Incremental VLSI design systems based on circular attribute grammars
It is shown that attribute grammar techniques, used in the field of programming languages, form an efficient basis for the implementation of systems supporting hierarchical and incremental VLSI design. Such systems can interactively compute estimates for the speed and power dissipation of a circuit, check adherence to clocking disciplines, and recompute these quantities at reasonable cost as the designer changes the circuit, uses new modules, subsystems or standard cells. The bidirectional properties of devices and wires and the frequent use of signal feedback as a design technique imply that many properties of circuits are circular. Previous research has dealt almost exclusively with noncircular attribute grammars since this condition easily guarantees the existence and uniqueness of a consistent assignment of attribute values. It is noted that the noncircularity condition for attribute grammars is not a necessary one, it is sufficient that all circular attributes have a least fixed point obtainable with finite (and efficient) computation. Efficient algorithms are presented for exhaustive and incremental evaluation of circular attributes under any conditions that guarantee finite convergence.
- Research Organization:
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6208595
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
DESIGN
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
ALGORITHMS
CONFIGURATION
CONVERGENCE
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
990220* - Computers
Computerized Models
& Computer Programs- (1987-1989)