JPH0896018A - CAD tool management method and automatic circuit design system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In designing LSIs that apply multiple CAD tools, an automatic design system and tool management that guarantees consistency among tools and realizes a design environment that enables efficient tool execution. Provide a way. [Structure] The automatic design system is configured to process data input from the input unit 1 by the processing unit 4 and then convert the output data from the output unit 1 to output the data. The tool management unit 42 determines the execution order and the execution environment of the tools for the processing instructions based on the predefined execution dependency information, the execution environment information, or the data dependency information stored in the storage unit 3. And encourage the start of each tool.
This enables consistent tool management, parallelization of design work, and collaborative design by groups. In addition, since the execution machines are assigned in consideration of the machine load and the like by automatically selecting the execution machines, it is possible to provide an efficient and stable design environment.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic circuit design system for circuits such as LSIs, and more particularly to an automatic circuit design system for performing LSI design by sequentially applying a plurality of CAD tools and a CAD tool management method. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent LSI design work, E
Design automation is gradually progressing due to the spread of WS and the enhancement of software such as CAD tools. Particularly in the field called ASIC, a method of designing from the functional design to the logic design and the layout design from the top down has become common. That is, the functional design is performed by using the functional description language, the functional verification tool is used to verify it, and if the result is correct, the logical design is performed using the logic synthesis tool. After that, the timing is verified with a timing analysis tool, and the layout design is a method of automatically placing and routing using a P & R (placement and routing) tool.

On the other hand, in the field of designing a higher performance LSI, the design according to the top-down design is not always performed, and the design data at that time is more complicated, and CAD applied to the design data is used. The tools are also diverse. Therefore, the designer needs to manage a large amount of mutually related design data while mastering a large number of CAD tools, which causes a heavy burden on the designer and is prone to errors.

To solve this problem, a CAD framework has been proposed, but at present, the CAD framework and the system built on it are still under development, and the above-mentioned problems have been sufficiently solved. It doesn't mean that. Further, the design support system is not based on the characteristics of the LSI design and the relationship with various design data, including understanding and management of various design information other than the data generated in the design work.

As a technique for solving these problems, for example, Design Automation Research Group 66-6 (1993).
There is an LSI co-design support system disclosed on pages 1 to 48). Focusing on this technology, the problem that the burden on the designer is large and the error is likely to occur is due to the fact that the LSI design process is a group work that requires cooperation of a plurality of designers. However, the design process and products are defined in advance, and the design is carried out in accordance therewith. The LSI design process model and CAD
It is related to the support system built on the framework.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned prior art is merely a design support system for relatively simply modeling the LSI design process of ASIC and efficiently managing the design process. However, there is a problem that it is not applicable when designing a custom LSI or the like because it is complicated and it is difficult to achieve consistency in CAD tool execution. In addition, in actual design, although it involves annoying data conversion depending on the tool, no means is taken to free the designer from this annoyance. There is also a problem that it is not directly related to the environment or other LSI design work itself.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to automate a series of CAD tool operation procedures in designing an LSI or the like in which a plurality of CAD tools are applied for designing, Guarantee the integrity of tool execution,
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic circuit design system and a CAD tool management method that realize a design environment capable of efficient and stable tool execution.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, specifically, the means taken by the invention of claim 1 is such that a plurality of CAs are input to circuit data relating to a plurality of input circuits.
As a CAD tool management method when a circuit is designed by applying a D tool, a processing tool ranking step of prioritizing the processing order of the plurality of CAD tool executions,
Based on the data structure of the circuit, the process data prioritizing process for prioritizing the process order of the circuit data and the CAD tool priority and the data priority obtained in the above processes And a process allocation step of instructing the execution of the CAD tool.

The means taken by the invention of claim 2 is defined by claim 1.
In the CAD tool management method described above, in the processing tool ranking process, the CAD tools are prioritized in accordance with the information regarding the predefined execution dependency relationship between the CAD tools.

The means taken by the invention of claim 3 is defined by claim 1.
Alternatively, in the CAD tool management method described in item 2, in the process allocation step, the execution machine of the CAD tool is determined according to the execution environment information regarding the execution machine of the CAD tool defined in advance.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the CAD tool management method according to the first, second or third aspect, the circuit scale obtained from the information contained in the circuit data in the process data ranking process. Is an index for prioritizing circuit data processing.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the CAD tool management method according to the first, second, third or fourth aspect, in the processing data ranking step, the CAD tool applied to the circuit data is applied. In this method, the priority of the CAD tools assigned in the processing tool ranking process is used as one index of the priority ranking.

The means taken by the invention of claim 6 is a plurality of Cs.
In an automatic circuit design system configured to apply an AD tool to design a plurality of circuits, a signal of a plurality of circuit data regarding the plurality of circuits and a signal of a design processing instruction for each of the circuit data are input. Input part,
A storage unit having a circuit data storage unit for storing information on the plurality of circuit data and a tool storage unit for storing information on a plurality of CAD tools; and a storage unit for receiving a signal from the input unit. A processing unit having a tool executing unit that executes the CAD tool based on the stored information, and an output unit that outputs circuit data resulting from the processing by the processing unit are provided. Then, in the storage unit,
An execution dependency relationship information storage means for storing information on execution dependency relationships between CAD tools defined in advance and an execution environment information storage means for storing information on execution environments of predefined CAD tools are provided. A tool for determining a CAD tool application sequence and an execution environment from the execution dependency information, the execution environment information, and information about the configuration of the circuit data stored in the circuit data storage means, and instructing the tool execution means. The management means is provided.

The means taken by the invention of claim 7 is as follows.
In the automatic circuit design system described above, a data management unit that causes the processing unit to manage the version number of the circuit data stored in the circuit data storage unit and retain the circuit data necessary for the processing of the tool execution unit. Is provided.

[0015]

With the above method or system, the following actions can be obtained in the invention of each claim.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when the data structure is complicated and it is difficult to obtain consistency in executing the CAD tool, a circuit with a good consistency can be designed without causing complexity such as redoing the layout. Will be seen.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the CAD defined in advance is used.
The CAD tool is used based on the priority given based on the information on the execution dependency between the tools, so that the same work process is processed in parallel on independent circuits,
Even in the same circuit, it is possible to parallelize design work, such as extraction of design processes that can be processed in parallel.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the circuit data and the processing of the CAD tool are assigned in consideration of the storage capacity of the execution machine of the CAD tool, the processing speed, etc., the parallel processing is performed using a plurality of CAD tools. In doing so, the circuit design is very efficient and stable.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the circuit scale of each circuit serves as an index for prioritizing the processed data, the period required for completion of the design is minimized when parallel processing is performed. It becomes possible.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the priority order of the circuit data is determined in consideration of the priority order of the CAD tool, it is possible to prevent the setting of the priority order ignoring the compatibility between each CAD tool and each circuit. , The consistency of the whole circuit design becomes particularly good.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the execution order of the tools is determined from the execution dependency relationship information between the CAD tools and the circuit data dependency relationship information, parallel processing of the same work process for the independent circuits and the same circuit are performed. In this case, it is possible to parallelize design work, such as extraction of design processes that can be processed in parallel. In addition, since the execution machine is automatically assigned in consideration of the machine load using the execution environment information of the CAD tool, an efficient and stable LSI design environment can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 7, the version number of the circuit data is managed by the data managing means, and the circuit data necessary for the processing of the tool executing means is held, thereby facilitating the smooth work of the automatic circuit design. Done.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments relating to an automatic circuit design system and a CAD tool management method according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First, an automatic circuit design system will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of the automatic circuit design system in the example.

The input section 1 is provided with an input means for inputting circuit data to be designed using this system. The output unit 2 outputs the circuit data resulting from the design by this automatic design system to an external device. The storage unit 3 is a circuit that stores information about the circuit data input from the input unit 1, information about the processed circuit data output from the output unit 2 and circuit data in the process of processing until the circuit data is output. Data storage means 31,
A tool storage unit 32 that stores an execution module of a CAD tool used to design a circuit, an execution dependency relationship storage unit 33 that stores execution dependency relationship information between CAD tools, a host machine that executes the tool, and the like. And an execution environment information storage unit 34 that stores information regarding the above. Here, as the circuit data stored in the circuit data storage means 31, function description data called a hardware description language, a logic level netlist or a logic circuit diagram,
There are layout-level schematic data. The CAD tools stored in the tool storage means include functional verification tools, logic synthesis tools, logic diagram editors, logic verification tools, timing analysis tools, logic verification tools, layout editors, P & R tools, layout verification tools, circuit verifications. There are tools, text editors for functional design and test program design.

The processing section 4 includes a tool executing means 41, a tool managing means 42, and a data managing means 43.
And a user interface 44 are arranged. The tool execution unit 41 executes a plurality of CAD tools stored in the tool storage unit 32 in the storage unit 3. The tool management means 42 stores information about the circuit data stored in the circuit data storage means 31 and the tool storage means 32 in response to the design processing command for the circuit data input from the input unit 1. Individual CA
Information on D tool and execution dependency information storage unit 3
CAD based on the information about the execution dependency between the CAD tools stored in the No. 3 and the information about the host machine stored in the execution environment information storage unit 34.
It determines the order and environment of tool execution and sends a process execution command to the tool execution means 41. The data management means 43 extracts and holds circuit data necessary for tool execution from the circuit data stored in the circuit data storage means 31, and further manages the circuit data version number. The user interface 44 is common for inputting / outputting data and processing instructions.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the automatic design system in the embodiment. This automatic design system includes Host1 which is a local machine.
And remote machines Host2, Host3, H
.. are arranged, and the machines are connected by a network 150. Inside the local machine Host1, the input device 111,
Output device 112, processing device 113, and storage device 114
And a network device 115. The input device 111 relates to information about circuit data to be input by the automatic design system of the present invention and types of design processing instructions, such as function verification, logic design, layout design, and parameters necessary for executing a CAD tool. It is a device for giving information. The output device 112 is a device that outputs circuit data as a result of designing with respect to input circuit data and design processing instructions, information on a tool execution process, and the like. The processing device 113 is a storage device 11.
C by executing various programs stored in
Design processing using an AD tool is performed. The network device 115 includes the processing device 113 and the network 1.
Signals are exchanged with the device 50. Input device 1
As 11, a schematic entry system, a file, a text editor, etc. are used. As the output device 112, a graphic display, a plotter, a file, or the like is used. Further, the processing device 1
A general-purpose computer, an engineering workstation, a personal computer or the like is used as 13.

On the other hand, the remote machine Host2,
The Host 3 and the Host 4 have processing units 123 and 13 having substantially the same functions as those of the Host 1, respectively.
3, 143, storage devices 124, 134, 144, and network devices 125, 135, 145 are provided, but no input device or output device is provided.

Next, the CAD tool execution processing by the tool execution means 41 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 shows the CA in the tool executing means 41.
9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of D tool execution processing. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the flow of a CAD tool and circuit data in the tool executing means 41.

First, in step SR1 shown in FIG. 3, the function is designed, and in step SR2, the function is guaranteed. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the function description data 401 is data that has been functionally designed and has been input from the input unit 1, and this function description data 401 is stored in the storage unit 3 and stored in the data management means 43. Held through. For the function description data 401, the function verification tool 411
The validity of the data is confirmed by executing.

Next, in step SR3, a logic design is performed,
Logic verification is performed in step SR4. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the logic design tool 412 is executed on the function description data 401 to generate the logic data 402, and the logic verification tool 413 similarly confirms the validity of the data. To do.

Then, the layout design is performed in step SR5, and the layout verification is performed in step SR6. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the layout design tool 414
The layout data 403 is generated by executing the above process, the validity of the generated data is confirmed by the layout verification tool 415, and the resulting circuit data is output from the output unit 2 through the data management unit 43.

However, during the above-described design processing, verification is performed in order from the circuit for which the functional design has been completed, or logic design is performed when either of the functional verification processing 1 and the functional verification processing 2 is completed. , There are rules for the design process. Also,
Regarding functional verification, if functional design of one circuit module is completed and functional verification of another module is completed, functional verification may be possible. Further, what is called a tool here includes a tool in which data conversion processing due to a difference in data format between tools is incorporated before and after processing.

Next, an embodiment relating to the CAD tool management method will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the tool management method in the tool management means 42. First, in step ST1 shown in FIG. 5, a CAD tool included in the design processing flow necessary for the design processing is extracted for the circuit data and the design processing instruction input from the input unit 1, and as shown in FIG. The processing tools are prioritized based on the execution dependency relationship information between the CAD tools defined in advance.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the definition of the execution dependency relationship information between CAD tools. In this definition,
It describes the timing of starting and ending the execution of the tool. In the figure, the symbol (:-) indicates that the condition on the right side is required (license) with respect to the condition on the left side, the symbol (&&) means AND, and the symbol (: :) is O.
It means R. In this example, Tool6 is Tool3.
Execution can be started on condition that the execution of Tool5 and Tool5 is completed. Tool5 is Tool1, T
Execution is possible on condition that the execution of tool4 and Tool5 has been completed. Tool4 can start execution at any time as long as the execution environment permits. Tool
In No. 3, when the execution of Tool1 or Tool2 is completed, the execution can be started. Tool2 can start execution on the condition that the execution of Tool1 and Tool2 is completed. Furthermore, Tool1 is Tool1
Execution can be started on condition that its own execution is completed. For example, it means that logic design should not be started even if functional verification is not completed. The inter-tool execution dependency here concerns one data item. That is, the flow of the design process in the case of executing the process of one circuit module is shown.

Next, in step ST2 shown in FIG. 5, processing data is prioritized in consideration of the circuit scale and the like from the configuration of circuit data to be processed by each CAD tool.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory views showing an example of the circuit configuration information of the circuit to be designed, and FIG.
Shows the hierarchical relationship of the circuit, and FIG. 7B shows the specific configuration of the circuit. The circuit main includes a sub circuit subA,
subB and subC are arranged, and the sub-circuit sub
Subcircuits subBA and subBB are provided in B. The circuit scale of each sub-circuit in the circuit main is
The circuits cpu, subB, and su are listed in order from the larger side.
bA and subC.

In the case of such a circuit configuration, for example, the layout design of the circuit main is performed by subcircuits subA and subA.
It cannot be executed unless the layout design of bB and subC is completed. Therefore, the priority of processing tools is
The in-block P & R tool is higher than the inter-block P & R tool. Further, the priority order of the process data is given in the order of the circuit subB, the circuit cpu having a large circuit scale, the circuit subA, and the circuit subC in which inter-block wiring must be performed in the block. For example, as described later (FIG. 9), the license of the P & R tool in the same block is A1.
In order to execute the layout design in parallel in the case where there are two lines A and A2, it is necessary to allocate the processed data in order of priority. In this case, data and tools are assigned as described below.

Finally, in step ST3 shown in FIG.
Based on the priorities of the tools and data attached in steps ST1 and ST2 and the execution environment information as shown in FIG. 8, each process is executed by each execution host machine Host shown in FIG.
1, Host2, Host3, Host4 ,. In other words, which execution host machine, which tool, and which circuit data to process based on are assigned. The series of processes may be performed at any time in the design process.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the definition of CAD tool execution environment information. However, FIG. 6 and FIG.
Does not correspond to. In this example, the execution host machine of each tool, the required memory capacity, etc. are defined. T
Host1 or Host2 is required as an execution host machine of ool1, and Disk capacity and Memory capacity of 2 Mbytes are required. Host2 execution host machines are Host2 or Host3 and Ho.
st4 and are required. Any Host may be used as the host machine for executing Tool3. Based on these definitions, the execution of the tool is assigned to each machine.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the result of data and tool allocation by the tool management means 42, and this case corresponds to the circuit configuration shown in FIG. In the example shown in this figure, there are two tools A1 and A2 as the in-block P & R tools, and there is a tool B as the inter-block P & R tools. And tool A1 and tool A2
And can be executed in parallel, and these two tools A
1, A2 and the tool B can be executed in parallel. In that case, the layout process of the inter-block P & R tool B cannot be performed unless the layout of the circuit subB is completed first.
The priority is assigned so that the BA and the circuit subBB are sequentially laid out, and at the same time, the in-block P & R tool A1 is assigned so that the circuit cpu having a larger circuit scale than the circuit subA and the circuit subC is laid out first. Then, from the time when the layout of the circuits subBA and subBB is completed, the inter-block tool P & R
Circuit B that has the next largest circuit size after circuit cpu
Layout with the tool A2 in the block at the same time,
Of the remaining circuits subA and subC, the circuit subA having a larger circuit scale is laid out, and the priority is assigned so that the circuit subC is laid out after the layout of the circuit cpu is completed by the in-block P & R tool A1.

As a result of the above, the layout of the circuit subB is finished by the inter-block P & R tool B.
Since the P & R between the blocks of ubB is completed, the layout of the circuit main is started thereafter.

Information about a circuit that can be completely designed is extracted from the circuit configuration of the circuit data and used for tool management. For example, in some cases, the processes from the functional design to the logical design of the individual sub-circuits subA, subB, and subC may be performed independently. At that time, the logic design of the circuit subC can be performed without waiting for the end of the functional design of the circuit subB.

For example, the design environment for the layout design may be determined in consideration of the circuit scale after the logical data is generated. Therefore, there is an advantage that the design can be efficiently performed without extending the critical path.

[0047]

According to the present invention, in automating the complicated CAD tool execution in the design work such as LSI design, it is possible to manage the CAD tool with consistency. In particular, parallelization of design work can be realized, and collaborative design by groups is also possible. In addition, since the execution host machine is assigned by automatically selecting the execution machine in consideration of the machine load, an efficient and stable design environment can be provided.
Therefore, in the LSI design using a computer, there are effects such as reduction of design man-hours and cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of an automatic circuit design system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an automatic design system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of CAD tool execution processing in the tool execution means.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a flow of a CAD tool and circuit data in a tool executing means.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a basic flow of processing of a tool management method in the tool management means.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a definition example of execution dependency relationship information between CAD tools.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of circuit configuration information of a circuit to be designed.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a definition example of CAD tool execution environment information.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a result of tool and data allocation by the tool management means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Input Unit 2 Output Unit 3 Storage Unit 4 Processing Unit 31 Circuit Data Storage Means 32 Tool Storage Means 33 Execution Dependency Information Storage Means 34 Execution Environment Information Storage Means 41 Tool Execution Means 42 Tool Management Means 43 Data Management Means 44 User Interface

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A CAD tool management method for designing a circuit by applying a plurality of CAD tools to circuit data relating to a plurality of inputted circuits, wherein the processing order of the plurality of CAD tool executions Processing tool prioritizing process, a processing data prioritizing process for prioritizing the processing order of the circuit data based on the configuration of the circuit data, and the CAD tool obtained in each of the above processes. A CAD tool management method, comprising: a process allocation process for allocating a CAD tool and circuit data based on a priority order and a data priority order and instructing execution of the CAD tool. 2. The CAD tool management method according to claim 1, wherein in the processing tool prioritizing process, prioritization of the CAD tools is performed in accordance with information on execution dependency relationships between the CAD tools defined in advance. Characteristic CAD tool management method. 3. The CAD tool management method according to claim 1, wherein in the process allocation step, the execution machine of the CAD tool is determined according to execution environment information regarding a predefined execution machine of the CAD tool. Characteristic CAD tool management method. 4. The CAD tool management method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein in the processing data ranking step, the circuit scale obtained from the information included in the circuit data is prioritized for processing the circuit data. A CAD tool management method characterized in that 5. The CAD tool management method according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein in the processing data ranking step, a CAD tool applied to the circuit data is attached in the processing tool ranking step. A CAD tool management method, characterized in that the priority order of the created CAD tools is used as one index for prioritization. 6. An automatic circuit design system configured to apply a plurality of CAD tools to design a plurality of circuits, wherein signals of a plurality of circuit data relating to the plurality of circuits and designs for the respective circuit data are provided. A storage unit having an input unit for inputting a signal of a processing instruction, a circuit data storage unit for storing information on the plurality of circuit data, and a tool storage unit for storing information on a plurality of CAD tools; A processing unit having a tool executing means for receiving a signal from the input unit and executing the CAD tool based on the information stored in the storage unit; and an output unit for outputting circuit data resulting from the processing by the processing unit. In addition to the above, the storage unit includes execution dependency relationship information storage means for storing information on execution dependency relationships between CAD tools defined in advance. Execution environment information storage means for storing information on the execution environment of the CAD tool defined in advance is provided, and the processing section stores the execution dependency information, the execution environment information, and the circuit data storage means. From the information about the structure of the circuit data,
An automatic circuit design system, characterized in that a tool management means for determining an execution environment and instructing the tool execution means is provided. 7. The automatic circuit design system according to claim 6, wherein the processing unit includes a circuit required for version number management of the circuit data stored in the circuit data storage unit and processing of the tool execution unit. An automatic circuit design system comprising a data management means for holding data.