Eastsound Open Software Foundation (EOSFo) is a WA state non-profit dedicated to developing open EDA/CAD software; both through our own efforts and as a focal point for collaboration with the larger community. All EOSFo software and standards will be published under GNU copy left licenses.

Open EDA Software

Links at EETimes

Other Open Software

Free Software
www.gnu.org
www.fsf.org

Open EDA Standards

www.eda.org
IEEE standards
Accellera
Synopsys TAP-in
System C

Open IP cores

Leon Processor
Open Cores

Licensing Standards

GNU Licensing
OSI

The News

EE times
Integrated Circuit (IC) technology is rapidly outstripping the ability of engineering teams to manage the complexity of the systems the technology can accommodate. The reuse of Intellectual Property (IP) blocks helps but that also brings a lot of complex problems.

The industry needs MUCH better software tools and methodologies than are available today to effectively use the available hardware technology.

EDA/CAD software used to design computer chips is very expensive. It is proprietary and developed by a small oligopoly of companies. A typical software platform for a front-end designer may be on the order of $250,000.00. A typical software platform for a physical design engineer performing chip layout may be on the order of $1,000,000.00. The data exchange formats are also proprietary and require extensive support from silicon vendors.

This provides a very high barrier to entry into this field and dissuades companies from employing software, hardware, and Intellectual Property (IP) from many smaller and or innovative providers. The small number of software providers also limits the rate of innovation.

The availability of free open source EDA software and the universal use of open standards for data exchange are essential steps towards a thriving IC industry, able to overcome technological hurdles through broad participation and innovation, with a stable and diverse future.

The availability of high quality free open source EDA/CAD software will enable a true renaissance in the IC industry and the World at large to help humanity reach it's brightest potential.
EOSFo is actively seeking donations and grants from individuals, government agencies and corporations. We also want to enter into collaborative partnerships with individuals, academic institutions and corporations.
President   Martin Taylor

Vice President and Secretary   Chris Waage
Eastsound Open Software Foundation.
455 Eastsound Shores Road
Eastsound, Washington
98245, USA
(360) 376-6934
FAX: (360) 376-6931
email : martint@ednainc.com

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