Altera feature downgrades w/ 10.x

[Altera_Forum]

As of 10.x, The easy-to-learn and use native Quartus simulator is gone--poof! 

 Rumors abound that .bdl designs, gates & primitives, and legacy logic module support are soon to be axed--poof!  I'll share a bit of recent discussion w/ another engineer: ----------- Well, I talked with {local Altera distro rep) this very AM, and he hemmed and hawed to the effect that a .bdl design must be exported as a Verilog or VHDL digest, which can then be handled with Modelsim. So while schemata, legacy blocks, and primitives seem to be supported--for now--they have to be double-clutched through HDL synthesis; more time, bother & expense.  {rep} maintains that "practically nobody" was using the Quartus native simulator anyway, and so it ultimately failed to make the cut in product development resources. He's probably right, with half-million line HDL code and licensed IP projects dominating lucrative high-density FPGA deployments. Altera has made the message clear: pikers like us who design-in small CPLDs with low volumes can take a hike.  Well, I and the other "practical nobodies" out in the real world have one more reason to consider other programmable logic vendors. If "everybody" is really using Modelsim or other 3rd-party HDL-based simulators, then what makes Altera so special anymore? Why should anybody remain loyal to them after being %#$@! once or twice?  The %#$@!s in Altera who got bonuses for axing the simulator overlooked the most obvious unintended consequence, namely that once everything has been stuffed into HDLs and Modelsim suites, vendor lock disappears: with transportable HDL designs, any FPGA vendor can provide the silicon now.  Thus, I feel free to revisit Xilinx to see what they've got. X got arrogant for a while, but if I'm gonna relearn a simulator it might just as well be theirs. Lessee, Avnet and digikey are the two distros; pity {rep's employer: major semi distro} does not seem to handle them. Huh.  The only bones {rep} could throw my way was a Modelsim training link (search for ODSW1120) and a kind offer to drop by & get me started in the brave new world of Modelsim.  Maybe {rep} would care to sum up just what we can expect from dear old Altera in future? For the first time in 15 years I am now reluctant to specify Altera for new projects, whether I work for a dinky outfit like {small company}, or a $billion company like {major name-brand company}.  //{atemp99} aka Nobody EE.  PS As a hardcore hardware EE, with the odd exception of handiness in state machines, I hate HDLs.:mad: Too much like the s-word (software).

[Altera_Forum]

The Altera University Program has released a beta version of a new Quartus II Simulation GUI and Vector Waveform Editor. These tools are for Quartus II v10.1. 

 The tools can be downloaded and installed from the Altera ftp site: ftp://ftp.altera.com/up/pub/Altera_Material/10.1/altera_upds_setup.exe  We have also written a tutorial for the new tool flow, which is available here: ftp://ftp.altera.com/up/pub/Altera_Material/10.1/Tutorials/Verilog/Quartus_II_Simulation.pdf or ftp://ftp.altera.com/up/pub/Altera_Material/10.1/Tutorials/VHDL/Quartus_II_Simulation.pdf  The simulations produced using these new tools are meant for education purposes only. ModelSim-Altera is the recommended simulation tool.