforts, we can ensure interoperability between our Core8051 and FS2’s software and provide our customers with an easy-to-use debugging solution.”

Integration with Keil uVision2 IDE
For ease of use and source-level debugging, the FS2 System Analyzer is tightly integrated with the µVision2™ IDE from Keil Software. The Keil software family allows users to create projects, edit files, compile, assemble, link and use the µVision2 debugger for their Core8051 software and firmware applications within a seamlessly integrated development environment (IDE).

About First Silicon Solutions (FS2)
FS2 provides silicon IP and design services featuring OCI (On-Chip Instrumentation). This includes custom development tools for programming, testing and debug of FPGA, SoC, SOPC, ASSP and ASIC devices. FS2 products help silicon vendors and their customers develop and more effectively market their products, reducing development cycles, and allowing them to focus on delivering all the potential of the system on silicon. Additional information is available at http://www.fs2.com

About Actel
Actel Corporation is a supplier of innovative programmable logic solutions, including field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) based on antifuse and flash technologies, high-performance intellectual property (IP) cores, software development tools and design services, targeted for the high-speed communications, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) replacement and radiation-tolerant markets. Founded in 1985, Actel employs approximately 500 people worldwide. The Company is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ACTL and is headquartered at 2061 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA, 94043-4655. Telephone: 888-99-ACTEL (992-2835). Internet: http://www.actel.com.

FS2 and OCI are trademarks of First Silicon Solutions. Actel, Core8051, ProASIC, and ProASICPLUS™ are trademarks of Actel Corporation. All other marks are property of their respective owners.