Incremental VLSI design systems based on circular attribute grammars

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6208595

Jones, L G

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
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990220* -- Computers
Computerized Models
& Computer Programs-- (1987-1989)
ALGORITHMS
CONFIGURATION
CONVERGENCE
DESIGN
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES