[Xcircuit-dev] Cadence DFII to XCircuit translator

[R. Timothy Edwards]

Dear Svenn,

>> Here are the steps for the translation:
>>
>> 1. dump the DFII schematic using dbWriteSkill
>> 2. read this schematic in a Skill/TCL program and emit XCircuit TCL
>> 3. Load this XCircuit TCL script into XCircuit.
>>
> I think it is the best way currently as the other possible ways, via EDIF or 
> translate skill to xcircuit postscript is more work.
> 
> I have not seen EDIF used seriously for any reason during my work. I know it 
> exists and that most EDA vendors have different opinion on what EDIF does. 
> You need a license on EDIF import into Cadence, I think

You don't need a specific license to export EDIF from Cadence, but then
both methods described are methods for getting a schematic from Cadence
into XCircuit.  If you can read DFII back into Cadence without an extra
license, then I would consider that a big factor in favor of Satya's
method.  For use at MultiGiG, I'd prefer to have the XCircuit-to-Cadence
method, since I prefer to draw the circuits in XCircuit, but we're in
the business of selling IP to customers, who for the most part want to
have everything in the Cadence database (or "the Borg", as my colleage
Conrad calls it).

EDIF isn't "used seriously", as you say, but a surprising number of tools
will read and write the format, making it a reasonably good choice for
porting schematics.  It's a LISP derivative, though, like SCHEME and
Skill, and is therefore an awful mess to work with.  Fortunately, format
translation is something you can do once and then forget about it.

					Regards,
					Tim

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| Dr. R. Timothy Edwards (Tim)   | email: tim.edwards at multigig.com     |
| MultiGiG, Inc.                 | web:   http://www.multigig.com      |
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