INVENT TI VE

Database Access in EDI with ith dbG dbGet t

Problem Statement
Robust and easy y to use db access mechanisms p play ya huge role in defining how productive users of design systems can be Historically, Hi t i ll E Encounters t db access h has b been powerful f l and fast, but a bit cryptic and difficult to learn In 7.1, , a new db access mechanism was introduced which minimizes the need to peruse the 2000+ FE-TCL commands and condenses them into 2 commands: dbGet and dbSet

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dbGet: Goals
Make it easy for a new user to explore a design interactively
Make it a self-documenting API
query which fields are available from any object query fields for short description and legal enumerated values

Query all field values of an object at one time Present P t the th data d t in i user units it by b d default f lt (or ( optionally ti ll i in db units) it )

Make it easy to script common operations

common starting points built-in (top, head, selected) general pattern matching for every field object pointer direct from pattern match unique objects from list with repeated objects

Approach Use a methodology similar to what is available to DFII-SKILL with the ~> operator Enhance it with some new options not found in SKILL
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Two main commands ( l (along with ith some helpers) h l )

dbGet dbSet Related Commands:
setDbGetMode/getDbGetMode dbSchema db a s o dbTransform dbQuery dbShape (available in 10.1)

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Getting Started with dbGet

What is this thing I have selected? Select an instance graphically and then: Get a pointer to the selected object(s): encounter 4> dbGet selected 0x2a9ef88578 Get a list of the attributes for that object: encounter t 5> 5 dbGet dbG t selected.? l t d? inst: box cell instTerms isDontTouch isHaloBlock isJtagElem isPhysOnly isSpareGate name objType orient pHaloBot pHaloBox pHaloLeft pHaloRight pHaloTop pStatus pgCellTerms pgTermNets pt rHaloBotLayer rHaloSideSize rHaloTopLayer Get a list of the values of each attribute: encounter 6> dbGet selected.?? box: {416.46 889.84 434.28 894.88} cell: 0x2a9e734280 instTerms: 0x2a9ef8a4f0 0x2a9ef8a550 0x2a9ef8a5b0 0x2a9ef8a610 0x2a9ef8a670 0x2a9ef8a6d0 0x2a9ef8a730 isDontTouch: 0 isHaloBlock: 0 <etc>

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dbGet Examples:

dbGet uses . as a separator p for obj/attr j traversal

Similar to DFII ~>

dbget top.insts.cell.name AND2 OR2 INV1 AND2

top is a cell pointer for the top cell insts is the list of inst pointers in top cell is the master cell pointers for each inst name is the master cell name

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dbGet Examples: p

.?h

Similar to .? but includes type, legal enum values, and a short description For obj or objList includes objType Note, , objType j yp field itself is suppressed pp as too long, g, with comment how to see it Alphabetical

encounter 1> dbGet top.insts.?h ================================ inst: Instance - canonical (flat), equivalent to DEF COMPONENT. Points to a libCell or ptnCell. p -------------------------------box: rect, Bounding box of the instance pt(settable): pt, Location of the instance instTerms: objList(instTerm), List of pointers to instance terminals orient(settable): enum(MX MX90 MY MY90 R0 R180 R270 R90), Instance placement orientation pStatus(settable): enum(cover fixed placed unplaced), Instance placement status

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dbGet Examples: Pattern Matching

Can be used to match field names or values Simple wildcard matching used by default (*, ?)
use regexp option for regular expression matching

Value matching
encounter 1> dbGet top.nets.name *clk* a_clk1 clk2 clk3 clk[1] clk_2 encounter 2> dbGet top.nets.name *clk? a clk1 clk2 clk3 a_clk1

Field name matching (for .? .?? .?h) also useful to get just one field
encounter 1> dbGet top.insts.?h pstat* pStatus(settable): enum(cover fixed placed unplaced), Instance placement status

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dbGet Examples: p p with Pattern Matching

The p p option p returns the p pointer of the object j rather than the field value, so pointers of objects that match a field value can be returned The Th p2 2 option ti goes b back k2l levels l of f objects, bj t -p3 3 goes back 3 levels, etc.
encounter 1> dbGet top top.nets.name nets name *clk* a_clk1 clk2 clk3 # all nets matching *clk* encounter 2> dbGet p top.nets.name *clk* 0x111111 0x222222 # ptrs to nets matching *clk* encounter 3> dbGet [dbGet -p top.insts.cell.name INVX1].name INVX1 INVX1 INVX1 # all INVX1 cells in design encounter 4> dbGet [dbGet p2 top.insts.cell.name INVX1].name i1/i2 i1/i3 i4/i5/i6 # all inst names of INVX1 in design

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dbGet Examples: Expressions

dbGet [<expression>] [ p ] Specifies a Tcl expression where values of attributes or objects can be accessed and utilized in Tcl "expr" style comparisons Example: Find all the high fanout nets that arent clocks
encounter 1> dbGet -p top.nets.numInputTerms 20 0x2aaab371adc8 0x2aaab371afc0 encounter 2> dbGet top.nets {.numInputTerms >= 20} 0x2aaab45257e8 0x2aaab4525890 0x2aaab4526460 encounter 3> dbGet top.nets {.numInputTerms >= 20 && .isClock == 0} 0x2aaab45257e8 0x2aaab4525890 0x2aaab4526460

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dbGet Examples: Using u u to Filter Lists

For some items, , like cell names, , the returned list may y have the same entry multiple times
encounter 1> dbGet top.insts.cell.name INV AND2 INV OR2 INV

If the user only wanted the unique list of different cells they can use u
encounter 2> dbGet -u top.insts.cell.name INV AND2 OR2 encounter 3> dbGet u top.insts.cell 0x1111 0x2222 #one ptr to each cell used in design

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dbGet Tcl Syntax

Usage: dbGet [-d] [-p#] [-u] [-regexp] <obj|obj obj|obj_list|head|top|selected list|head|top|selected>.[obj .[obj_type][{.attr_name|.?|.??|.?h} type][{.attr name|.?|.??|.?h} [pattern]]
p | -p1 | -p2 | -p3 levels for back traversal of objects (p or p1 = 1 level, p2 = 2 levels, etc.) u removes duplicate objects so that the resulting list has unique entries -d return dbu units rather than user units (by default coords are floats in um rather than ints) -regexp regexp use regexp pattern matching rather than default Tcl glob matching objList list of 1 or more object pointers (can be a homogeneous or heterogeneous list) head used for technology info [dbgHead] top used for current top cell, [dbHeadTopCell] selected list of objects in the selected set .objName object or object list field name .attrName attribute field name .? return list of available objects/fields available from the last object in the chain .?? return list of available objects/fields and their values from the last object in the chain .?h ?h return short help when available including list of enum choices pattern string expression to compare against attribute values (objName/attrName for .?, .??, .?h)

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Smart Tab Completion

encounter 1> dbGet top.<tab> <returns all valid objects associated with top> encounter 2> dbGet top.i<tab> <returns objects for top that start with i, and a trailing .> dbGet top.insts. encounter 3> selectInst i1 encounter 4> selectNet net1 encounter 5> dbGet selected.<tab> <returns valid objects depending on selected set> encounter 6> 6 dbGet top.insts.cell.na top.insts.cell.na<tab> tab <returns unique completion and trailling space since theres no objects to traverse to beyond name> dbGet top.insts.cell.name p
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dbGet General Usage

dbGet is case insensitive
dbGet, dbget are both accepted dbget top top.fPlan, fPlan dbget TOP TOP.FPlan, FPlan etc etc.

Empty fields return 0x0 Illegal field name gives Error msg but still return 0x0, so list of mixed j still ok objects 0x0 in objList is silently allowed, so list of mixed objects is still ok
and instTerm

>dbGet $n.allTerms.name #$n is clk net attached to term clk i1/i2/clkIn #combo of terms and instTerms >set i [dbGet $n.allTerms.inst] $n allTerms inst] ERROR: "inst" - Invalid obj/attribute for term 0x0 0x111111 #term has no inst field, so 0x0 >dbGet $i.name 0x0 i1/i2x #no error msg from 0x0.name >dbGet $i.name i1* i1/i2x >dbGet $i.name *x* #0x0 is not a name, so *x* does i1/i2x >dbGet $i.name 0* #no name was matched at all, so 0x0

returned

NOT match 0x0 empty list of 0x0 returned

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dbGet Examples: Command Chaining

The following g examples p are the same:
>set pgnets [dbGet -p top.nets.isPwrOrGnd 1] 0x111111 0x222222 >dbGet $pgnets.name pg VDD VSS >dbGet [ [dbGet -p p top.nets.isPwrOrGnd p 1].name ] VDD VSS

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Changes from previous FE DB access

By default, all distance values in um rather than dbu (use d for dbu) A few object names have been changed to align better with Virtuoso and OpenAccess terminology. For example:
term in dbGet is FTerm in the FEDB (dbForEachCellFTerm) instTerm in dbGet is Term in the FEDB (dbForEachInstTerm)

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Compatibility with FE DB Access

dbGet pointers can be used by equivalent FE-TCL DB access functions FE-TCL DB pointers can be used by equivalent dbget object
although dbGet does not support all FE DB objects >set a [dbget p top.insts.name i1/i2] 0x222222 >dbI tC llN >dbInstCellName $ $a i1/i2 >set b [dbGetInstByName i1/i2] 0 222222 0x222222 >dbget $b.name i1/i2

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Compatibility with FE DB Access

rect objType is a list with 4 values like {100.1 0.0 100.3 0.2} use d for dbu values use Tcl join if you need to flatten the list {1 2 3 4} to 1 2 3 4

> dbGet top.fplan.pblkgs.shapes.rect #returns list of lists {100.1 0 100.3 0.2} {200.0 100.0 220.0 110.0} >dbGet d top.fplan.pblkgs.shapes.rect {100100 0 100300 200} {200000 100000 220000 110000} >set b [lindex [dbGet top.fplan.pblkgs.shapes] 0] 0x222222 >set c [dbGet d $b.rect] #still a list of lists {100100 0 100300 200} >join $c #flatten the list 100100 0 100300 200

pt and ptList objTypes are similar, with ptList a list of lists of lists

pt: {100.1 100.2} ptList: {{100.1 100.2} {100.1 100.4} }

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setDbGetMode Tcl Syntax

setDbGetMode [ [-displayLimit p y value] ][ [-displayFormat p y (simple | table)]
The displayLimit controls the .?? output for both the number of objects processed and for the length of objLists returned
As .?? is for interactive use, the goal is to not have thousands of lines output that would not be useful Default: e au t 10 0

The displayFormat controls the .?h and .?? style outputs

Some users like a more tabular style Similar to some timing reports

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dbSet
dbSet allows editing of appropriate attribute fields, but not t pointers i t Does not support creation or deletion of objects Currently very limited: only a few attributes supported
placement status, halo values, gap values dbget .?h descriptions show (settable) for attributes that can be changed using sing dbSet

Syntax: dbset objList{.objName}*.attrName attrValue

>dbSet top.insts.pStatus placed >dbSet [dbGet p top.insts.name *clk*].pStatus fixed

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dbSchema
dbSchema provides a way to find the attributes available for an object type when you dont don t have the pointer already dbSchema allows filtering to simplify output and look for objects with a common attribute
Syntax: dbSchema [-help] [objNamePattern [objAttrNamePattern]] Example: Find out which objects contain object or attributes that match the *ptn* pattern.
encounter> dbSchema * *ptn* =================================================== hInst: Hierarchical instance (derived from netlist) =================================================== ptn: obj(ptn), Pointer to the partition =============================== head: Root/Head of the database =============================== ptns: objList(ptn), p j p List of p pointers to p partitions in the design g

The hInst and head objects matched the query

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dbTransform for Translating Global/Local C Coordinates di t

Usage: dbTransform [-help] [-d] {-inst <instPtr> | {-cell <cellPtr> -orient} <orientEnum> -pt {x y}}} {-localPt <list> | -globalPt <list>} # Prints out the command usage # User specified values and return values are in database # units: default is um (bool, optional) -inst <instPtr> # instance object (db object, required) -cell <cellPtr> # cell object (db object, optional) -orient {R0|R90|R180|R270|MX|MX90|MY|MY90} # orientation # (enum, optional) p {x y y} # location (point, p optional) p -pt -localPt <list> # a pt {x y}, rect {xl yl xu yu} or list of pts and/or # rects {{x1 y1} {x2 y2} {xl yl xu yu} ...} inside cell # (string, required) -globalPt <list> # a pt {x y}, rect {xl yl xu yu} or list of pts and/or # rects {{ {{x1 y y1} } { {x2 y y2} } { {xl y yl xu y yu} } ...} } inside design g # (string, required) -help -d

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dbShape for Geometric Operations

Usage: dbShape [-help] [-d] [-step <step>] [-output <polygon|rect>] <shapeList> [AND <shapeList> | ANDNOT <shapeList> | OR <shapeList> | XOR <shapeList> | SIZE <value>| BBOX | MOVE {<dx> <dy>}] ... -help -d # Prints out the command usage # User specified values and return values are in database units. # Default: All values are in user units, in microns. (bool, optional) -step <step> # Specifies step size if output format is rect, required to convert # non-orthogonal shapes into series of rectangles. Default: minwidth # value of first routing layer (coord, optional). -output <polygon|rect> # Specifies the output format. default: rect (string, optional) <shapeList> # polygon or rect or list of polygon and rect. polygon: # {{ {{x y} { {x y} { {x y} ... }; rect: { {x1 y y1 x2 y y2} } ( (list, , required) q ) AND <shapeList> # binary operator: intersection of shapeLists ANDNOT <shapeList> # binary operator: initial shapeList minus <shapeList> OR <shapelist> # binary operator: union of shapelists XOR <shapeList> # binary operator: OR minus AND of shapeList # (string, optional) SIZE <value> # unary operator: increase the size of shapeList by <value> MOVE {<dx> <dy>} # unary operator: move the shapeList by {<dx> <dy>} BBOX # unary operator: computes the bounding box of shapeList # (string, optional)

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dbQuery for Finding Objects by Area

Usage: dbQuery [-help] [-d] -area {llx lly urx ury} [-objType <objTypeList>] -help -d # Prints out the command usage # User specified values and return values are in # database units: default is um (bool (bool, optional) -area {llx lly urx ury} # Specifies the search area {llx lly urx ury}, # where ll = lower left, ur = upper right. # (b (box, required) i d) -objType <objTypeList> # list of object types to return. Legal values are: # {inst special}, (special = union of sWire and # sViaInst), Vi I t) default: d f lt i inst t ( (string, t i optional) ti l)

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Summary
It would be impossible p to p provide native functionality y to suit every need that might arise, so db access commands are useful in bridging the gap between tool functionality and whats what s needed to get chips implemented dbGet and dbSet provide a simple, consistent way to programmatically probe and tweak the database We welcome your suggestions for improvement to dbGet and hope you find it useful

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