Methods, systems, and computer-program products for item selection and positioning suitable for high-altitude and context sensitive editing of electrical circuits

• US 8,612,923 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2009
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Original Assignee: Cadence Design Systems Incorporated (Cadence Group)
• Inventors: Arora, Rajan, Majumder, Chayan, Ghosh, Sandipan, Arya, Anil Kumar
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, NGHIA M
• Application Number:
  US12/489,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20100205575A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,639 Days
• Field of Search: 716/118, 716/119, 716/139, 715243-246, 715764-773
• US Class Current: 716/139
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347

Abstract

Methods, systems, computer program products for editing electrical circuits that facilitate and speed the layout of electrical circuits. Embodiments provide high-altitude editing capabilities to the user that enable the user to more easily select circuit items in congested layouts and schematic diagrams, and modify and arrange circuit items with respect to one another in congested layouts and schematic diagrams. Additional embodiments are directed to enabling EDA commands and the like to have context sensitivity, neighborhood awareness, and/or an ability to anticipate intentions of the user.

Claims

1. A method for a graphical circuit editor that represents a circuit within a layout space, the method comprising:

detecting, in a computer, a command from a user of a graphical circuit editor;

defining an aperture in the circuit for an input cursor, wherein the aperture is an area of the circuit layout space that encompasses one or more circuit objects and the location of the input cursor in the circuit layout space, wherein the input cursor and the aperture are moveable within the circuit layout space, and wherein the location of the aperture moves in relation to the movement of the input cursor;

collecting a set of items of the one or more circuit objects, each item being at least partly located within the aperture and associated with the circuit;

selecting one or more items from the set as one or more targets suitable for the command to operate upon based upon one or more of;

a relevancy to the detected command or one or more item types previously selected by the user or one or more customizable user settings for the detected command; and

presenting one or more of the targets to the user for selection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein an item comprises one of:

a layout object, an edge of a layout object, a vertex of a layout object, an end of a layout object, a midpoint of a layout object, a centerline of a layout object, a nexus of a layout object, a handle of a layout object, a placement or stretch location for a layout object allowed under a design-rule checker, a schematic object, an edge of a schematic object, a vertex of a schematic object, an end of a schematic object, a nexus of a schematic object, or a handle of a schematic object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the dimensions of the aperture are selectable by the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the detected command is one of:

a command to define a new item in the circuit;

a command to modify the position, size, shape, or another characteristic of an item;

a command to stretch a dimension of an item;

or a command to define a ruler or marker in the circuit.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the set of items comprises updating the set with a movement of the aperture, and wherein selecting one or more items as one or more targets comprises updating the selection with a change in the set.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the recited actions is performed using the computer system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein collecting the set of items comprises collecting items based upon one or more of:

(i) relevancy to the detected command,

(ii) one or more item types previously selected by the user,

(iii) one or more characteristics of the items,

(iv) on at least one characteristic of a new item being created in the circuit and the relevancy of the characteristics of the items in the aperture to the at least one characteristic of the new item,

(v) one or more customizable user settings for the detected command,

(vi) one or more customizable global user settings applicable to a plurality of commands.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the one or more items as one or more targets comprises selecting items based upon their relevancy to the detected command.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting one or more of the targets to the user for selection comprises presenting one of the targets at a time to the user, and wherein the method further comprises receiving an input from the user to select the presented target and, in response thereto, moving the input cursor to a position of a portion of the presented target.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein presenting one of the targets to the user comprises altering the appearance of at least a portion of the target.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the targets to the user comprises:

arranging the targets in an order;

presenting one of the targets to the user; and

receiving an input from the user to present the next target in the order and, in response thereto, presenting the next target to the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein presenting a target comprises altering the appearance of at least a portion of the target.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein arranging the targets in an order comprises arranging the targets based upon one or more of:

(i) distance to the input cursor,

(ii) relevancy to the detected command,

(iii) one or more characteristics of the targets,

(iv) on at least one characteristic of a new item being created in the circuit and the relevancy of the characteristics of the targets to the at least one characteristic of the new item,

(v) one or more customizable user settings for the detected command,

(vi) one or more customizable global user settings applicable to a plurality of commands.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an input from the user to select a presented target and, in response thereto, selecting a point of the selected target as a first item usable by the detected command.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

defining another aperture for the input cursor, the other aperture being a second area of the layout space that encompasses the location of the input cursor in the layout space;

collecting a second set of items, each item being at least partly located within said other aperture and associated with the circuit;

selecting one or more items from the second set as one or more second targets suitable for the command to operate upon; and

presenting one or more of the second targets to the user for selection.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein presenting the second targets comprises:

arranging the second targets in an order of presentation;

presenting one of the second targets to the user; and

receiving an input from the user to present the next second target in the order of presentation and presenting said next second target to the user.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein presenting a second target comprises altering the appearance of at least a portion of the second target.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising detecting a direction of cursor motion;

and

wherein arranging the second targets in an order of presentation comprises ordering each second target based on the orientation of a feature of the second target with respect to the detected direction of cursor motion.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the selected target is an object, an edge of an object, a stretch handle of an object, a nexus of an object, or a vertex of an object;

wherein the detected command comprises a command to modify the position, size, shape, or other characteristic of an object related to the selected target by moving the selected target; and

wherein the method further comprises determining a plurality of allowable locations that the selected target can be moved to without violating a set of design rules.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising restricting the motion of the input cursor to the plurality of allowable locations.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting one or more items from the set as one or more targets suitable for the command to operate upon comprises selecting a plurality of items as a plurality of targets suitable for the command to operate upon;

and

wherein presenting one or more of the targets to the user for selection comprises presenting a plurality of targets to the user for selection.

22. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having a computer-readable program code embodied therein, said computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for circuit editing that represents a circuit within a layout space, said method comprising:

detecting a command from a user of a graphical circuit editor;

defining an aperture in the circuit for an input cursor, wherein the aperture is an area of the circuit layout space that encompasses one or more circuit objects and the location of the input cursor in the circuit layout space, wherein the input cursor and the aperture are moveable within the circuit layout space, and wherein the location of the aperture moves in relation to the movement of the input cursor;

collecting a set of items of the one or more circuit objects, each item being at least partly located within the aperture and associated with the circuit;

selecting one or more items from the set as one or more targets suitable for the detected command to operate upon based upon one or more of;

a relevancy to the detected command or one or more item types previously selected by the user or one or more customizable user settings for the detected command; and

presenting one or more of the targets to the user for selection.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein an item comprises one of:

a layout object, an edge of a layout object, a vertex of a layout object, an end of a layout object, a midpoint of a layout object, a centerline of a layout object, a nexus of a layout object, a handle of a layout object, a placement or stretch location for a layout object allowed under a design-rule checker, a schematic object, an edge of a schematic object, a vertex of a schematic object, an end of a schematic object, a nexus of a schematic object, or a handle of a schematic object; and

wherein the detected command is one of;

a command to define a new item in the circuit;

a command to modify the position, size, shape, or another characteristic of an item;

a command to stretch a dimension of a item;

or a command to define a ruler or marker in the circuit.

24. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein presenting one or more of the targets to the user for selection comprises presenting one of the targets at a time to the user, and wherein the method further comprises receiving an input from the user to select the presented target and, in response thereto, moving the input cursor to a position of a portion of the presented target.

25. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein presenting the targets to the user comprises:

arranging the targets in an order;

presenting one of the targets to the user;

receiving an input from the user to present the next target in the order and, in response thereto, presenting the next target to the user.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein presenting a target comprises altering the appearance of at least a portion of the target.

27. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein arranging the targets in an order comprises arranging the targets based upon one or more of:

(i) distance to the input cursor,

(ii) relevancy to the detected command,

(iii) one or more characteristics of the targets,

(iv) on at least one characteristic of a new item being created in the circuit and the relevancy of the characteristics of the targets to the at least one characteristic of the new item,

(v) one or more customizable user setting for the detected command,

(vi) one or more customizable global user setting applicable to a plurality of commands.

28. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an input from the user to select a presented target and, in response thereto, selecting a point of the selected target as a first item usable by the detected command;

defining for aperture around the input cursor, the other aperture being a second area of the layout space that encompasses the location of the input cursor in the layout space;

collecting a second set of items, each item being at least partly located within said other aperture and associated with the circuit;

selecting one or more items from the second set as one or more second targets suitable for the command to operate upon; and

presenting one or more of the second targets to the user for selection.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein presenting the second targets comprises:

arranging the second targets in an order of presentation;

presenting one of the second targets to the user; and

receiving an input from the user to present the next second target in the order of presentation and presenting said next second target to the user.

30. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein presenting a second target comprises altering the appearance of at least a portion of the second target.

31. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises detecting a direction of cursor motion;

and

wherein arranging the second targets in an order of presentation comprises ordering each second target based on the orientation of a feature of the second target with respect to the detected direction of cursor motion.

32. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises receiving an input from the user to select a presented target and, in response thereto, selecting the target, the selected target being an object, an edge of an object, a stretch handle of an object, a nexus of an object, or a vertex of an object;

wherein the detected command comprises a command to modify the position, size, shape, or other characteristic of an object related to the selected target by moving the selected target; and

wherein the method further comprises determining a plurality of allowable locations that the selected target can be moved to without violating a set of design rules and restricting the motion of the input cursor to the plurality of allowable locations.

33. A circuit editing system that represents a circuit within a layout space, the circuit editing system comprising:

a computer having at least one data processor, a display, one or more input devices to receive inputs, and a computer-readable memory; and

a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having a computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code to be executed to implement a method for circuit editing, the computer program product comprising;

code that directs the computer to detect a command in a graphical circuit editor;

code that directs the computer to define an aperture in the circuit for an input cursor displayed on the display, wherein the aperture is an area of the circuit layout space that encompasses one or more circuit objects and the location of the input cursor in the circuit layout space, wherein the input cursor and the aperture are moveable within the circuit layout space, and wherein the location of the aperture moves in relation to the movement of the input cursor;

code that directs the computer to collect a set of items of the one or more circuit objects, each item being at least partly located within the aperture and associated with the circuit;

code that directs the computer to select one or more items from the set as one or more targets suitable for the detected command to operate upon based upon one or more of;

a relevancy to the detected command or one or more item types previously selected by the user or one or more customizable user settings for the detected command; and

code that directs the computer to present one or more of the targets on the display.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the code that directs the computer to present one or more of the targets on the display comprises:

code that directs the computer to arrange the targets in an order based upon at least one of distance to the input cursor and relevancy to the detected command;

code that directs the computer to present one of the targets one the display by altering the appearance of at least a portion of the target; and

code that directs the computer to receive an input from the user to present the next target in the order and, in response thereto, presenting the next target on the display by altering the appearance of at least a portion of the target.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the computer program product further comprises:

code that directs the computer to receive an input from the one or more input devices to select a presented target and, in response thereto, to select a point of the selected target as a first item usable by the detected command;

code that directs the computer to define another aperture for the input cursor, the other aperture being a second area of the layout space that encompasses the location of the input cursor in the layout space;

code that directs the computer to collect a second set of items, each item being at least partly located within said other aperture and associated with the circuit;

code that directs the computer to select one or more items from the second set as one or more second targets suitable for the command to operate upon;

code that directs the computer to arrange the second targets in an order of presentation, the code including instructions that direct the computer to direct a direction of cursor motion and to order each second target based on the orientation of a feature of the second target with respect to the detected direction of cursor motion;

code that directs the computer to present one of the second targets on the display by altering its appearance; and

code that directs the computer to receive an input from the one or more input devices to present the next second target in the order of presentation and to present said next second target on the display by altering its appearance.

36. The system of claim 33 wherein the computer program product further comprises:

code that directs the computer to receive an input from the one or more input devices to select a presented target and, in response thereto, to select the target, wherein the selected target is an object, an edge of an object, a stretch handle of an object, a nexus of an object, or a vertex of an object, and wherein the detected command comprises a command to modify the position, size, shape, or other characteristic of an object related to the selected target by moving the selected target; and

code that directs the computer to determine a plurality of allowable locations that the selected target can be moved to without violating a set of design rules and restricting the motion of the input cursor to the plurality of allowable locations.