( ESNUG 377 Item 5 ) -------------------------------------------- [09/19/01]
Subject: The PKS Timing Engine Differs From Pearl; Qplace Runs Within PKS
> Does the new release of PKS use a "new" algorithm for doing the timing
> driven placement, or is the Pearl interface just buried by the GUI?
> There is some internal debate among our group about this fact. I figure
> the timing engine is based on Ambit now, rather than Pearl or any staged
> based constraints as in the old days. So there is some "new" code.
>
> - Jim Jok
From: Ralf Leisner <leisner@cadence.com>
Hallo Jim,
PKS timing engine is Ambit based, therefore it is different from Pearl and
it is not invoking Pearl. In a future release the timing engines will be
merged. To have Ambit and Pearl timing engines in parallel is an
intermediate status. I do not know the details of the schedule for this
unification.
The placement tool used by PKS is Qplace, but it is not called as standalone
tool anymore (like in SE). It is an integral part of the PKS software, with
a tight interface to the Ambit internal databases. The timing related base
of operation for PKS-Qplace are not the stage based constraints. It is the
Ambit own timing constraints environment instead. A major advantage of PKS
compared to the SE environment is the hierarchical view to the design,
including its timing constraints, as a designer is used to looking at this
thinks.
- Ralf Leisner
Cadence GmbH Feldkirchen, Germany
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