( ESNUG 314 Item 8 ) ---------------------------------------------- [3/17/99]
Subject: ( ESNUG 308 #1 ) Regarding The New TCL Interface To Design Compiler
> I just saw this new tcl/tk environment (my Synopsys Salesdroid punching bag
> brought it in when he was demoing something else). These are my opinions
> of the new Synopsys tcl/tk only after an hour's play...
>
> If you think that this environment is going to bring some of the cool
> features of PrimeTime, you will be disappointed. In reality, it is
> just a Tcl/Tk shell wrapped around dc_shell so the features and limitations
> of dc_shell are still there. For instance, ....
>
> I'm not saying Synopsys is going the wrong direction. It is that they are
> trying to save some of the dc_shell scripts for now by not *integrating*
> Tcl/Tk, just wrapping Tcl/Tk around dc_shell.
>
> - Larrie Carr
> PMC-Sierra, Inc. Vancouver, B.C., Canada
From: [ A Synopsys DC CAE ]
John,
I am writing to clarify some user misunderstandings that may have arisen
from this recent post regarding the new TCL interface to Design Compiler.
DC Tcl is a native Tcl interface to dc_shell. Tcl is purely a scripting
language. The Tk language extends Tcl's features by providing an easy way
to create GUIs for applications created with Tk or other programming
languages. The DC99.05 DC TCL interface supports Tcl, not Tk.
The introduction of DC Tcl expands the scripting capabilities in dc_shell
by providing a standardized interface that supports parameterizable user
defined functions. DC99.05 supports both dc_shell and dc_shell Tcl. At
the beginning of the session, users can choose to use either the existing
dc_shell by typing dc_shell or dc_shell -tcl_mode to start on DC tcl. A
translator program dc_transcript is also available to translate from
dc_shell scripts to equivalent Tcl scripts.
Currently, Design Compiler, PrimeTime and Formality support Tcl. The Tcl
interface provides an alternative way for users to create their own scripts
to automate the flow. However, some commands and options are unique to each
tool. For example, a DC command such as compile will not exist in PrimeTime
since this is a function that is unique to DC. Therefore, we should
separate distinction between tools command and Tcl language.
Our goal was to make commands having the same function equivalent across all
Synopsys tools. In this first release some commands incompatibilities
exist between PrimeTime and Design Compiler. We will strive to remedy these
inconsistencies in future releases.
- [ A Synopsys DC CAE ]
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