Altera Quartus is a FPGA design software that is created to provide tools and functionalities in designing for all FPGA and CPLD families which are also developed by Altera. Quartus II Web Edition Software is the current product available to download. The CPLD and FPGA families this version support include Cyclone II, Cylone III, Cyclone IV, Cyclone V FPGAs, Arria II GX FPGAs but only EP2AGX45, and all MAX CPLDs. Aside from its basic support feature, this software also comes with ModelSim which is an Altera Starter Edition program from Mentor Graphics that is used for Verilog HDL (VHDL) simulation, but no need for any license to access it. It also has OpenCore Plus or PDF evaluation tools included for free. Other functionalities are verification tools, optimization tools, and design entry and synthesis tools. Altera Quartus is compatible with Windows and Linux OS computers, particularly Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, CentOS and SUSE Linux Enterprise.
Altera Jam STAPL Byte-Code Compiler is a compiler software developed by Altera Corporation for Windows computer users since it is designed to be compatible with Windows NT version 4.0, Windows 98, and Windows 95. The latest version is Jam STAPL Byte-Code Compiler Version 2.4 which compiles Jam STAPL files, with the text file format extension .jam, into .jbc files, which are the extension filename of STAPL Byte-Code. This new version does not only compile files that existed or created from 2.4 but also to older versions as early as 1.1. To install this software product, simply download the program and execute jbc.exe file, then double click it while Windows Internet Explorer is open. Another alternative is to go to the “Start” menu and locate the file name by choosing Run and browsing the directory list. Either step would lead you to the installation process of the program in which you follow any prompt instructions.
Altera Jam STAPL Player is a Jam file reader software that supports STAPL Specification which stands for Standard Test and Programming Language. Released in 2004, the latest version ready for downloading is Jam STAPL Player 2.5 but uses STAPL Specification version 2.1. This player does not only read Jam files but also applies vectors that can test and program devices in a JTAG chain. This means that the software routines that are necessary are those that can access JTAG chain. Jam STAPL Player is basically a reading software that programs and tests devices that are in a JTAG chain, which are text-based Jam files. To understand how all these work, STAPL addresses issues regarding the programming of PLDs in-system, which involves file formats, algorithms of vendor specific programming, and large size of files. It consists of two components to solve such issues, which are the Jam Composer and the Jam Player. The Jam Composer writes Jam files, while the Jam Player reads those files created. This particular Jam file reader software is compatible with Windows 98, Windows 95, and Windows NT.