- Email: [email protected]
Avera expand engineering workstation
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The technical exhibition at the 20th Design Automation Conference was an electronic design engineer's paradise. Although there was only a relatively small number o f exhibitors (about 30 in all) most occupied relatively large stands, allowing for an impressive display o f hardware. On show were packages aimed at particular stages o f the design process, with a strong emphasis on logic verification and simulation, plus a range o f products claiming to integrate the whole design process. Vendors o f these latter systems pointed out the problems caused by bottlenecks if only one stage o f the design process is automated.
Digital Equipment Corporation's stand included machines ranging from the Professional up to the VAXI 1/750 and 780. All this hardware was being used to demonstrate a range o f thirdparty electronic software, from Silvar-Lisco, NCA, CGIS and others. Ca/me were also making a big show, with their P-seriesproject design and drafting system, based on the Eclipse 5280's hardware and GDSII software. (GDSII is the newly-released basis for Calma's CARDS, CHIPS and STICKS software.) Also being demonstrated on Calma's stand was Versatec's VS42C 42 in width colour electrostatic plotter, which has a resolution o f 40 000 dots/in, and a choice of
256 co/our patterns. Much in evidence, though without a stand of its own, was Apollo Computer. Several companies were using their machine as the basis for their engineering workstation. Only one non-US firm was present - Lattice Logic of the UK, demonstrating its silicon compiler. Lattice Logic's software is written in IMP, an Algol4ike language. This trend to use o f languages available from only one supplier was evident elsewhere in the exhibition. It seems that the virtues of e 'standard' language do not win over the lure o f one's own extras. Products from many o f the other exhibitors are described below.
Avera expand enyineeringwork
Tegas, Spice, NCA/DVS and Logcap. Format translators are available for
Cord data system, a relational database system. Cord provides separate project databases for each team. Each user works with copies of the appropriate portion of the database: at the end of a session the local data manager integrates the edited version back into the project database, updating the relational tables as necessary. Cord is written in the Mainsail language. A range of applications programs are available for use with the system, including schematic entry, logic validation and documentation. A typical installation with ten workstations costs around $500 000. (Cadtec Corporation, 2355 Oak/end Road, San Jose, CA 95131, USA. Tel: (408) 942 1535)
I DS (intermediate data structure), Calma's GDSI and II, Applicon APPL/860 and ClF (Caltech Intermediate Form). (A vera Corporation, 200 Technology Circle, Scotts Valley, CA 95966, USA. Tel: (408) 438 1401)
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Avem's 19 in colour workstation On display at the D~,C from Avera was their new 19 in colour workstation. The workstation, model GS-1420, has a resolution of 768 x 1024 pixels. (Avera users were previously limited to only 564 x 832 resolution.) The GS-1420 has eight basic colours with an additional six programmable overlap colours. Like Avera's other systems, it is based on Intel 16-bit processors with extendable graphics software. The GS-1420 costs $57 250. Prices of the existing systems have been cut so that the top of the range costs the same. The workstations use Avera's own IC Designer package, and may be linked to a variety of design analysis and verification programs including
314
On show from Cadtec was their engineering design and project management system, the Series 8000. The system uses the users VAX-11 plus a choice of intelligent workstations or graphics terminals. A major feature of the system software is the
Standard cell works tion On show from Silvar-Lisco was their Apollo-based standard cell workstation, the SL-2340. This turnkey system covers development from logic design and simulation to physical layout. Options include fault simulation and register-level simulation. Timing verification is planned for the future. The SL-2340 is based on Apollo's DN300. The software also runs on DEC VAX, Prime and IBM hardware. The SL-2340 costs less than $1 O0 000. (Silvar-Lisco, 3172 Porter
Drive, Pelo AIto, CA 94304, USA. Tel: 415 856 2525. Twx: 910-3732056)
Standard cell design workstation from Silvar-Lisco
computer-aided design
Dev z
,
,
IIIII
I1[I ill I~] I
CoMer
I Ii1111 ': . . . . . . . .
rmmd-up
The technical exhibition at the 20th Design Automation Conference was an electronic design engineer's paradise. Although there was only a relatively small number o f exhibitors (about 30 in all) most occupied relatively large stands, allowing for an impressive display o f hardware. On show were packages aimed at particular stages o f the design process, with a strong emphasis on logic verification and simulation, plus a range o f products claiming to integrate the whole design process. Vendors o f these latter systems pointed out the problems caused by bottlenecks if only one stage o f the design process is automated.
Digital Equipment Corporation's stand included machines ranging from the Professional up to the VAXI 1/750 and 780. All this hardware was being used to demonstrate a range o f thirdparty electronic software, from Silvar-Lisco, NCA, CGIS and others. Ca/me were also making a big show, with their P-seriesproject design and drafting system, based on the Eclipse 5280's hardware and GDSII software. (GDSII is the newly-released basis for Calma's CARDS, CHIPS and STICKS software.) Also being demonstrated on Calma's stand was Versatec's VS42C 42 in width colour electrostatic plotter, which has a resolution o f 40 000 dots/in, and a choice of
256 co/our patterns. Much in evidence, though without a stand of its own, was Apollo Computer. Several companies were using their machine as the basis for their engineering workstation. Only one non-US firm was present - Lattice Logic of the UK, demonstrating its silicon compiler. Lattice Logic's software is written in IMP, an Algol4ike language. This trend to use o f languages available from only one supplier was evident elsewhere in the exhibition. It seems that the virtues of e 'standard' language do not win over the lure o f one's own extras. Products from many o f the other exhibitors are described below.
Avera expand enyineeringwork
Tegas, Spice, NCA/DVS and Logcap. Format translators are available for
Cord data system, a relational database system. Cord provides separate project databases for each team. Each user works with copies of the appropriate portion of the database: at the end of a session the local data manager integrates the edited version back into the project database, updating the relational tables as necessary. Cord is written in the Mainsail language. A range of applications programs are available for use with the system, including schematic entry, logic validation and documentation. A typical installation with ten workstations costs around $500 000. (Cadtec Corporation, 2355 Oak/end Road, San Jose, CA 95131, USA. Tel: (408) 942 1535)
I DS (intermediate data structure), Calma's GDSI and II, Applicon APPL/860 and ClF (Caltech Intermediate Form). (A vera Corporation, 200 Technology Circle, Scotts Valley, CA 95966, USA. Tel: (408) 438 1401)
Tm
Avem's 19 in colour workstation On display at the D~,C from Avera was their new 19 in colour workstation. The workstation, model GS-1420, has a resolution of 768 x 1024 pixels. (Avera users were previously limited to only 564 x 832 resolution.) The GS-1420 has eight basic colours with an additional six programmable overlap colours. Like Avera's other systems, it is based on Intel 16-bit processors with extendable graphics software. The GS-1420 costs $57 250. Prices of the existing systems have been cut so that the top of the range costs the same. The workstations use Avera's own IC Designer package, and may be linked to a variety of design analysis and verification programs including
314
On show from Cadtec was their engineering design and project management system, the Series 8000. The system uses the users VAX-11 plus a choice of intelligent workstations or graphics terminals. A major feature of the system software is the
Standard cell works tion On show from Silvar-Lisco was their Apollo-based standard cell workstation, the SL-2340. This turnkey system covers development from logic design and simulation to physical layout. Options include fault simulation and register-level simulation. Timing verification is planned for the future. The SL-2340 is based on Apollo's DN300. The software also runs on DEC VAX, Prime and IBM hardware. The SL-2340 costs less than $1 O0 000. (Silvar-Lisco, 3172 Porter
Drive, Pelo AIto, CA 94304, USA. Tel: 415 856 2525. Twx: 910-3732056)
Standard cell design workstation from Silvar-Lisco
computer-aided design