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1
Introduction to Design Compiler
1
Design Compiler is the core of the Synopsys synthesis software
products. It provides constraint-driven optimization and supports a
wide range of design styles. The Design Compiler tools synthesize
your HDL description into a technology-dependent, gate-level design.
Design Compiler optimizes combinational or sequential designs for
speed, area, and power, and supports both flat and hierarchical
designs.
Figure 1-1
Design Compiler Overview
VHDL Source
Verilog Source
Other Input Formats
VHDL Compiler
HDL Compiler
compile
Design Compiler
Mapped,
Technology-
Dependent Netlist
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DesignCompilerprovideslinkstoelectronicdesignautomation(EDA)
tools, such as place and route tools, and post layout resynthesis
techniques, such as in-place optimization. These EDA tool links
enable sharing of information (such as forward-directed constraints
and delays) between Design Compiler and external tools.
This chapter includes the following sections:
•
Design Compiler Products
•
User Interfaces
•
Supported File Formats
•
Supported File Formats
•
License Requirements
•
Resource Requirements
•
High-Level Design Flow
Design Compiler Products
Synopsys provides a spectrum of Design Compiler products, which
varyinthecomplexityofthefeaturesoffered.Choosetherightproduct
for your design environment, based on your synthesis requirements.
Using the Design Compiler products, you can
•
Produce fast, area-efficient ASIC designs by using user-specified
gate-array, FPGA, or standard-cell libraries
•
Translate designs from one technology to another
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Explore design tradeoffs involving design constraints such as
timing, area, and power under various loading, temperature, and
voltage conditions
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Synthesize and optimize a finite state machine, including
automatic state assignment and state minimization
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Integrate netlist input and netlist or schematic output into third-
party environments while still supporting delay information and
place and route constraints
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Create and partition hierarchical schematics automatically
The Design Compiler products include
•
DC Professional
•
DC Expert
•
DC Expert
Plus
•
DC Ultra
•
DC Ultra Plus
Figure 1-2 shows the relationship between the features in the Design
Compiler products.
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Figure 1-2
Design Compiler Products
The following sections describe these products.
DC Professional
The DC Professional tools are applied to typical ASIC designs that
employ CMOS technology. These designs can utilize multiple clocks;
however, the clocks must have the same frequency. DC Professional
does not support time borrowing for latch-based designs.
