METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IMPLEMENTING GRAPHICALLY EDITABLE PARAMETERIZED CELLS

• US 20110061034A1
• Filed: 09/09/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Original Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Inventors: PAONE, Theodore Alan, NEWTON, Jim, PIC, Jean-Noel, TARROUX, Gerard, GINETTI, Arnold
• Granted Patent: US 8,347,261 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 716/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/31 Design entry, e.g. editors specifically adapted for circuit design
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/327 Logic synthesis; Behaviour synthesis, e.g. mapping logic, HDL to netlist, high-level language to RTL or netlist
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/392 Floor-planning or layout, e.g. partitioning or placement

Abstract

Disclosed is an improved mechanism and method for implementing electronic designs. According to some approaches, a method, mechanism, and compute program product is disclosed for implementing electronic designs that allows visual editing of complex objects with advanced editing features, which also provides for automated correspondence of the editing results to parametric values for a programmable object in the design.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method that is executed with a processor for implementing a graphically editable parameterized cell for an electronic design, comprising:

identifying a parameterized cell master that is to be graphically editable;

defining an implementation function for the parameterized cell master;

defining an editing function for the parameterized cell master, wherein the editing function;

identifies a type of editing being implemented;

identifies one or more parameters affected by the editing; and

performs functionality to changes the one or more parameters upon graphical edits by an editor;

associating the editing function for the parameterized cell master to a parameterized cell.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the editor comprises a layout editor or design editing tool.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the type of editing comprises stretching one or more portions of shapes, updating, compacting, chopping, merging, polygon conversion, keep-out generation or tunneling, keep-out deletion or healing, or abutment functionality.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the graphical edits by the editor that causes changes to the one or more parameters is performed by calling the editing function through a graphical interface structure that makes visual edits.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the graphical edits by the editor updates the one or more parameters for an instance of the parameterized cell.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the act of defining the implementation function for the parameterized cell master comprises:

identifying shapes in the parameterized cell master that are capable of being graphically edited; and

tagging the identified shapes.

7. The method of claim 6 in which the tagging is used to distinguish the shapes in the parameterized cell master that are capable of being graphically edited from shapes that are not capable of being graphically edited.

8. The method of claim 1 in which the editing function identifies a list of shapes, type of the shapes, and parameters for the shapes that may be updated for editing actions taken by the editor.

9. The method of claim 1 in which the editing function allows the editor to configure size, orientation, configuration, or dimensions of shapes in the parameterized cell.

10. A computer-implemented method that is executed with a processor for graphically editing a parameterized cell for an electronic design, comprising:

identifying an instance of a parameterized cell to be graphically edited;

editing the instance of the parameterized cell using a visual graphical editor interface;

identifying one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell;

changing the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell; and

creating a new parameterized cell submaster to reflect changes to the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell changes size, orientation, configuration, or dimensions of shapes in the instance of the parameterized cell.

12. The method of claim 10 in which the editing comprises stretching one or more portions of shapes, updating, compacting, chopping, merging, polygon conversion, keep-out generation or tunneling, keep-out deletion or healing, or abutment functionality.

13. The method of claim 10 in which the act of identifying the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell comprises identifying a list of shapes and parameters for the shapes affected by the editing, and calling an editing function to implement the editing of the shapes.

14. The method of claim 13 in which the editing function identifies a type of editing being implemented, identifies one or more parameters affected by the editing, and performs functionality to changes the one or more parameters upon graphical edits by the editor.

15. A computer program product embodied on a computer usable medium, the computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a method for implementing a graphically editable parameterized cell for an electronic design, the method comprising:

identifying a parameterized cell master that is to be graphically editable;

defining an implementation function for the parameterized cell master;

defining an editing function for the parameterized cell master, wherein the editing function;

identifies a type of editing being implemented;

identifies one or more parameters affected by the editing; and

performs functionality to changes the one or more parameters upon graphical edits by an editor;

associating the editing function for the parameterized cell master to a parameterized cell.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the editor comprises a layout editor or design editing tool.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 in which the type of editing comprises stretching one or more portions of shapes, updating, compacting, chopping, merging, polygon conversion, keep-out generation or tunneling, keep-out deletion or healing, or abutment functionality.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 in which the act of defining the implementation function for the parameterized cell master comprises:

identifying shapes in the parameterized cell master that are capable of being graphically edited; and

tagging the identified shapes.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 in which the editing function identifies a list of shapes, type of the shapes, and parameters for the shapes that may be updated for editing actions taken by the editor.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 in which the editing function allows the editor to configure size, orientation, configuration, or dimensions of shapes in the parameterized cell.

21. A computer-based system for implementing a graphically editable parameterized cell for an electronic design, comprising:

a computer processor to execute a set of program code instructions;

a memory to hold the program code instructions, in which the program code instructions comprises program code to identify a parameterized cell master that is to be graphically editable;

define an implementation function for the parameterized cell master;

define an editing function for the parameterized cell master, wherein the editing function identifies a type of editing being implemented, identifies one or more parameters affected by the editing, and performs functionality to changes the one or more parameters upon graphical edits by an editor; and

associating the editing function for the parameterized cell master to a parameterized cell.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the editor comprises a layout editor or design editing tool.

23. The system of claim 21 in which the type of editing comprises stretching one or more portions of shapes, updating, compacting, chopping, merging, polygon conversion, keep-out generation or tunneling, keep-out deletion or healing, or abutment functionality.

24. The system of claim 21 in which the program code for defining the implementation function for the parameterized cell master comprises instructions for identifying shapes in the parameterized cell master that are capable of being graphically edited;

and tagging the identified shapes.

25. The system of claim 21 in which the editing function identifies a list of shapes, type of the shapes, and parameters for the shapes that may be updated for editing actions taken by the editor.

26. The system of claim 21 in which the editing function allows the editor to configure size, orientation, configuration, or dimensions of shapes in the parameterized cell.

27. A computer program product embodied on a computer usable medium, the computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a method for graphically editing a parameterized cell for an electronic design, the method comprising:

identifying an instance of a parameterized cell to be graphically edited;

editing the instance of the parameterized cell using a visual graphical editor interface;

identifying one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell;

changing the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell; and

creating a new parameterized cell submaster to reflect changes to the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell.

28. The computer program product of claim 27 wherein the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell changes size, orientation, configuration, or dimensions of shapes in the instance of the parameterized cell.

29. The computer program product of claim 27 in which the editing comprises stretching one or more portions of shapes, updating, compacting, chopping, merging, polygon conversion, keep-out generation or tunneling, keep-out deletion or healing, or abutment functionality.

30. The computer program product of claim 27 in which the act of identifying the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell comprises identifying a list of shapes and parameters for the shapes affected by the editing, and calling an editing function to implement the editing of the shapes.

31. A computer-based system for graphically editing a parameterized cell for an electronic design, comprising:

a computer processor to execute a set of program code instructions;

a memory to hold the program code instructions, in which the program code instructions comprises program code to identify an instance of a parameterized cell to be graphically edited;

edit the instance of the parameterized cell using a visual graphical editor interface;

identify one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell;

change the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell; and

create a new parameterized cell submaster to reflect changes to the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell changes size, orientation, configuration, or dimensions of shapes in the instance of the parameterized cell.

33. The system of claim 31 in which the editing comprises stretching one or more portions of shapes, updating, compacting, chopping, merging, polygon conversion, keep-out generation or tunneling, keep-out deletion or healing, or abutment functionality.

34. The system of claim 31 in which the program code for identifying the one or more parameters affected by the editing of the instance of the parameterized cell comprises instructions for identifying a list of shapes and parameters for the shapes affected by the editing, and calling an editing function to implement the editing of the shapes.