time_limited.sof

[Altera_Forum]

Hi, 

I am newbie and just starting to use the altera development kit(cyclone II). I received the Altera Complete Design Suite 6.1 with the development kit I bought and installed the free version of Quartus Design software. I compiled one of the designs and I obtained <project>_time_limited.sof . Can anyone please tell me what are the limitations of this time_limited.sof and how it is different from <project>.sof?  TIA, sony

[Altera_Forum]

Time_Limited SOF file is generated when you use ALTERA IPs and ALTERA's Partner IP which are OPENCORE+. 

OPENCORE+ is a mecanism which allow you to use the IPs for evaluation. If the IP meet your requirement, you can purchase them and the IP.  Then to prevent any improper use of IP you did not purchase, we limited the usage of the IP for couple of time (half hour, hour, ...).   Nevertheless, if you keep the JTAG cable connected to the target, there is no time limitaiton. The time counter will be activated once the JTAG cable is disconnected.

[Altera_Forum]

For Open Core Plus (OCP) IP evaluation related information, check out the links below: 

http://www.altera.com/products/ip/getting-started/ipm-evaluate-download.html http://www.altera.com/literature/an/an320.pdf  The PDF file is more informative.

[Altera_Forum]

Thanks a lot. your replies answer my question :). 

 Cheers, sony