Function-oriented schematic generation for digital systems part I: Logic clustering and netlist partitioning

What first makes the schematics an important tools for circuit design is its capability of functional representation. This new concept leads us to shift the criterion of schematics from clarity to functionality. In this paper, we present a series of efficient logic clustering techniques to analyze and partition a given netlist into a hierarchical netlist set before actual schematic layout. We also give several new algorithms for unit placement and signal routing all under the guidance of functionality. The reduced scale of the sub-netlist due to unit clustering enables some previously proposed schematic layout approaches to perform quickly and effectively. Besides, we provide many interactive approaches such as dynamic circuit pattern construction and arbitrary unit locating techniques. The final implementation of FOSK (Function-Oriented Schematic Generation) that is developed under X-windows has proved to be an practical and robust schematic generation system. It can be further developed into an all-level circuit analysis, simulation and verification tool.