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Newsgroups: comp.lsi,comp.lsi.cad,news.answers,comp.answers
Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!uhog.mit.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!library.ucla.edu!news.ucdavis.edu!altarrib!mingus
From: altarrib@mingus.ece.ucdavis.edu (Michael Altarriba)
Subject: comp.lsi.cad Frequently Asked Questions With Answers (Part 2/4) [LONG]
Message-ID: <lsi-cad-faq/part2_765764461@bird.ece.ucdavis.edu>
Followup-To: comp.lsi.cad
Summary: This is a biweekly posting of frequently asked questions with answers
the for comp.lsi / comp.lsi.cad newsgroups. It should be consulted
before posting questions to comp.lsi or comp.lsi.cad.
Keywords: FAQ
Sender: usenet@ucdavis.edu (News Guru)
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Organization: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UC Davis
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Archive-name: lsi-cad-faq/part2
CIF and Calma layers. The current CIF output style (see cif ostyle) con-
trols how Calma stream layers are generated from Magic layers.
cif [option] [args]
Read or write files in Caltech Intermediate Form (CIF).
16: CFI (CAD Framework Initiative Inc.)
(From Randy Kirchhof <rkk@cfi.org>)
CFI quick FAQ guide for release 1.0, v1.1
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with our work, The CAD Framework
Initiative Inc. was formed in May 1988. We're located in Austin, TX,
although we're a distributed company. We're a not-for-profit consortium
formed under the laws of the state of Delaware. Our mission is to pro-
vide industry-accepted standards and technology that enable interopera-
bility of electronic design automation (EDA) applications and data for
end-users and suppliers world-wide. This includes interoperability
between EDA applications as well as the integration of EDA applications
into CAD frameworks.
A CAD framework is a software infrastructure which provides a common
operating environment for CAD tools. Through a framework, a user should
be able to launch and manage tools, create, organize, and manage data,
graphically view the entire design process and perform design management
tasks such as configuration management, version management, etc. CFI
Release 1.0 started shipping in January 1993.
Q When can users buy CFI compliant tools?
A Eleven vendor companies have announced EDA products and frameworks
which will be available and compliant with CFI 1.0 standards. CFI
has initiated a formal certification program for these (and future
products) as of 12/93. CFI expects to begin awarding the first
certification brand marks in the first quarter of 1994. We expect
to see a rapid expansion of compliant products beginning in the
third quarter of 1994.
Q How can the Standards be obtained? Are there any restrictions?
A The 1.0 Standards, copyrighted by CFI, are available to members
and non-members priced as a set or individually through CFI Member
Services (512) 338-3739. They will also being distributed under
license by Cadence, Mentor Graphics, and Viewlogic as part of
their product documentation. Versions of the 1.0 Standards are
available on diskette in an electronic format as well as bound
manuals.
Q How do the CFI Standards relate to vendor framework programs like
Mentor's Open Door, Viewlogic Power Team and Cadence Connection
Partners - with so many point tool vendors participating, don't
they have this problem solved?
A The major EDA vendors have been and continue to be challenged by
their customers over multi-vendor integration. These programs
were a practical response by opening up their existing interfaces
and providing services to assist integration. CFI 1.0, and future
releases, will create a functional alternative to a growing subset
of those interfaces so that the requirement that point tool ven-
dors create partnership specific versions of their tool will
decrease. Actually, the service provided through these programs
will likely compliment the CFI certification effort as these
supplier's frameworks become fully certified.
Contact: cfi@cfi.org (CFI Member Services, Jean Gallagher) CFI Main number:
(512) 338-3739 Fax: (512) 338-3853
17: What synthesis systems are there?
Thanks to Simon Leung <sleung@sun1.atitech.ca>, Michel Berkelaar
<michel@ele.tue.nl>, Noritake Yonezawa <yonezawa@cs.uiuc.edu>, Donald A
Lobo <lobo@guardian.cs.psu.edu>, Greg Ward <gregw@bnr.ca>, Peter Duzy,
Robert Walker <walkerb@turing.cs.rpi.edu>, Heinrich Kraemer
<kraemer@fzi.de>, Luciano Lavagno <luciano@ic.berkeley.edu>
ADPS
- Case Western Reserve University, USA
- scheduling and data path allocation
- Papachristou, C.A. et al.: "A Linear Program Driven Scheduling and
Allocation Method Followed by an Interconnect Optimization Algorithm",
Proc. of the 27th DAC, pp. 77-83, June 1990.
ALPS/LYRA/ARYL
- Tsing Hua University
- scheduling and data path allocation
- Lee, J-H: et al.: "A New Integer Linear Programming Formulation of
the Scheduling Problem in Data Path Synthesis", Proc. of ICCAD89, pp.
20-23, November 1989.
BDSYN
- University of California, Berkeley, USA
- FSM synthesis from DECSIM language for multilevel combination-logic
realization
- Brayton, R.: "Multiple-level Logic Optimization System", Proc. of IEEE
ICCAD, Santa Clara, Nov. 1986
BECOME
- AT & T Bell Labs, USA
- FSM synthesis from C-like language for PLA, PLD and standard cell realization
- Wei, R-S.: "BECOME: Behavior Level Circuit Synthesis Based on Structure
Mapping", Proc. of 25th ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference, pp. 409-414,
IEEE, 1988
BOLD
- logic optimization
- Bartlett, K. "Synthesis and Optimization of Multilevel Logic Under Timing
Constraints", IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design, Vol 5, No 10,
October 1986
BRIDGE
- AT & T Bell Labs, USA
- High-level synthesis FDL2-language descriptions
- Tseng: "Bridge: A Versatile Behavioral Synthesis System", Proc. of 25th
ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference, pp. 415-420, IEEE, 1988
CADDY
- Karlsruhe University, Germany
- behavioral synthesis using VHDL as the input/output language, based on
data-flow analysis; automated component selection (allocation), scheduling,
and assignment. Different architechture styles are supported, such as
multiplexers vs busses and two-phase vs single phase clocks.
- Camposano, R.: "Synthesing Circuits From Behavioral Descriptions", IEEE
Transactions on Computer-Aided Design, Vol. 8, No. 2, February 1989
Rosenstiel, W., Kraemer, H.: "Scheduling and Assignment in High-Level
Synthesis", in 'High-Level VLSI-Synthesis' R. Camposano, W. Wolf Ed.
Kluwer, 1991
Gutberlet P., Mueller J., Kraemer H., Rosenstiel W.: "Automatic Module
Allocation in High-level Synthesis", Proc. of 1st EURO-DAC, 1992
CALLAS
- Siemens, Germany
- highlevel, algortihmic and logic synthesis (contains CADDY, see
above)
- Koster, M. et al.: "ASIC Design Using the High-Level Synthesis
System CALLAS: A Case Study", Proc. IEEE International Conference on
Computer Design (ICCD '90), pp. 141-146, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Sept. 17-19, 1990
CAMAD
- Linkoping University, Sweden
- scheduling, data path allocation and iteration from a Pascal subset
- Peng, Z.: "CAMAD: A Unified Data Path/ Control Synthesis
Environment", Proc. of the IFIP Working Conference on Design
Methodologies for VLSI and Computer Architecture, pp. 53-67, Sept.
1988.
CARLOS
- Karlsruhe University, Germany
- multilevel logic optimization for CMOS realizations
- Mathony, H-J.: "CARLOS: An Automated Multilevel Logic Design System for
CMOs", IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided
Design, Vol 7, No 3, pp. 346-355, March 1988
CATHEDRAL
- Univ. of Leuve, Phillips and Siemens, Belgium
- synthesis of DSP-circuits from algorithm descriptions
- De Man, H.: "Architecture-Driven Synthesis Techiques for VLSI Implementation
of DSP Algorithms", Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 78, NO. 2, pp. 319,
February 1990
CATREE
- Univ. of Waterloo, Canada
- scheduling and data path allocation
- Gebotys, C.H.: "VLSI Design Synthesis with Testability", Proc. of
the 25th DAC, pp. 16-21, June 1988
CHARM
- AT & T Bell Labs., USA
- data-path synthesis
- Woo, N-S.: "A Global, Dynamic Register Allocation and Binding for a
Data Path Synthesis System", Proc. of the 27th DAC, pp. 505-510, June 1990.
CMU-DA (2)
- Carnagie-Mellon University, USA
- behavioral synthesis from ISPS
- Thomas, D.: "Linking the Behavioral and Structural Domains of Representation
for Digital System Design", IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design, pp.
103-110, Vol. 6, No. 1, January 1987
CONES
- AT & T Bell Labs, USA
- FSM synthesis, produces 2-level logic realizations (truth-table)
- Stroud, C.E.: "CONES: A System for Automated Synthesis of VLSI and
programmable logic from behavioral models", Proc. of IEEE ICCAD, Santa Clara,
Nov. 1986.
DAGAR
- University of Texas, Austin, USA.
- scheduling and data-path allocation
- Raj. V.K.: "DAGAR: An Automatic Pipelined Microarchitecture
Synthesis System", Proc. of ICCD '89, pp. 428-431, October 1989.
DELHI
- IIT
- design iteration, scheduling and data path allocation
- Balakrishnan, M. et al.: "Integrated Scheduling and Binding: A
Synthesis Approach for Design Space Exploration", Proc. of the 26th
DAC, pp. 68-74, June 1989
DESIGN AUTOMATION ASSISTANT (DAA)
- AT & T Bell Labs, USA
- expert system for data path synthesis
- Kowalski, T.J. "The VLSI Desig Automation Assistant: An Architecture
Compiler", Silicon Compilation, pp. 122-152, Addison-Wesley, 1988
ELF
- Carleton University, Canada
- scheduling and data path allocation
- Girczyc, E.F. et al.: "Applicability of a Subset of Ada as an
Algorithmic Hardware Description Language for Graph-Based Hardware
Compilation", IEEE Trans. on CAD, pp. 134-142, April 1985.
EUCLID
- Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands
- logic synthesis
- Berkelaar, Michel R.C.M. and Theeuwen, J.F.M., "Real Area-Powe-Delay
Trade-off in the EUCLID Logic Synthesis System" , proceedings of the Custom
Integrated Circuits Conference 1990, Boston MA USA, pp 14.3.1 ff
EXLOG
- NEC Corporation, Japan
- expert system, synthesizes gate level circuits from FDL descriptions
- M. Watanabe, et al.,: "EXLOG: An Expert System for Logic Synthesis in
Full-Custom VLSI Design", Proc. of 2nd Int. Conf. Application of Artificial
Intelligence, August 1987.
FACE/PISYN
- General Electric, USA
- FACE: high-level synthesis tools and a tool framework, PISYN:
synthesis of pipelined architecture DSP systems (mostly)
- Smith, W.D. et al.: "FACE Core Environment: The Model and it's
Application in CAE/CAD Tool Development", Proc. of the 26th DAC, pp.
466-471, June 1989.
FLAMEL
- Stanford University, USA
- data path and control-logic synthesis from Pascal description
- Trickey, H. "Flamel: A High-Level Hardware Compiler", IEEE Transactions
on Computer-Aided Design, Vol 6, No 2, March 1987.
HAL
- Carleton University, Canada
- data path synthesis
- Paulin, P.: "Force-Directed Scheduling for the Behavioral Synthesis of
ASIC's", IEEE Transaction on Computer-Aided Design, pp. 661,
Vol. 8, No. 6, June 1989.
HARP
- NTT, Japan
- scheduling and data path-allocation from FORTRAN
- Tanaka, T. et al.: "HARP: Fortran to Silicon", IEEE Trans. on CAD,
pp. 649-660, June 1989.
HYPER
- UCB, USA
- synthesis for realtime applications (scheduling, allocation, module
binding, controller design)
- Chu, C-M. et al.: "HYPER: An Interactive Synthesis Environment for
Real Time Applications", Proc. of ICCD '89, pp. 432-435, October 1989
IMBSL/RLEXT
- Univ. of Illinois, USA
- data-path allocation, RTL-level design
- Knapp D.W.: "Manual Rescheduling and Incremental Repair of Register
Level Data Paths", Proc. of ICCAD '89, pp.58-61, November 1989.
LSS (Logic Synthesis System)
- IBM, USA
- logic synthesis and optimization from many RTL-languages
- Darringer, J. et al. "LSS: A System for Production Logic Synthesis",
IBM Journal of Research and Developement, vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 272-280,
Sept 1984.
MAHA
- University of Southern California, USA
- data path synthesis
- Parker, A.C. "MAHA: A Program for Data Path Synthesis", Proc. 23rd ACM/IEEE
Design Automation Conference, pp. 252-258, IEEE 1986.
MIMOLA
- University of Dortmund, Germany
- scheduling, data-path allocation and controller design
- Marwedel, P. "Matching System And Component Behavior in MIMOLA
Synthesis Tools", Proc. of EDAC '90, pp. 146-156, March 1990.
OLYMPUS/HERCULES
- Stanford University, USA
- behavioral synthesis from C-language (HERCULES), logic and physical
synthesis
- De Micheli, G.: "HERCULES - A System for High-Level Synthesis", Proceedings
of the 25th ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference, pp. 483-488, IEEE 1988
SEHWA
- University of Southern California, USA
- pipeline-realizations from behavioral descriptions
- Park, N. "SEWHA: A Program for Synthesis of Pipelines", Proc. 23rd ACM/IEEE
Design Automation Conference, pp. 454-460, IEEE 1986.
SIEMENS' SYNTHESIS SYSTEM
- Siemens, Germany
- partitioning, data path allocation and scheduling
- Scheichenzuber, J. et al.: "Global Hardware Synthesis from
Behavioral Dataflow Descriptions", Proc. of the 27th DAC, pp. 456-461,
June 1990.
SIS (formerly MIS (II/MV))
- University of California, Berkeley, USA
- synthesis and verification system for sequential logic
- E. M. Sentovich, K. J. Singh, L. Lavagno, C. Moon, R. Murgai,
A. Saldanha, H. Savoj, P. R. Stephan, R. K. Brayton,
A. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli: "SIS: A System for Sequential Circuit
Synthesis", Tech report UCB/ERL M92/41, University of California,
Berkeley, CA, May 1992
SOCRATES
- General Electric, University of Colorado, USA
- expert system
- logic optimization and mapping for different technologies
- de Geus, A.J., "The Socrates Logic Synthesis and Optimization System",
Design Systems for VLSI Circuits, pp. 473-498, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers,
1987.
SPAID
- Universty of Waterloo, Canada
- DSP-synthesis for silicon compiler realizations
- Haroun, B.: "Architectural Synthesis for DSP Silicon Compilers", IEEE
Transactions on Computer-Aided Design, pp. 431-447, Vol. 8, No 4, April 1989.
SYNFUL
- Bell-Northern Research, Canada
- RTL and FSM synthesis for a production environment
- G. Ward, "Logic Synthesis at BNR: A SYNFUL Story", Proceedings
Canadian Conference on Very Large Scale Integration, October 1990.
SYSTEM ARCHITECT'S WORKBENCH
- Carnagie-Mellon University, USA
- behavioral synthesis
- Thomas, D. "The System Architect's Workbench", Proceedings of the 25th
ACM/IEEE Design Automation Conference, pp. 337-343, IEEE 1988
UCB'S SYNTHESIS SYSTEM
- UCB, USA
- transformations, scheduling and data path allocation
- Devadas, S.: "Algorithms for Hardware Allocation in Data Path
Synthesis", IEEE Trans. on CAD, pp. 768-781, July 89
SPLICER
- University of Illinois, USA
- scheduling and data-path allocation
- Pangrle, B.M.: "Splicer: A Heuristic Approach to Connectivity
Binding", Proc. of the 25th DAC, pp. 536-541, June 1988.
V COMPILER
- IBM, USA
- scheduling and data path allocation from V-language
- Berstis, V: "The V Compiler: Automatic Hardware Design", IEEE Design
and Test, pp. 8-17, April 1989.
VSS
- Univ. of California at Irvine, USA
- transformations, scheduling and data path allocation from VHDL to
MILO
- Lis, J. et al.: "Synthesis from VHDL", Proc. ICCD'88, pp. 378-381,
October 1988.
YORKTOWN SILICON COMPILER
- IBM T.J.Watson Research Centre, USA
- data path synthesis, logic synthesis etc.
- Brayton, R.K., et al. "The Yorktown Silicon Compiler", Silicon Compilation,
pp. 204-311, Addison-Wesley, 1988
18: What free tools are there available, and what can they do?
(This section can be viewed as a cross reference to the detailed descrip-
tion of software that follows.)
Analog VLSI and Neural Systems: Caltech VLSI CAD Tools
Automated place and route: octtools, Lager
Digital design environment: Galaxy CAD
Lsi (polygon) schematic capture: magic, octtools(vem)
Layout Verification: caltech tools (netcmp), gemini (Washington
Univerity), wellchk (MUG)
PCB auto/manual place and route: PADS pcb, PCB (Just for testing lsi
designs, of course :)
Simulation: irsim(comes with magic), esim, pspice, isplice3, watand,
switcap2.Synthesis: octtools, blis, Lager, item, (see section on synthesis)
Standard schematic capture: PADS logic, PSPICE for windows
19: What Berkeley Tools are available for anonymous ftp?
available from ic.berkeley.edu:pub
adore: switched capacitor layout generator. (Requires Octtools 5.1 to
compile.)
bdd:
road: analog layout router
sis: simplifies both sum-of-products and generic multi-level boolean
expressions; it includes many tools including espresso, bdd
ext2spice: enhanced ext2spice for use with magic
available from gatekeeper.dec.com:pub/misc
espresso: simplifies sum-of-products boolean expressions
20: What Berkeley Tools are available through ILP?
(From MUG 20 Contributed by Carol Block of U. C. Berkeley)
A new version of the popular circuit simulator, Spice3F2, is now avail-
able from the Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) Office at the University
of California, Berkeley. A new release of Octtools will be forthcoming
in 1993. Enclosed is a list of software distributed by this office.
Adore, BBL.2, Berkeley Building-Block Layout System, Berkeley Computer
Integrated Manufacturing System, Parameter Extraction Program for BSIM,
Parameter Extraction for BSIM2, Bear-FP, Bert, BLIS, Spice 2G with BSIM
Implementation, Cider, Ditroff/Gremlin, Ecstasy, EDIF 2 0 0, Elogic,
ES1:Electrostatis 1-Dimensional Periodic Plasma, Franz Lisp, Glitter,
IBC: Traveling-Wave-Tube Simulation, IEEE-754 Test Vector, Jsim, Jspice,
Lanso, Magic-X11R3-Patch, Magic 1990 Decwrl/Livermore Release, Mahjong,
Mighty, Octtools, Parmex Pix-Parmex, Plasma Device Simulation Codes, PLA
Tools, Proteus, Ptolemy, Relax, Ritual, Sample, Sample-3D, Additional
SAMPLE Documentation, Simpl-IPX and Simpl System 5, SIS, SPAM, Sparse,
Spectre, Spice 2G6, Spice 3F2, Additional SPICE Documentation, Splat,
Splice 3.0, Supercrystal, SWEC, Tempest, TimberWolf 3.2, Tsize, 1986 VLSI
Tools, Wombat.
Within a few weeks, a new catalog will be available via anonymous FTP.
Users will also be able to obtain forms, ordering instruc- tions and some
software via this means. Generally, recipients will have to com-
plete an Agreement Form and pay a documentation and handling fee of about
$250 per program.
ILP can now distribute most of its programs in a variety of media,
including: QIC-120, QIC-150, QIC-320, 8mm (2.2 gig), TK 50 (DEC tape for-
mat), 9-track 1600 bpi and 9-track 6250 bpi. Visa and Mastercard ord-
ers will be accepted on-line by 1993. Most of the software may be freely
redistributed either within an organi- zation or to other organiza-
tions, both within the United States and abroad, subject to the certain
restrictions, including all U.S. Government restrictions, particu-
larly those concerning ex- port.
(from blurb+ftp, in the ILP distribution)
If you have access to ftp, then the tape is free (you just get to suck it
over by yourself) and you have to remember to print out the docs yourself
too. The usual anonymous ftp rules:
Name: ic.Berkeley.EDU:edif
Address: 128.32.132.1
|-EDIFWorld89.ps
|-Release_7.6-notes-reversed.ps
|-Release_7.6-notes.ps
|-Release_7.6.tar.Z
edif-|-agreement-reversed.ps
|-agreement.ps
|-agreement.tex
|-assurance-reversed.ps
|-assurance.ps
|-assurance.tex
|-blurb
|-blurb+ftp
Other Ports
-------------------------------------------------------------------- I
I have a port of the system for SysV, Apollo and HP machines as well
which is available on request. Most of these operating systems are
mature enough now to work directly with Release 7.6. The system has been
ported to other non-Unix machines such as VMS, the mac, and various main-
frame architectures; these latter being a nontrivial effort on the part
of the individuals involved, but it was accomplished. I do not have
these ports; I just know that they are possible because they have been
performed by others.
For additional information, contact:
Industrial Liaison Program
205 Cory Hall
Software Distribution Office
University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
TEL: (510) 643-6687
FAX: (510) 643-6694
ilpsoftware@hera.berkeley.edu
21: Berkeley Spice (Current version 3f4)
(From spice_info on ic.berkeley.edu)
Upgrading from Spice 3f2 to 3f4
The current version is 3f4. This is derived from version 3f2 by applying
a patch. The patch is available via ftp from ic.berkeley.edu.
Acquiring Spice 3f2
For more information on how to acquire Spice3f2, please send your physi-
cal mailing address to "ilpsoftware@berkeley.edu" and request a software
catalog. This will give you all of the necessary information for order-
ing Spice3f2 and other Berkeley CAD software, including an order form and
use agreements. At last check, the cost for spice3f2 was $250.00 (this
price may change without notice).
Systems supported and Formats Supplied
Spice3f2 has been compiled on the following systems:
Ultrix 4, RISC or VAX
SunOS 4, Sun3 or Sun4
AIX V3, RS/6000
HP-UX 8.0, 9000/700
MS-DOS on the IBM PC, using MicroSoft C 5.1 or later
The following systems have been successfully tested either in the past or
by someone outside of UC Berkeley.
Dynix 3.0, Sequent Symmetry or Balance (does _not_ take advantage of
parallelism)
HP-UX 7.0, 9000/300
Irix 3.2, SGI Personal Iris
NeXT 2.0
Apple MacIntosh, Using Think C
Spice3f2 is distributed in source form only. The C compiler "gcc" has
been used successfully to compile spice3f2, as well as the standard com-
pilers for the systems listed above.
Spice3 displays graphs under X11, PostScript, or a graphics-terminal
independent library, or as a crude, spice2-like line-printer plot. On
the IBM PC, CGA, EGA, and VGA displays are supported through the Micro-
Soft graphics library. Note in particular that there is no Suntools
interface.
Note the the X11 interface to Spice3 expects realease 4 or later, and
requires the "Athena Widgets Toolkit" ("Xaw") which may be available only
in the "unsupported" portion of your vendor software. A version of
"OpenWindows" has problems due to undefined routines during linking --
linking with a null copy of these routines has reportedly worked, but
"OpenWindows" has not been tested in any way for this release.
Note that for practical performance a math co-processor is required for
an IBM PC based on the 286 processor. A math co-processor is also recom-
mended for the more advanced IBM PC systems.
(from posting to comp.lsi.cad) The Windows NT port of spice3e2, Spice32,
is available via ftp from site
ftp.cica.indiana.edu:pub/pc/win3/nt/spice100.zip . A similar port of nut-
meg is included.
(from Robert Zeff <robert@koko.csustan.edu>)
Ir Spice32 / Nutmeg32 for Windows NT and
Win3.1 to Berkeley's version 3F4. It is available by ftp from
csustan.csustan.edu:pub/spice/nutmeg.hlp . I have removed the execut-
ables for DOD complience. For access, see the readme file in that direc-
tory.
The Unix distribution comes on 1/2" 9-track tape in "tar" format, TK50
tape (DEC tape), or QIC-150 1/4" cartridge tape (Sun cartridge tape).
The MS-DOS distribution comes on several 3.5" floppy diskettes (both high
and low density) in the standard MS-DOS format. The contents of both
distributions are identical, including file names.
New features in 3f2
The following is a list of new features and fixes from the previous major
release of Spice3 (3e.2) (see the user's manual for details):
AC and DC Sensitivity.
MOS3 discontinuity fix ("kappa").
Added a new JFET fitting parameter.
Minor initial conditions fix.
Rewritten or fixed "show" and "trace" commands.
New interactive commands "showmod" and "alter".
Minor bug-fixes to the Pole-Zero analysis.
Miscellaneous bug fixes in the front end.
Additional features since release 3d.2 are:
Lossy transmission line model (not available under MS-DOS).
Proper calculation of sheet resistance in MOS models.
A new command ("where") to aid in debugging troublesome
circuits.
Smith-chart plots improved.
Arbitrary sources in subcircuits handled correctly.
Arbitrary source reciprocal calculations and DC biasing
now done correctly.
Minor bug-fixes to the Pole-Zero analysis.
Miscellaneous bug fixes in the front end.
A Note on Version Numbering
Spice versions are numbered "NXM", where "N" is a number representing the
major release (as in re-write), "X" is a letter representing a feature
change reflected by a change in the documentation, and "M" is a number
indicating a minor revision or bug-patch number.
FTP Access and Upgrades
There is no anonymous ftp access for the Spice3 source(see below). The
manual for spice3f2 (in it's postscript format) is available via
anonymous ftp from ic.berkeley.edu:pub/spice3/um.3f.ps . If you are
interested in the troff/me source, contact the email address below (the
"make" files and whatnot are somewhat cumbersome for the manual).
Patches or upgrades for Spice3 are _not_ normally supplied, however we
have made exceptions to this rule, particularly in the case of minor ver-
sion changes (such as 3f2 to 3f3).
Email Address for Problems
Please direct technical inquiries to "spice@berkeley.edu" or "spice-
bugs@berkeley.edu" (for now these addresses are the same), and ordering
or redistribution queries to "ilpsoftware@berkeley.edu". If you find
that your email to "spice" or "spice-bugs" doesn't get a response in a
few days, resend your message.
(from Jim Nance <jlnance@eos.ncsu.edu>)
Hello all circuits people. I have uploaded source and binaries for Spice
2g6 to sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/Incoming/spice2g6.tar.z . As you are
probably aware, spice is a circuit simulator, written at Berkeley. Ver-
sion 2g6 was released in 1983. The current Berkeley version is approxi-
matly Spice 3f2, however, Berkeley does not want this distributed.
Source code for Spice 3e2 did escape from Berkeley and was ported to
Linux (and a lot of other platforms). This code has been removed from
anonymous FTP servers, and is therefore no longer available. Berkeley
does publish the source code for Spice 2g6.
I obtained the source code for Spice from a 386BSD ftp site. The code
compiled cleanly, with only minor changes to the Makefile being required.
I also included an ASCII spice manual which I have found helpful.
22: Octtools (Current version 5.1)
(From the ANNOUNCE-5.1 that comes with it)
Octtools is a collection of programs and libraries that form an
integrated system for IC design. The system includes tools for PLA and
multiple-level logic synthesis, state assignment, standard-cell, gate-
matrix and macro-cell placement and routing, custom-cell design, circuit,
switch and logic-level simulation, and a variety of utility programs for
manipulating schematic, symbolic, and geometric design data. Most tools
are integrated with the Oct data manager and the VEM user interface.
The software requires UNIX, the window system X11R4 including the Athena
Widget Set. The design manager VOV and a few other tools require the C++
compiler g++.
Octtools-5.1 have been built and tested on the following combinations of
machines and operating systems: DECstation 3100, 5000 running Ultrix 4.1
and 4.2; DEC VAX running Ultrix 4.1 and 4.2; Sun 3 and 4 running OS 4.0
and Sun SparcStation running OS 4.0. The program has been tried on the
following machines, but is not supported: Sequent Symmetry, IBM RS/6000
running AIX 3.1.
To obtain a copy of Octtools 5.1 (8mm, tk50, or 1/4inch cartridge QIC150)
and a printed copy of the documentation) for a $250 distribution charge,
see section on Berkeley ILP.
Questions may be directed to octtools@ic.berkeley.edu.
23: Ptolemy (Current version 0.5):
(From comp.lsi.cad)
What is Ptolemy:
---------------
Ptolemy provides a highly flexible foundation for the specification,
simulation, and rapid prototyping of systems. It is an object oriented
framework within which diverse models of computation can co-exist and
interact. For example, using Ptolemy a data-flow system can be easily
connected to a hardware simulator which in turn may be connected to a
discrete-event system, etc. Because of this, Ptolemy can be used to
model entire systems.
Ptolemy also has code generation capabilities. From a flow graph
description, Ptolemy can generate C code and DSP assembly code for rapid
prototyping. Ptolemy can also generate Silage and VHDL descriptions for
hardware synthesis.
Ptolemy has been used for a broad range of applications including signal
processing, telecomunications, parallel processing, wireless communica-
tions, network design, radio astronomy, real time systems, and
hardware/software co-design. Ptolemy has also been used as a lab for
signal processing and communications courses. Currently Ptolemy has hun-
dreds of users in over 100 sites, both in industry and academia.
Ptolemy is available for the Sun 4 (sparc), DecStation (MIPS), and HP
(HP-PA) architectures. Installing the system requires 90 Mbytes for
Ptolemy (more if you optionally remake). Ptolemy also requires at least
8 Mbytes of physical memory.
Getting the New Release:
-----------------------
Ptolemy is available via anonymous ftp at: ptolemy.eecs.berkeley.edu This
site contains the entire Ptolemy distribution, a postscript version of
the Ptolemy manual, and several Ptolemy papers.
For those unfamiliar with anonymous ftp, here's what you need to do:
1. FTP to Internet host "ptolemy.eecs.berkeley.edu" (128.32.240.78)
2. Login as "anonymous"; use your full email address as the password
3. cd pub
4. get the README file and follow its instructions.
Organizations without Internet FTP capability can obtain Ptolemy
without support from ILP:
EECS/ERL Industrial Liaison Program Office
Software Distribution
205 Cory Hall
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
(510) 643-6687
email: ilpsoftware@eecs.berkeley.edu
This includes printed documentation, including installation instructions,
a user's guide, and manual pages. A handling fee (on the order of $250)
will be charged.
24: Lager (Current version 4.0):
(From MUG 18)
rized VLSI
design with a slant towards DSP applications (but not limited to DSP
applications). A standard cell library, datapath library, several module
generators and several pad libraries comprise the cell library. These
tools and libraries have originated from UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Missis-
sippi State, and ITD. The tool development has been funded by DARPA
under the Rapid Prototyping Contract headed by Bob Brodersen (UC Berke-
ley). LAGER 3.0 was described in MUG 15.
Send email to reese@erc.msstate.edu if you are interested in obtaining
the toolset via FTP. If you cannot get the distribution via ftp then send
one 1/4" 600 ft. tape OR an 8 mm tape (Exabyte compatible) to Bob Reese
by phone at (601)-325-3670 or at one of the following addresses:
(US Mail Address)
P.O. Box 6176
Mississippi State, MS 39762
(FEDEX)
2 Research Boulevard
Starkville, MS 39759
Be sure to include a return FEDEX waybill we can use to ship your tape
back to you. Instead of sending a tape and FEDX waybill, you can also
just send us a check for $75 and we will send you back a tape. Make the
check payable to Mississippi State Univ. The tape will be written on a
high density tape drive (150 Mb). Older low density SUN tape drives (60
Mb) cannot read this format so you need to have access to one of SUN's
newer tape drives.
25: BLIS (Current version 2.0):
(From their announcement posted here)
BLIS (Behavior-to-Logic Interactive Synthesis) is an environment for the
synthesis of digital circuits from high-level descriptions. Version 2.0
supports functional-level synthesis starting from the ELLA hardware
description language. Other languages can easily be supported by inter-
facing a parser to the internal data-flow representation of BLIS.
BLIS is distributed through the Industrial Liason's Program (ILP) Office
of the UCB EECS department. The cost of $250 covers media and distribu-
tion charges. Binaries are provided for SUN4 and DEC MIPS architectures
but BLIS should compile on most other machines supported by the GNU C and
C++ compilers (e.g. HP, vax, etc). ELLA language documentation and simu-
lator are not supplied with the BLIS distribution, but can be obtained
from Computer General.
26: COSMOS and BDD
(From their announcement posted here)
Obtaining and installing COSMOS and BDD.
The COSMOS package generates switch-level simulators for MOS circuits.
The BDD package is a subset of COSMOS providing a set of library routines
for symbolic Boolean manipulation.
To obtain a copy of either COSMOS or BDD via FTP:
1. Create an appropriate subdirectory. For COSMOS, you may want to