ICMake Help Page

last modified 4/20/00

This page gives a quick introduction to the icmake program.  The program itself is still under construction, as is this page...

Topics:

• Program Overview
• ICMakefile Syntax

Program Overview

The purpose of the icmake program is to automate the design flow pictured in these Concept Slides.  The entire flow is not yet implemented, and each step in the slides is actually broken into several smaller steps, but the concept remains the same.   icmake is not actually a single program, but a collection of about 15 Perl scripts which are invoked hierarchically.

Similar to the make program, icmake allows you to specify an arbitrary number of targets which will be built in the order you specify.  To use the program, follow these simple steps:

1. Source the setup script in /tools/cds99/local/setup/cds99st025_setup.csh
2. Create a project directory
3. Create a file called ICMakefile with the syntax described below
4. Type "icmake [target name]" from the directory containing the ICMakefile

icmake will make the target you specify, or make the target all if no target is specified.  In the process, icmake creates a number of directories and files:

• icmake.log - the log file (appended with the target name if specified at the command line)
• design.edif - the netlist generated by the first step of the design flow
• log/ - directory where all supplementary log files are kept
• mdl/ - directory where all MDL files are copied
• vhdl/ - directory where all VHDL files are copied/generated
• dfII/ - directory where all Cadence Design Framework II databases are kept
• cdsrun/ - directory where icfb is invoked (which uses the Design Framework II Database)
• dcrun/ - directory where Synopsys Design Compiler is invoked
• epicrun/ - directory where EPIC tools (TimeMill/PowerMill/PathMill) are invoked
• clrun/ - directory where Calibre DRC and LVS are invoked
• pillar/ - directory where all Cadence Pillar databased are kept
• dprun/ - directory where areaPdp (the floorplanning tool) is invoked (which uses the Pillar Database)

ICMakefile Syntax

Parameters

• LIBRARY - no longer used, provided for backwards compatibility
• DESIGN - cell name of the top level design (same as the Simulink subsystem name)
• SOURCEFILE - name of the top level MDL file
• LIBFILES - names of all referenced MDL files
• MDLPATH - search path for MDL files (the first entry in the path should always be "/vol/hitz/vol1/designs/scr/icmake/lib/mdl/R11/precompiled" )
• TOLERANCE - if set to "low", icmake will halt upon encountering the first error, if set to "high", then icmake will keep running until the end of the flow unless a fatal error is encountered

Target Definition

• new_target: target1 [target2] ...
• new_target:
          command1
          [command2]
          ...

Built-In Targets

• netlist
  • bcc - create the EDIF file from the Simulink files using Hayden So's bcc program
• elaborate
  • elab - create the dfII schematic hierarchies for Macros of all types except Buffer (make symbols only for buffers)
  • ein - read the EDIF file to create the dfII schematic hierarchy for the rest of the chip
  • buf - find the load attached to the output of all Buffer macros and make the schematic hierarchies for the buffers
  • abs - make the abstract views for all Block, Module, and Buffer macros
• floorplan merge
  • pil - import the netlist and abstracts into Pillar to create the autoLayout hierarchy (the skeleton floorplan)
  • mrg - merge the autoLayout hierarchy with the placement information in the floorplan hierarchy

Commands

• EPIC Simulation
  • EPIC = testname libname cellname vector_dir - set up an EPIC run in the directory epicrun/testname using Simulink test vectors from the directory vector_dir with the prefix testname.  The EPIC netlist is generated from cell cellname in library libname.
• route & verify
  • CALIBRE = libname - run Calibre DRC and LVS checks on every cell in library libname
  • CALIBRE =  libname cellname - run Calibre DRC and LVS checks on cell cellname in library libname
  • ICC = libname cellname - run IC Craftsman on cell cellname in library libname and import the result into dfII.  This command assumes that an autoLayout view exists in pillar with placed cells and boundary pins.

maintained by Rhett Davis
wrdavis@eecs.berkeley.edu