Cadence	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Cadence [Abstract]
CADENCE	NOTE 1. CADENCE Cadence develops electronic design automation, or EDA, software, hardware, verification intellectual property, or VIP, and design intellectual property, or Design IP. Cadence licenses software, VIP and Design IP, sells or leases hardware technology, provides maintenance for its software, VIP and Design IP and hardware and provides engineering and education services to help manage and accelerate product development processes for electronics. Cadence’s customers use its products and services to design and develop complex integrated circuits, or ICs, and electronics systems.

The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings).

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Name Statement of Position (SOP)

-Publisher AICPA

-Number 94-6

-Paragraph 10

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 275

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6003-108592

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