Lattice, along with many other programmable parts vendors, do not publish their programming algorithms in the part data sheets for several reasons.

1) They like to restrict access to the algorithms becasue then they can know who they give the information to. If they know the people that make the programmers then they can provide a certification service to that vendor to double check the algorithm and make sure it is correct.

2) The manufacturer likes to reserve the rights to improve or modify the programming algorithms for any given part. If they know who all has the previous information it is easy for them to update everyone with the new information after changes are made.

3) In general the manufacturer does not want their PAL customers to be programming the parts with programming equipment that has not been certified. Uncertified equipment may cause parts to be programmed incorrectly or in ways that damage the part or cause the part to not operate within the normal data sheet parameters.

4) The manufacturer does not want to have to provide technical support for the development of programming equipment without being able to collect a fee for doing so. It costs money to support the programming equipment vendors so it is normal to charge a fee for this support. I believe they often charge a fee to certify a piece of programming equipment too.

So where does this leave you? Well you have several options of things you can do.

A) First of all you can call, write to, or email the manufacturer and ask them if they will put you on their programming equipment vendor. Then they will usually provide you with current programming algorithm documentation. They may ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement. They may also request that you not sell any of your programming equipment unless they certify the completed equipment and they may request that you not sell any product that has PALs in it that are programmed with your equipment before it is certified. And note they may charge a fee to certify your equipment.

B) Alternately you can go out and find a programming equipment vendor that makes equipment that is able to program the PAL types you want to use. If you purchase a device programmer it is wise to check that the vendor that made it has had its programming algorithm certified by the various chip maunfacturers that the equipment supports.

C) You can consider to have the distributer where you buy your parts programm the parts for you. Most reputable and main stream semiconductor vendors will program your parts. In the case of PALs all you have to supply to them is the JEDEC fuse map file for the PAL. This programming service is often included in the price of the parts if you order a minimum quantity of parts. For a lesser number of parts there may be a nominal programming fee. I have even had vendors provide free programming to me for 2 or 3 turns of a design in a part as long as I assured them that they would get the orders for the production mode parts.

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Michael Karas