XML meta data to CDF

Hi All,

I have a big library (XML based data) and want to create
basic symbols for schematic entry out of it.

My target is cadence CDF.

1) Where can I get CDF spec ?

2) Is there any approach known yet ?

Thanks for your feedback

Rolf

 

Hi,

CDF is the _c_omponent _d_escription _f_ormat
and it is a database which holds parameters for your
components.
See 'Component Description Format User Guide' of
cdsdoc the Cadence documentation.

Symbols can be generated form text via the
_t_ext to _s_ymbol _g_enerator TSG.
See 'Virtuoso Schematic Editor User Guide,
Appendix B Text-to-Symbol Generator'.

Hope this references will help you.

Bernd

 

Bernd,

thank you very much for the quick reply. Your hint is of big help
already.

In consequence, would it mean that there is also a way to create a
complete netlist which holds all the instanciated symbols and the wires
?
I could imagine that I craete a kind of initial netlist out of my xml
too.

Thanks a lot

Rolf

 

Rolf,

I can imagine two approaches how to get a netlist
out of XML and into Cadence DFII.
Unfoutunatly I don't know XML good enough.

1. Convert you XML to a text based netlist
in CDL format, it's Spice like .
Then read in CDL into DFII.
This could be done with the GUI or also in a
batch process.
2. Use SKILL to generate your Schematics.
With SKILL you can read in text files and postprocess
them e.g to draw Schematics.

For both approches you nedd to have a Symbol library
with CDF for you components first.

So the flow has to look like
- Create Symbols + CDF out of XML
- Create Netlis/Schematic out of XML


Bernd

 

I did some work on generating schematics from spice netlist at my
previous company. In order to get a feeling for how you can do things,
check out the cdfDump() and the dbWriteSkill() functions.

The fist one will write out the CDF of a cell you choose to file and the
second one will convert a schematic view into SKILL code needed to
restore that cellview. You will see that there is quite a lot of
bookkeeping do do when you want to create a schematic via SKILL, but it
is manageable. I needed a couple of days to have a working script, but I
don't have access to it any longer.

I would guess that you would write your converter in some scripting
language with a module for XML like perl, tcl or python. I used Tcl
because I could use the tcllib struct to do most of the bookkeeping.