The ZDB Database API

Introduction

This Document describes the API for the database as an extension to the Tcl scripting language. This extension is a native (C-level) implementation to provide the user with the highest possible speed and minimum resource consumption to maintain huge net-list databases. All the API is based on one new Tcl command "zdb".

Extensions to this document are: Flat View, Spos, Cone Extraction, Operators (modify), and Prim Functions.

For further information please checkout the API Tutorial (that also includes calls to the GUI API).

The Index is an overview of all API documents.

Overview

A database — later referred to as $db — stores one structural circuit design. More than one database can exist simultaneously. The Tcl API introduces a new variable type called OID (for object identification) that is used as a "pointer" to database objects. This document uses $oid but also $mod, $inst, $pin etc. to name OID variables.

Here is a list of the most important commands:

Return Value Command Description

Return Value	Command	Description
`$db`	`zdb new\|open\|check\|valid\|foreach…`
	`$db save\|close …`
	`$db load …`	Load netlist objects into the database
`$oid`	`$db search …`	Search netlist object by name
…	`$db oper …`	Operators to modify the database
`$oidList`	`$db tools …`	Tools to query the database
…	`$db cone …`	Do Cone Extraction
…	`zdb cone …`	user defined Cone Arcs
…	`sdf $db …`	Get Data from SDF File

$db

zdb new|open|check|valid|foreach…

$db save|close …

$db load …

Load netlist objects into the database

$oid

$db search …

Search netlist object by name

…

$db oper …

Operators to modify the database

$oidList

$db tools …

Tools to query the database

…

$db cone …

Do Cone Extraction

…

zdb cone …

user defined Cone Arcs

…

sdf $db …

Get Data from SDF File

Return Value Command

Return Value	Command
`$oid`	`$db oid create\|createIcase $oid`
`$oid`	`$db oid createFromString …`
`<string>`	`$db oid type\|root\|path\|module\|oname\|pname\|cname\|tail\|print $oid`
`<string>`	`$db oid iname0\|pname0\|iname1\|pname1 $oid`
`<bool>`	`$db oid isModBased\|isTopRoot $oid`
`$oid`	`$db oid createModBased\|searchTreeBased $oid`
`$oid`	`$db oid createNetSeg $pin $pin`
`$oid`	`$db oid convertTo $type $oid ?$name?`
`$oid`	`$db oid down\|up $oid`
`$oid`	`$db oid concat $inst $pin`
`<bool>`	`$db oid exists $oid`
`<bool>`	`$db oid isnull $oid`
`<string>`	`$db oid nulltype $oid`
`<bool>`	`$db oid isequal $oid1 $oid2`
`<bool>`	`$db oid cmp $oid1 $oid2`
`<bool>`	`$db oid isparasitic $oid`
`<bool>`	`$db oid isparasiticmodinst $oid`
`<bool>`	`$db oid insideprim $oid`
`$oid`	`$db oid convertFromParasitic $oid`
`$oid`	`$db oid convertToParasitic $oid $pTopOid`
`<integer>`	`$db oid resetAllOIDs`
`<bool>`	`$db isBusMember $pin\|$port\|$net`
`$oid`	`$db busOf $pin\|$port\|$net`
`<integer>`	`$db widthOf $pinBus\|$portBus\|$netBus`
`<bool>`	`$db isTop $mod`
`<bool>`	`$db isModule $inst\|$pin\|$pinBus\|$mod\|$prim`
`<bool>`	`$db isEmpty $module ?-checkDanglingNets?`
`$oid`	`$db moduleOf $inst\|$pin\|$pinBus`
`$oid`	`$db primitiveOf $inst\|$pin\|$pinBus`
`$oid`	`$db refCount $prim\|$mod`
`<bool>`	`$db hasParentInst $inst\|$net\|$netBus`
$inst	`$db parentInst $inst\|$net\|$netBus`
`<bool>`	`$db hasParentMod $oid`
`$mod`	`$db parentModule $oid`
`<string>`	`$db primFuncOf $prim\|$mod\|$inst\|$pin`
	`$db setPrimitive $level`
`<string>`	`$db directionOf $pin\|$port\|$pinBus\|$portBus`
`<bool>`	`$db isConnected $pin\|$port`
`$oid`	`$db connectedNet $pin\|$port`
`<bool>`	`$db isOneToOneConnection $netBus $pinBus\|$portBus`
	`$db top set\|unset $mod`
`$oid`	`$db clone $primitive\|$module ?$rename?`
	`$db cloneDB ?options?`
	`$db mergeDB ?options?`

$oid

$db oid create|createIcase $oid

$oid

$db oid createFromString …

<string>

<string>

$db oid iname0|pname0|iname1|pname1 $oid

<bool>

$db oid isModBased|isTopRoot $oid

$oid

$db oid createModBased|searchTreeBased $oid

$oid

$db oid createNetSeg $pin $pin

$oid

$db oid convertTo $type $oid ?$name?

$oid

$db oid down|up $oid

$oid

$db oid concat $inst $pin

<bool>

$db oid exists $oid

<bool>

$db oid isnull $oid

<string>

$db oid nulltype $oid

<bool>

$db oid isequal $oid1 $oid2

<bool>

$db oid cmp $oid1 $oid2

<bool>

$db oid isparasitic $oid

<bool>

$db oid isparasiticmodinst $oid

<bool>

$db oid insideprim $oid

$oid

$db oid convertFromParasitic $oid

$oid

$db oid convertToParasitic $oid $pTopOid

<integer>

$db oid resetAllOIDs

<bool>

$db isBusMember $pin|$port|$net

$oid

$db busOf $pin|$port|$net

<integer>

$db widthOf $pinBus|$portBus|$netBus

<bool>

$db isTop $mod

<bool>

$db isModule $inst|$pin|$pinBus|$mod|$prim

<bool>

$db isEmpty $module ?-checkDanglingNets?

$oid

$db moduleOf $inst|$pin|$pinBus

$oid

$db primitiveOf $inst|$pin|$pinBus

$oid

$db refCount $prim|$mod

<bool>

$db hasParentInst $inst|$net|$netBus

$inst

$db parentInst $inst|$net|$netBus

<bool>

$db hasParentMod $oid

$mod

$db parentModule $oid

<string>

$db primFuncOf $prim|$mod|$inst|$pin

$db setPrimitive $level

<string>

$db directionOf $pin|$port|$pinBus|$portBus

<bool>

$db isConnected $pin|$port

$oid

$db connectedNet $pin|$port

<bool>

$db isOneToOneConnection $netBus $pinBus|$portBus

$db top set|unset $mod

$oid

$db clone $primitive|$module ?$rename?

$db cloneDB ?options?

$db mergeDB ?options?

Return Value Command Description

Return Value	Command	Description
…	`$db attr $oid …`	set, get or delete attributes
…	`$db flag $oid …`	set, get, toggle or delete flags
…	`$db hilight $oid …`	set, get or delete highlight data
…	`$db highlight $oid …`	set, get or delete highlight data
	`$db deleteZombies`
…	`$db spos …`	get source file positions
…	`$db flat\|flatattr\|flatflag\|flathighlight …`	flat view sub-commands
`<bool>`	`$db identicalInterface`
…	`$db report sizeOf\|instCount\|netCount\|portCount\|objCount …`
`<integer>`	`$db count $type …`	count the number of database objects of the given `$type`
…	`$db tdevice …`
	`$db symlib …`	read/update symlib file
	`$db symdef set\|get\|delete\|list …`
`<string>`	`$db info $binfile`

…

$db attr $oid …

set, get or delete attributes

…

$db flag $oid …

set, get, toggle or delete flags

…

$db hilight $oid …

set, get or delete highlight data

…

$db highlight $oid …

set, get or delete highlight data

$db deleteZombies

…

$db spos …

get source file positions

…

$db flat|flatattr|flatflag|flathighlight …

flat view sub-commands

<bool>

$db identicalInterface

…

$db report sizeOf|instCount|netCount|portCount|objCount …

<integer>

$db count $type …

count the number of database objects of the given $type

…

$db tdevice …

$db symlib …

read/update symlib file

$db symdef set|get|delete|list …

<string>

$db info $binfile

Foreach Loops

$db foreach top|module|primitive|cell|parasitic

cur

$body

examine database root

$db foreach port|portBus|oPort

$mod

cur

$body

examine module/primitive interface

$db foreach inst|net|netBus

$mod

cur

$body

examine module

$db foreach pin|pinBus|oPin

$inst

cur

$body

examine instance

$db foreach net|member|pin|port

$bus

cur

$body

examine buses

$db foreach pin|pinCon|portCon

$net

cur

$body

examine connectivity

$db attr $oid foreach

cur

$body

examine attributes

Maintain a Database

To create a new database, use the zdb new or zdb open commands and load netlist data with the $db load command or with one of the shipped parser executables (e.g. verilog2zdb).

The command

zdb new

creates a new and empty database and returns a "database handle" (later referred to as $db), usually something like zdb01, zdb02, etc.

zdb open ?-quick? $binfile

Returns a "database handle" for the created database (like the zdb new command) but also loads the database from the specified binfile. Opening the binfile in quick mode by specifying the -quick option will load the cell definitions and hierarchy information only. The contents for each module needs to be populated separately.

$db save $binfile

stores the contents of the database $db into the specified $binfile.

The command

zdb valid $db

can be used to check whether $db is a valid database command returned from e.g. zdb new.

The command

zdb foreach db {
    # do something with $db, e.g. '$db close'
}

can be used to loop over all active databases.

The command

$db write tcl ?-gzip? ?-compress t? ?-comments 0|1? ?-nospos? ?-noattr?
              ?-noflag? ?-noTsort? ?-flat? ?-sposidx? ?-mangle? $tclfile

writes the contents of the database $db as Tcl $db load commands into the specified $tclfile.

If one of the options -nospos, -noflag or -noattr is given then no -spos, -attr/-pinattr or -flag options will be added to the $db load commands.
The option -flat adds flat infos.
The option -gzip may be used to produce gzip compressed output.
With -comments 0 no comments are written to the output file; with -comments 1 only a file header is written.
The option -sposidx generates more compact -spos options using indices instead of filenames.
With -mangle all names get mangled.

The command

$db write verilog ?-named? ?-gzip? ?-compress t?
                  ?-comments 0|1|2? ?-objcomments?
                  ?-preservenet?
                  ?-implementFunction?
                  ?-ignoreport $flag? ?-ignorecell $flag? ?ignorercell $flag?
                  ?-ignoreinst $flag? ?-ignoreautogen? $verilogfile
                  ?-noCelldefine?

writes the contents of the database $db as Verilog into the specified Verilog file using implicit connectivity.

With -named named connectivity is used.
With -ignoreport flagged ports are not written to the output file.
With -ignorecell flagged cells are not written to the output file.
With -ignorercell flagged cells and referenced instances are not written to the output file.
With -ignoreinst flagged instances are not written to the output file.
With -ignoreautogen all cells auto generated by a parser are ignored.
The option -gzip may be used to produce gzip compressed output.
With -comments 0 no comments are written to the output file. With -comments 1 only a file header, with -comments 2 info at each module are written.
The option -preservenet may be used to give local net names priority over instance names if there are name clashes.
With -implementFunction function implementations for selected primitives is added to run simulations.
If -objcomments is specified then the module-based @comment attribute is printed before a module, port or instance object.
If -noCelldefine is specified then no `celldefine and `endcelldefine is written.

The command

$db write spice ?-gzip? ?-compress t?
                ?-comments 0|1? ?-subckt? ?-subcktx? ?-nomodel? ?-noEnd?
                ?-value0net $n? ?-value1net $n? ?-valuexnet $n? ?-valueznet $n?
                $spicefile

writes the contents of the database $db as Spice into the specified spicefile.

The option -gzip may be used to produce gzip compressed output.
With -comments 0 no comments are written to the output file. With -comments 1 only a file header is written.
With -subckt devices are written as subckts instances and corresponding wrappers are created.
With -subcktx devices are written as subckts instances.
With -nomodel no .model statements nor empty sub-circuits are created for models or macro models in the generated netlist.
With -noEnd no .END is added at the end of the file.
The -value0net, -value1net, -valuexnet, and -valueznet options can be used to specify names for constant nets which have a value.

The command

$db write dspf  ?-gzip? ?-compress t?
                ?-comments 0|1? ?-ignoreempty?
                ?-top $top? ?-design $d? ?-version $v? ?-vendor $v?
                ?-date $dt? ?-program $p?
                ?-divider $div? ?-delimiter $del? ?-busdelimiter $bd?
                ?-gndnet $gnd?
                ?-only $netname?
                ?-noesc
                $dspffile

writes the contents of the database $db as DSPF into the specified dspffile.

The option -gzip may be used to produce gzip compressed output.
With -comments 0 no comments are written to the output file. With -comments 1 only a file header is written.
The -top option defines the top module.
The -design, -version, -vendor, -date and -program overwrite/set the corresponding header information.
The -divider, -delimiter, -busdelimiter define the divider and delimiter used in the output file.
The -gndnet defines a ground net used in the output file.
With the -ignoreempty option empty parasitics are ignored.
With the -only option only the given net is written. This option can exist multiple times.
With the -noesc option strings are written as is. This may produce incorrect syntax.

The command

$db write spef  ?-gzip? ?-compress t?
                ?-comments 0|1? ?-namemap? ?-ignoreempty?
                ?-top $top? ?-design $d? ?-version $v? ?-vendor $v?
                ?-date $dt? ?-program $p? ?-designflow $df?
                ?-divider $div? ?-delimiter $del? ?-busdelimiter $bd?
                ?-timescale $ts? ?-timeunit $tu?
                ?-capscale $cs?  ?-capunit $cu?
                ?-resscale $rs?  ?-resunit $ru?
                ?-indscale $is?  ?-indunit $iu?
                ?-gndnet $gnd? ?-powernet $pwr?
                ?-only $netname?
                ?-noesc
                $speffile

writes the contents of the database $db as SPEF into the specified speffile.

The option -gzip may be used to produce gzip compressed output.
With -comments 0 no comments are written to the output file. With -comments 1 only a file header is written.
The -namemap option creates a namemap in the outputfile.
The -top option defines the top module.
The -design, -version, -vendor, -date, -program, -designflow -timescale, -timeunit, -capscale, -capunit, -resscale, -resunit -indscale and -indunit overwrite/set the corresponding header information.
The -divider, -delimiter, -busdelimiter define the divider and delimiters used in the output file.
The -powernet and -gndnet define power and ground nets used in the output file.
With the -ignoreempty option empty parasitics are ignored.
With the -only option only the given net is written. This option can exist multiple times.
With the -noesc option strings are written as is. This may produce incorrect syntax.

The command

$db write vhdl ?-gzip? ?-comments 0|1? ?-implementFunction? $vhdlfile

writes the contents of the database $db as VHDL into the specified vhdlfile.

The option -gzip may be used to produce gzip compressed output.
With -comments 0 no comments are written to the output file. With -comments 1 a file header is written.
With -implementFunction function implementations for selected primitives is added to run simulations.

The command

$db write liberty ?-gzip? ?-allCells? ?-library name? $libertyfile

writes the cells of the database $db and the corresponding clock information as Liberty into the specified libertyfile.

The option -gzip may be used to produce gzip compressed output.
With -allCells all cells are written to the file.
The -library option defines the library’s name of the exported cells.

The command

$db close

closes the database and frees all associated resources including memory.

The command

$db info binfile

will print the binfile associated with the database or an empty string if no binfile was used.

The commands

zdb check $binfile
zdb validate $binfile

check if the $binfile is valid for the current architecture and if the $binfile is currently not in use by anyone else.

zdb check returns an error code if the check is negative. zdb validate returns true if the $binfile is ok, false otherwise.

zdb fileinfo $binfile

returns additional information about the given $binfile.

zdb parserbits $binfile

returns a list of used licenses in the given $binfile.

The command

zdb version

returns the internal version of the ZDB including the required license version, the binfile version and the stubs version as well as the build date.

zdb sizeof ?$type?

returns the amount of bytes that is needed by the in memory structures to store a database object of the given $type. If no $type is given then a list with the sizes of all types is returned.

Possible values for the $type are: port, portBus, primitive, module, pin, inst, pinRef, net, netbus, spos, and sfile.

Error Conditions

Some of the database commands above and below may return because of an error condition (e.g. file access problems, no disk space, out of memory, etc.). In those cases, an error message is returned that indicates the problem.

Quick Open Mode

A database can be opened in quick mode, then only the cell definitions and hierarchy information is loaded into memory. The contents for each module can be populated separately. The following chapter describes the database populate API.

$db populate

Database populate sub-command.

$db populate active

Returns true if populate is active (-quick mode).

Usage:

$db populate active

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set active [$db populate active]

$db populate changed

Check if a database item was populated.

Usage:

$db populate changed ?-clear?

Parameters:

-clear (optional): Clear current state.

Example:

set changed [$db populate changed]

$db populate changedFlat

Check if a flat item was populated.

Usage:

$db populate changedFlat ?-clear?

Parameters:

-clear (optional): Clear current state.

Example:

set changed [$db populate changedFlat]

$db populate changedModule

Check if a module was populated.

Usage:

$db populate changedModule ?-clear?

Parameters:

-clear (optional): Clear current state.

Example:

set changed [$db populate changedModule]

$db populate changedSfile

Check if a sfile item was populated.

Usage:

$db populate changedSfile ?-clear?

Parameters:

-clear (optional): Clear current state.

Example:

set changed [$db populate changedSfile]

$db populate populatedCount

Get the number of populated items.

Usage:

$db populate populatedCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set total [$db populate populatedCount]

$db populate populatedFlatCount

Get the number of populated flat trees.

Usage:

$db populate populatedFlatCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set total [$db populate populatedFlatCount]

$db populate populatedModuleCount

Get the number of populated modules.

Usage:

$db populate populatedModuleCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set total [$db populate populatedModuleCount]

$db populate populatedSfileCount

Get the number of populated sfiles.

Usage:

$db populate populatedSfileCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set total [$db populate populatedSfileCount]

$db populate totalCount

Get the total number of populatable items.

Usage:

$db populate totalCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set total [$db populate totalCount]

$db populate totalFlatCount

Get the total number of populatable flat trees.

Usage:

$db populate totalFlatCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set total [$db populate totalFlatCount]

$db populate totalModuleCount

Get the total number of populatable modules.

Usage:

$db populate totalModuleCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set total [$db populate totalModuleCount]

$db populate totalSfileCount

Get the total number of populatable sfiles.

Usage:

$db populate totalSfileCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set total [$db populate totalSfileCount]

Load a Database

As an alternative to the parsers above, the database can also be loaded through the API with $db load … commands.

$db load primitive $name $function  ?opt?
$db load module    $name ?-top?     ?opt?  ?-primfunc $function? ?-parasitic?
$db load port      $name $direction ?opt?
$db load portBus   $name $direction $width $pname1 $pname2 ... ?-range $from $to? ?opt?
$db load inst      $name $cellref   ?opt? ?pinOpt?
$db load net       $name ?-pin inst pin? ?-port port? ?-value $constantValue?
                         ?-pinspos $iname $pname $fname $start $end? ?opt?
$db load netBus    $name $width $net1 $net2 ... ?opt?

The Primitive’s $function argument (and the Module’s -primfunc $function option) is defined in the document The Primitive Functions.

The option -parasitic creates a parasitic module instead of a regular one (it can only be instantiated in a special parasitic top module).

The ?opt? is zero or one or more of:

-attr  $name=$value
-spos  $fname $start $end
-sposx $fidx $start $end
-flag  $flag

For loading instances the additional option -orient can be used to specified the orientation. Possible orientation values are: R0, R90, R180, R270, MY, MYR90, MX, and MXR90.

The ?pinOpt? is zero or one or more of:

-pinattr  $pin $name=$value
-pinspos  $pin $fname $start $end
-pinsposx $pin $fidx $start $end
-pinflag  $pin $flag

Attributes can be defined for all objects with the -attr option. These options can be repeated to add multiple attributes (alternatively, attributes can be set with the attr add command).

Source positions can be added with the -spos option. They can be repeated multiple times. See the spos API for more information.

Flags can be set with the -flag option. See the $db flag set for more information.

For pins attributes, flags and spos can be added with the -pinattr, -pinflag, and -pinspos options.

Instead of the -spos and the -pinspos options, -sposn and -pinsposn may be used to store the filenames as is. This may be useful, if the default conversion to absolute filenames is not applicable.

As a more compact form to add source positions the -sposx and the -pinsposx options use a numerical index for each referenced file.

The port $direction argument is one of: input, output, inout, unknown, and * (the * means that the port direction is derived from the Primitive’s or Module’s function). The suffix .neg is supported for some ports.

If a portBus range is specified using the -range option then the portBus member names need to conform to a supported bus member syntax (i.e. NAME[0], NAME(0), NAME<0>, NAME{0}, NAME_0_, NAME_0, and NAME0, where NAME is the bus' name and `0`is the member’s index).

The order of the load command is important. A $db load primitive … command must be followed by calls to $db load port … and $db load portBus … to define the primitive’s interface. A $db load module … command must be followed by calls to $db load port … and $db load portBus … to define the module’s interface and by calls to $db load inst …, $db load net …, and $db load netBus … to define the module’s contents.

Further, declared before used is required, that means, 1. a primitive or module must be defined before an instance of it can be created; 2. ports and instances must be defined before a net can refer to them with -pin or -port.

The $db load netBus … command finds existing sub-nets or creates new sub-nets. That means, nets can be defined before or after they are "grouped" by a call to $db load netBus ….

The same net can be loaded multiple times, if so, then the connections (defined by -pin and -port) are accumulated. However, other objects cannot be accumulated, each load must define a new object with a unique name.

The $cellref argument of the $db load inst command must be either a module or a primitive name. Modules and primitives share the same name space.

To create an unique name, the command

$db uniqueName $module $type $name

can be used.

Delete Objects from a Database

$db deleteZombies

The $db deleteZombies command deletes all objects with the zombie flag (must be set before calling $db deleteZombies).

The table below displays the objects that accept the zombie flag and the detailed delete semantics (ports cannot be deleted, i.e. this command cannot change the module/primitive interface).

Object Type Effects of $db deleteZombies

Object Type	Effects of `$db deleteZombies`
`inst`	automatically disconnect from nets.
`net`	automatically disconnect from ports and instance pins.
`netBundle`	automatically expand the bus into single-bits (technically, the single-bit nets existed before and are not touched).
`module`	automatically delete all module contents and all instances of that module.
`primitive`	automatically delete all instances of that primitive.

inst

automatically disconnect from nets.

net

automatically disconnect from ports and instance pins.

netBundle

automatically expand the bus into single-bits (technically, the single-bit nets existed before and are not touched).

module

automatically delete all module contents and all instances of that module.

primitive

automatically delete all instances of that primitive.

Reload Objects to a Database

$db reloadModule   $name
$db load   inst    $name ...
$db load   net     $name ...
$db load   netBus  $name ...

The $db reloadModule … command "goes to" the given module, so that further $db load … commands can add more objects to the specified module. Only $db load inst …, $db load net … and $db load netBus … are supported (this "reload" mode does not support ports, i.e. it cannot change the module/primitive interface).

To reload parasitic modules please use $db reloadParasitic $name.

Other commands that modify the database are described in the "Operator API" document.

Set Hierarchy Separator

$db hiersep $character

The $db hiersep … command sets the hierarchy separator for the database without any further checks if the specified $character is an unused character.

There is a more user friendly (but slower) version of this function in the "Operator API".

Access a Database

The following UML diagram displays the major database objects and their static relations. The labels at the relations refer to the query API functions (basically to the foreach loops below).

The database can be traversed with foreach loops and implicitly searched with the $db oid create … command. A new Tcl variable type called OID is defined by this Tcl API to provide fast access to database objects. Each OID variable (object identification) points to a database entry.

Object IDs

The Tcl interpreter is extended by a new Tcl variable type called OID (later referred to as $oid). The string representation of these OIDs follow the Tcl-rules for a list, however, internally they are stored as pointers to the database objects for efficiency (Tcl variable’s native representation). Here is a description of the OID string representation:

$otype

The object type; one of inst, net, netBus, pin, pinBus, port, portBus, netSeg, signal, module, and primitive.

$mname

The name of the module containing the object (if no path is specified) — or the root of the instance path (if a path is specified) usually the design root.

$path1
…
$pathn

The instance names $path1 to $pathn define the path from the root $mname to the module that actually contains the object. The path is optional, i.e. it may be empty.

$oname

The name of the object that is one of instance name, net name, netBus name, etc.

$pname

For objects of type pin and pinBus only: The name of the pin or pinBus ($oname is the instance name).

$iname0
$pname0
$iname1
$pname1

For objects of type netSeg only: The instance-name and pin-name for two connected pins. If instance-name is an empty string, then the pin-name refers to a port ($oname is the net name). A "netSeg" describes a pin-to-pin connection within a net and is only meaningful in some cases (e.g. highlighting in the GUI).

Basically, the database and API provides two ways (or styles) of addressing objects, a module-based way with no instance path, and a tree-based way with a valid instance path from the design root to the object. The module-based OIDs can be sub-divided into those that refer to the design root (alias top module) and those that refer to an ordinary non-top module — the $db oid isTopRoot … command explains the difference.

The following table assumes GL85 is the design root (a top module), and REG8 is an ordinary non-top module (the 2nd and 3rd columns refer to the same database objects):

module-based OIDs rooted at top module module-based OIDs rooted at non-top module tree-based OIDs rooted at top module

module-based OIDs rooted at top module	module-based OIDs rooted at non-top module	tree-based OIDs rooted at top module
`inst GL85 IR` `net GL85 CLK` `netBus GL85 DIN(7:0)` `pin GL85 IR C` `pinBus GL85 IR BIN(7:0)` `port GL85 C` `portBus GL85 DIN(7:0)` `netSeg GL85 CLK "" C IR C` `signal GL85 CLK`	`inst REG8 R3` `net REG8 ST` `netBus REG8 L(7:0)` `pin REG8 R3 SET` `pinBus REG8 R3 D(7:0)` `port REG8 C` `portBus REG8 Q(7:0)` `netSeg REG8 ST "" C R3 SET`	`inst GL85 IR B8 R3` `net GL85 IR B8 ST` `netBus GL85 IR B8 L(7:0)` `pin GL85 IR B8 R3 SET` `pinBus GL85 IR B8 R3 D(7:0)` `port GL85 IR B8 C` `portBus GL85 IR B8 Q(7:0)` `netSeg GL85 IR B8 ST "" C R3 SET` `signal GL85 IR B8 ST`
`module GL85 GL85`	`module REG8 REG8` `primitive DFF DFF`	`module GL85 IR B8 REG8` `primitive GL85 IR B8 DFF`

inst GL85 IR
net GL85 CLK
netBus GL85 DIN(7:0)
pin GL85 IR C
pinBus GL85 IR BIN(7:0)
port GL85 C
portBus GL85 DIN(7:0)
netSeg GL85 CLK "" C IR C
signal GL85 CLK

inst REG8 R3
net REG8 ST
netBus REG8 L(7:0)
pin REG8 R3 SET
pinBus REG8 R3 D(7:0)
port REG8 C
portBus REG8 Q(7:0)
netSeg REG8 ST "" C R3 SET

inst GL85 IR B8 R3
net GL85 IR B8 ST
netBus GL85 IR B8 L(7:0)
pin GL85 IR B8 R3 SET
pinBus GL85 IR B8 R3 D(7:0)
port GL85 IR B8 C
portBus GL85 IR B8 Q(7:0)
netSeg GL85 IR B8 ST "" C R3 SET
signal GL85 IR B8 ST

module GL85 GL85

module REG8 REG8
primitive DFF DFF

module GL85 IR B8 REG8
primitive GL85 IR B8 DFF

Create Object IDs

Creating an OID from a string representation is a powerful command. It searches the database and figures out if the addressed object really exists. If not, an error is returned.

$db oid create      $oid
$db oid createIcase $oid

This commands create and return an OID (internal representation) from a string representation. The given $oid is expected to be a Tcl list like: [list $otype $mname $path1 … $pathn $oname ?$pname?].

If, however, the given $oid already is an OID, then the OID is simply returned. The $db oid createIcase … is equal to $db oid create …, except that the internal database searches are performed in "case-insensitive" mode (however, the returned OID is always "case sensitive" — as the ZDB internally is).

$db oid createFromString $type $mod $str $hiersep
                         ?-delim $d? ?-escape $e? ?-icase? ?-guess?
                         ?-topInstName $t?

This command can be used if the instance path and name of the object is given by one string $str. The string is split by the given hierarchy separator $hiersep. If no optional delimiter $d is given, the hierarchy separator is used to find the last part of the string, used as an object name. Hierarchy separator and delimiter may be protected by preceding them with an optional escape character $e. Optional guessing by prepending an X to the instance name used during searching may be enabled by -guess. The option -topInstName can be used to short the path until the first match.

Access Object IDs

Following the Tcl standard each OID is automatically converted back to its string representation whenever needed. That means lindex and other Tcl commands can always operate on OIDs, but for efficiency we recommend using these access methods:

$db oid type   $oid
$db oid root   $oid
$db oid path   $oid
$db oid module $oid
$db oid oname  $oid
$db oid pname  $oid
$db oid cname  $oid
$db oid tail   $oid
$db oid iname0 $oid
$db oid pname0 $oid
$db oid iname1 $oid
$db oid pname1 $oid

The first three commands return object type, the root module name and the instance path starting at the root module.

The $db oid module $oid command returns the name of the module at the end of the path (is identical to the root if the path is empty; for if $oid is the port or portBus of a primitive, the primitive’s name is returned).

The $db oid oname $oid returns the object’s name, e.g. instance name, net name, etc. However, for pins and pinBuses, the oname is the instance name and the $db oid pname $oid command returns the pin name. For all object types except pins and pinBuses, the pname command returns a empty string.

The $db oid cname $oid returns the cell name. This is the module or primitive name of the given inst (or pin or pinBus).

The $db oid tail $oid command returns a two or three element list, consisting of the object type plus oname plus the optional pname.

The $db oid iname0 $oid and the $db oid iname1 $oid commands return the instance names of pin1 and pin2 of a netSeg OID. If the instance name is a empty string then the connected object is a port, not a pin.

The $db oid pname0 $oid and the $db oid pname1 $oid commands return the pin names of the connected pins/ports of a netSeg $oid.

Some examples:

$oid type root path module oname pname cname tail

`$oid`	type	root	path	module	oname	pname	cname	tail
`inst gl85 IR B8 R3`	inst	gl85	IR B8	REG8BITT	R3		DFF	inst R3
`inst REG8BITT R3`	inst	REG8BITT		REG8BITT	R3		DFF	inst R3
`pin gl85 IR B8 R3 SET`	pin	gl85	IR B8	REG8BITT	R3	SET	DFF	pin R3 SET
`pin REG8BITT R3 SET`	pin	REG8BITT		REG8BITT	R3	SET	DFF	pin R3 SET
`pinBus gl85 IR B8 U9 I`	pinBus	gl85	IR B8	REG8BITT	U9	I	BUF8	pinBus U9 I
`net gl85 IR B8 Q0`	net	gl85	IR B8	REG8BITT	Q0			net Q0
`port gl85 IR B8 Q0`	port	gl85	IR B8	REG8BITT	Q0			port Q0
`port REG8BITT Q0`	port	REG8BITT		REG8BITT	Q0			port Q0
`portBus gl85 IR B8 U9 I`	portBus	gl85	IR B8 U9	BUF8	I			portBus I
`netSeg gl85 IR C {} C B8 CK`	netSeg	gl85	IR	INST_REG	C			netSeg C {} C B8 CK
`signal gl85 IR C`	signal	gl85	IR	INST_REG	C			signal C
`module gl85 IR B8 U9 BUF8`	module	gl85	IR B8 U9	BUF8	BUF8			module BUF8
`module BUF8 BUF8`	module	BUF8		BUF8	BUF8			module BUF8
`primitive gl85 IR B8 R3 DFF`	primitive	gl85	IR B8 R3	DFF	DFF			primitive DFF

inst gl85 IR B8 R3

inst

gl85

IR B8

REG8BITT

DFF

inst R3

inst REG8BITT R3

inst

REG8BITT

DFF

inst R3

pin gl85 IR B8 R3 SET

gl85

IR B8

REG8BITT

SET

DFF

pin R3 SET

pin REG8BITT R3 SET

REG8BITT

SET

DFF

pin R3 SET

pinBus gl85 IR B8 U9 I

pinBus

gl85

IR B8

REG8BITT

BUF8

pinBus U9 I

net gl85 IR B8 Q0

net

gl85

IR B8

REG8BITT

net Q0

port gl85 IR B8 Q0

port

gl85

IR B8

REG8BITT

port Q0

port REG8BITT Q0

port

REG8BITT

port Q0

portBus gl85 IR B8 U9 I

portBus

gl85

IR B8 U9

BUF8

portBus I

netSeg gl85 IR C {} C B8 CK

netSeg

gl85

INST_REG

netSeg C {} C B8 CK

signal gl85 IR C

signal

gl85

INST_REG

signal C

module gl85 IR B8 U9 BUF8

module

gl85

IR B8 U9

BUF8

module BUF8

module BUF8 BUF8

module

BUF8

module BUF8

primitive gl85 IR B8 R3 DFF

primitive

gl85

IR B8 R3

DFF

primitive DFF

Additional examples for netSeg:

$oid iname0 pname0 iname1 pname1

`$oid`	iname0	pname0	iname1	pname1
`netSeg gl85 IR C {} C B8 CK`	{}	C	B8	CK
`netSeg top o2 and1 o m1 CLK`	and1	o	m1	CLK

netSeg gl85 IR C {} C B8 CK

{}

netSeg top o2 and1 o m1 CLK

and1

CLK

The signal OID refers to a set of hierarchically interconnected nets and are only meaningful for flat traversals.

Print Object IDs

The command

$db oid print $oid
        ?-hiersep $sep? ?-delim $del? ?-joinchar $char?
        ?-notype? ?-noroot? ?-nopath? ?-noname?
        ?-addwidth? ?-addrange?
        ?-typeastitle? ?-tclname? ?-nameAttr?

prints the given $oid (i.e. converts it to a string representation). The actual content/layout of the string representation can be controlled by the following options:

-hiersep $sep: use the character $sep to join the items of the OID’s hierarchical path (default: space character),
-delim $del: use the character $del to join the pin name when printing a pin OID (default: the -hiersep character),
-joinchar $char: use the character $char to join all OID components,
-notype: omit the OID’s type,
-noroot: don’t print the root (top-level) module,
-nopath: omit the OID’s path,
-noname: omit the OID’s name,
-addwidth: add the width of bus objects to the type,
-addrange: add the range of bus objects to the type,
-typeastitle: print the type as a title,
-tclname: use Tcl conforming object name.
--nameAttr: use the @name attribute as the object name.

Convert Object IDs

The following commands handle the difference between module-based and tree-based OIDs:

$db oid isModBased      $oid
$db oid createModBased  $oid
$db oid searchTreeBased $oid  ?$hint?
$db oid isTopRoot       $oid
$db oid createNetSeg    $pin1 $pin2
$db oid convertTo $type $oid ?$name?

the first three commands handle the difference between module-based and tree-based OIDs:

$db oid isModBased $oid returns a boolean (true if the $oid is a module-based OID, that means, it has no path).
$db oid createModBased $oid creates and returns a module-based OID from the given $oid. If the given $oid already is module-based, then that $oid is just returned.
$db oid searchTreeBased $oid searches the design hierarchy for a tree-based OID that refers to the same module as the given module-based $oid does (if $oid already is tree-based, then that $oid is just returned). The $hint variable is optional — if specified, then it should be a tree-based OID that’s used as a starting point for the search algorithm. E.g. $db oid searchTreeBased {pin AUX U12 A} might return {pin TOP B2 C2 U12 A} (assuming TOP.B2.C2 is an instance of module AUX) — and $db oid searchTreeBased {module AUX AUX} would return {module TOP B2 C2 AUX}.
As a special case, if a module or primitive is not instantiated, then $db oid searchTreeBased … will return the given OID as is. Ditto for a port/portBus of a not instantiated module or primitive. $db oid searchTreeBased … should never return an error.

$db oid isTopRoot $oid returns a boolean; it is true if the $oid's root module is a top module, that means, the foreach top iterator will return it and it can be created with $db load module -top … (a top module is not instantiated at all). Most tree-based OIDs are rooted at a top module.

$db oid createNetSeg $pin1 $pin2 creates a netSeg OID (net segment) from two pins or ports ($pin1 and $pin2 can be pin or port OIDs). They both must connect to the same net — if not, then an error is returned.

$db oid convertTo $type $oid ?$name? converts the given OID into the given $type if possible (these conversions run on the variable’s native representation and are faster than using lreplace on the OID’s Tcl-list representation).

Some conversions require an extra argument to define the port/pin $name.

$oid $type ?$name? Comments

`$oid`	`$type`	`?$name?`	Comments
`pin …` `pinBus …`	`inst`
`signal …`	`net`
`netSeg …`	`net`
`port …` `portBus …`	`module`/`primitive`
`pin …`	`port`	identical to `$db oid down $oid`
`pinBus …`	`portBus`
`inst …`	`module`/`primitive`
`port …`	`pin`	identical to `$db oid up $oid`
`portBus …`	`pinBus`
`module …` `primitive …`	`inst`
`net …`	`signal`	identical to `$db flat signalOf $oid`
`inst …`	`pin` `pinBus`	`$name`	search for a port/pinBus named `$name` in the given instance
`module …` `primitive …`	`port` `portBus`	`$name`	search for a port/portBus named `$name` in the given module/primitive

pin …
pinBus …

inst

signal …

net

netSeg …

net

port …
portBus …

module/primitive

pin …

port

identical to $db oid down $oid

pinBus …

portBus

inst …

module/primitive

port …

pin

identical to $db oid up $oid

portBus …

pinBus

module …
primitive …

inst

net …

signal

identical to $db flat signalOf $oid

inst …

pin
pinBus

$name

search for a port/pinBus named $name in the given instance

module …
primitive …

port
portBus

$name

search for a port/portBus named $name in the given module/primitive

Dive Up and Down with Object IDs

The following commands convert an OID in order to dive down and up the hierarchy:

$db oid down $oid
$db oid up   $oid

The first command dives down the hierarchy tree and returns an OID with a longer path; the second command is the reverse function and returns an OID with a shorter path (the second only works, if the given $oid is a tree-based OID).

$db oid down $oid accepts an $oid of type inst, pin, and pinBus and returns and OID of type module/primitive, port, and portBus, respectively.

$db oid up $oid accepts an $oid of type module, primitive, port, and portBus and returns an OID of type inst, pin, and pinBus, respectively.

The $db oid down … command is similar to $db moduleOf … / $db primitiveOf … and the $db oid up … command is similar to $db parentInst … / $db parentModule ….

Concat a Pin OID to a Module Inst

The following command converts a hierarchical instance OID to a tree-based pin oid, by appending a module-based pin OID or a relative path to a pin:

$db oid concat $inst $pin
$db oid concat $inst -pinpath $path

The works only if the $pin OID is relative to the given $inst OID.

The -pinpath option can be used, if $path is a list containing the instance names and the pin name which should be appended to $inst.

Check for Existence of OIDs

$db oid exists $oid

returns true if the given $oid exists in $db. The given OID may be created from an other database.

Null OIDs

$db oid isnull $oid

returns true if the given $oid is a "null OID". Those "null OIDs" can show up in the $db foreach member … loop to identify "gaps" in a netBus definition; or as a return value from the $db search … commands.

Type of Null OIDs

$db oid nulltype $oid

returns the type for some special "null OIDs" or an empty string. They are used to identify e.g. source pos info for comments etc.

Compare OIDs

$db oid isequal $oid1 $oid2
$db oid cmp $oid1 $oid2

The first command returns true if both given OIDs are identical, otherwise it returns false.

The second command returns -1, 0, 1 for sorting the given OIDs (suitable for sorting a list of OIDs using Tcl’s lsort command with the -command … option).

These functions can be a speedup over "stringifying" them and comparing the strings.

Parasitic OIDs

$db oid isparasitic $oid
$db oid isparasiticmodinst $oid
$db oid convertFromParasitic $oid
$db oid convertToParasitic $oid $pTopOid

The first command returns true if the given OID is a parasitic module, or the referred object is contained in a parasitic module.

The second returns true if the given OID is a instance of a parasitic module.

The third converts the given OID to a "normal" OID.

The fourth converts a "normal" OID to a parasitic OID relative to the given parasitic top module $pTopOid or, if $oid is a signal/net OID $pTopOId can be omitted and a parasitic module OID is returned.

Reset all OIDs

$db oid resetAllOIDs

resets the string representation of all Tcl variables referring to OIDs. The next access to the string representation of the variable will re-create the representation. The command returns the number of reset OIDs.

Additional OID Commands

$db oid

Oid sub-command.

$db oid cleanup_mem

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid cleanup_mem

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid cmp

Returns -1, 0, 1 for sorting the given OIDs (suitable for sorting a list of OIDs using Tcl’s lsort command with the -command … option).

Usage:

$db oid cmp oid1 oid2

Parameters:

oid1: Input OID.
oid2: Input OID.

Example:

$db oid cmp $oid1 $oid2

$db oid cname

Get the cell name. That is the module or primitive name of the given inst (or pin or pinBus).

Usage:

$db oid cname oid

Parameters:

oid: Input OID.

Example:

$db oid cname $oid

$db oid concat

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid concat

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid convertable

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid convertable

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid convertFromParasitic

Converts the given OID to a "normal" OID.

Usage:

$db oid convertFromParasitic oid

Parameters:

oid: Input OID.

Example:

$db oid convertFromParasitic $oid

$db oid convertPin

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid convertPin oid pinNo

Parameters:

oid: Input OID.
pinNo: Number of the pin.

Example:

$db oid convertPin $oid 0

$db oid convertTo

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid convertTo

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid convertToParasitic

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid convertToParasitic

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid convertToPin

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid convertToPin

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid convertToPort

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid convertToPort oid portNo

Parameters:

oid: Input OID.
portNo: Number of the port.

Example:

$db oid convertToPort $oid 0

$db oid create

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid create oidObj

Parameters:

oidObj: String or Oid String representation.

Example:

$db oid create {module top top}
$db oid create null

$db oid createFromString

This command can be used if the instance path and name of the object is given by one string $str. The string is split by the given hierarchy separator $hiersep.

Usage:

$db oid createFromString ?-autoPopulate? ?-delim delim? ?-escape escape? ?-escapeVerilog? ?-guess? ?-icase? ?-topInstName topInstName? type topModule str hiersep

Parameters:

-autoPopulate (optional): Auto populate DB.
-delim delim (optional default is NULL): If no optional delimiter is given, the hierarchy separator is used to find the last part of the string, used as an object name.
-escape escape (optional default is NULL): Hierarchy separator and delimiter may be protected by preceding them with an optional escape character.
-escapeVerilog (optional): Escape the identifiers using the Verilog standard.
-guess (optional): Optional guessing by prepending an X to the Instance name used during searching may be enabled by -guess.
-icase (optional): Ignore case.
-topInstName topInstName (optional default is NULL): Can be used to short the path until the first match.
hiersep: Hierarchy separator.
str: Name to the object.
topModule: The oid of the containing top module. If {null} OID is given, top module is extracted from the given path string.
type: Type of oid.

Example:

$db oid createFromString inst {module top top} i1 .

$db oid createFromStringList

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid createFromStringList ?-autoPopulate? ?-guessName? ?-guessPath? ?-icase? type pathList name

Parameters:

-autoPopulate (optional): Auto populate DB.
-guessName (optional): Use extended rules to match the name.
-guessPath (optional): Use extended rules to match the path.
-icase (optional): Ignore case.
name: Name of the object.
pathList: List of the names to the object.
type: Type of oid.

Example:

$db oid createFromStringList inst {top} i1

$db oid createIcase

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid createIcase oidObj

Parameters:

oidObj: String or Oid String representation.

Example:

$db oid createIcase {module TOP TOP}
$db oid createIcase NULL

$db oid createModBased

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid createModBased oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid createNetSeg

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid createNetSeg

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid deleteSchematicCache

Delete the database schematic cache.

Usage:

$db oid deleteSchematicCache module

Parameters:

module: Delete the database schematic cache for this module.

Example:

$db oid deleteSchematicCache $module

$db oid down

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid down oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid exists

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid exists

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid getSchematicCache

Get the database schematic cache.

Usage:

$db oid getSchematicCache module

Parameters:

module: Get the database schematic cache for this module.

Example:

set layout [$db oid getSchematicCache $module]

$db oid iname0

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid iname0 oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid iname1

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid iname1 oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid insideprim

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid insideprim oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid isequal

Returns true if both given OIDs are identical, otherwise it returns false.

Usage:

$db oid isequal oid1 oid2

Parameters:

oid1: Input OID.
oid2: Input OID.

Example:

$db oid isequal $oid1 $oid2

$db oid isModBased

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid isModBased oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid isnull

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid isnull oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid isparasitic

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid isparasitic oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid isparasiticmodinst

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid isparasiticmodinst oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid isTopRoot

Returns a boolean; it is true if the $oid's root module is a top module.

Usage:

$db oid isTopRoot oid

Parameters:

oid: Input OID.

Example:

$db oid isTopRoot $oid

$db oid isvirtual

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid isvirtual oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid module

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid module oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid nulltype

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid nulltype oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid oname

Get the object’s name, e.g. instance name, net name, etc.

Usage:

$db oid oname oid

Parameters:

oid: Input OID.

Example:

$db oid oname $oid

$db oid path

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid path oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid pname

Get the pin name.

Usage:

$db oid pname oid

Parameters:

oid: Input OID.

Example:

$db oid pname $oid

$db oid pname0

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid pname0 oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid pname1

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid pname1 oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid print

Converts the given oid to a string representation.

Usage:

$db oid print ?-addrange? ?-addwidth? ?-delim delim? ?-escapeVerilog? ?-hiersep hiersep? ?-joinchar joinchar? ?-nameAttr? ?-noname? ?-nopath? ?-noroot? ?-notype? ?-tclname? ?-typeastitle? oid

Parameters:

-addrange (optional): Add the range of a bus object.
-addwidth (optional): Add the width of a bus object.
-delim delim (optional default is NULL): Use the given character to separate the pin name.
-escapeVerilog (optional): Escape the identifiers using the Verilog standard.
-hiersep hiersep (optional default is NULL): Use the given hierarchy separator to print the OID.
-joinchar joinchar (optional default is NULL): Join all OID elements using this char.
-nameAttr (optional): Use the @name attribute for the object name.
-noname (optional): Add the object name.
-nopath (optional): Add the path to the object.
-noroot (optional): Do not print the path of the OID.
-notype (optional): Do not print the object type.
-tclname (optional): Add Tcl conform object names.
-typeastitle (optional): Print the type as title.
oid: The oid to print.

Example:

$db oid print {inst top i1}

$db oid resetAllOIDs

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid resetAllOIDs

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid root

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid root oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid searchTreeBased

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid searchTreeBased

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid setSchematicCache

Set the database schematic cache.

Usage:

$db oid setSchematicCache module schematicLayout

Parameters:

module: Set the database schematic cache for this module.
schematicLayout: The schematic layout string.

Example:

$db oid setSchematicCache $module "schematic layout"

$db oid statistics

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid statistics

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db oid tail

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid tail oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid type

Get the object type.

Usage:

$db oid type oid

Parameters:

oid: Input OID.

Example:

$db oid type $oid

$db oid up

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid up oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid validate

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid validate oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

$db oid virtualtype

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oid virtualtype oid

Parameters:

oid: No Documentation yet.

Example:

Additional ZDB Commands

zdb check

Check if the $binfile is valid for the current architecture. zdb check returns an error code if the check is negative.

Usage:

zdb check binfile

Parameters:

binfile: Path to a binfile.

Example:

zdb check "design.zdb"

zdb cone

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb cone

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb fileinfo

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb fileinfo

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb foreach

Can be used to loop over all active databases.

Usage:

zdb foreach var body

Parameters:

body: The executed code for each database.
var: The loop variable is set to the current database.

Example:

zdb foreach db {
    # Do something with $db
}

zdb keyword

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb keyword

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb new

Create a new zdb object.

Usage:

zdb new ?-malloc? ?binfile?

Parameters:

-malloc (optional): Create a malloc based database.
binfile (optional): Path to a binfile.

Example:

set db [zdb new]

zdb open

Returns a "database handle" for the created database (like the zdb new command) but also loads the database from the specified binfile. The binfile is opened in read-only mode.

Usage:

zdb open ?-malloc? ?-populate? ?-quick? ?-writable? binfile

Parameters:

-malloc (optional): Create a malloc based database.
-populate (optional): The -populate option can be used to map the whole database into memory. This may slowdown the open command but speedup processing later. It has only an effect on Linux.
-quick (optional): Opening the binfile in quick mode will load the cell definitions and hierarchy information only. The contents for each module needs to be populated separately.
-writable (optional): The binfile is opened writable and is updated whenever the database changes and (after a $db close) it is usable for subsequent zdb open calls.
binfile: Path to a binfile.

Example:

set db [zdb open "design.zdb"]

zdb parserbits

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb parserbits

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb primFuncList

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb primFuncList

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb primPrefix2Func

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb primPrefix2Func

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb profile

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb profile

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb sizeof

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb sizeof

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb source

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb source

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb synbool

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

zdb synbool

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb valid

Can be used to check whether $db is a valid database command returned from e.g. zdb new.

Usage:

zdb valid database

Parameters:

database: Name of a database.

Example:

zdb valid $db

zdb validate

Returns true if the $binfile is ok, false otherwise.

Usage:

zdb validate binfile

Parameters:

binfile: Path to a binfile.

Example:

zdb validate "design.zdb"

zdb version

Prints the database version number.

Usage:

zdb version ?what?

Parameters:

what (optional): What

Example:

zdb version

$db annotate

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db annotate

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db assertionModel

Create a model of the parasitic database.

Usage:

$db assertionModel

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set assertionModel [$db assertionModel]

$db attr

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db attr

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db blocklevel

Create a new blocklevel object.

Usage:

$db blocklevel

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set targetDB [zdb new]
set blocklevel [$db blocklevel $targetDB]

$db busOf

get bus of given member pin/port/net.

Usage:

$db busOf pinPortOrNet

Parameters:

pinPortOrNet: pin, port or net OID.

Example:

set oid [$db busOf $pin]

$db calc

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db calc

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db cdc

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db cdc

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db checkFunction

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db checkFunction

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db clearSchematicCache

Clear the database schematic cache for all modules.

Usage:

$db clearSchematicCache

Parameters:

Example:

$db clearSchematicCache

$db clone

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db clone

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db cloneDB

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db cloneDB

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db close

The $db close command frees the used memory and deletes the $db Tcl command.

Usage:

$db close

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

$db close

$db cone

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db cone

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db coneToPG

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db coneToPG

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db connectedNet

get connected net of given pin or port.

Usage:

$db connectedNet pinOrPort

Parameters:

pinOrPort: pin or port OID.

Example:

set oid [$db connectedNet $pin]

$db count

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db count

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db deleteAllButFlat

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db deleteAllButFlat

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db deleteZombies

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db deleteZombies

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db directionOf

Get the direction of a pin or port.

Usage:

$db directionOf pin

Parameters:

pin: The OID of a parasitic module.

Example:

$db directionOf $pin

$db down

get down of given inst/pin.

Usage:

$db down instPinOrPinBus

Parameters:

instPinOrPinBus: inst, pin or PinBus.

Example:

set oid [$db down $inst]

$db dump

Dump the database contents to a file.

Usage:

$db dump ?-cell cell? ?-compress compress? ?flags? filename

Parameters:

-cell cell (optional default is NULL): Dump flags.
-compress compress (optional default is ce_IOTypeStd): Compression type.
filename: Name of the dump output file.
flags (optional): Dump flags

Example:

$db dump "database.dmp"

$db efile

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db efile

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db extract

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db extract

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db find

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db find

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db flag

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db flag

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db flat

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db flat

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db flatattr

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db flatattr

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db flatflag

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db flatflag

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db flathilight

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db flathilight

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db flatid

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db flatid

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db flatoomr

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db flatoomr

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db foreach

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db foreach

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_all_bits

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_all_bits

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_attribute

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_attribute

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_cell

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_cell

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_driver

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_driver

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_inst

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_inst

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_instances_of_cell

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_instances_of_cell

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_load

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_load

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_net

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_net

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_para_port_name

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_para_port_name

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_pins

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_pins

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_ports

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_ports

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db get_top_design

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db get_top_design

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db getFuncPort

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db getFuncPort

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db getMember

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db getMember

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db getOriginalName

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db getOriginalName

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db guessedTopModules

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db guessedTopModules

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db hasParentInst

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db hasParentInst

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db hasParentMod

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db hasParentMod

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db hasRange

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db hasRange

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db hiersep

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db hiersep

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db highlight

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db highlight

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db hilight

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db hilight

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db htree

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db htree

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db identicalInterface

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db identicalInterface

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db ignore

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db ignore

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db info

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db info

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db infobox

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db infobox

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db isBusMember

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db isBusMember

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db isConnected

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db isConnected

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db isEmpty

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db isEmpty

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db isModule

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db isModule

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db isOneToOneConnection

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db isOneToOneConnection

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db isOperator

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db isOperator

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db isPgNet

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db isPgNet

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db istmptop

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db istmptop

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db isTop

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db isTop

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db load

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db load

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db memusage

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db memusage

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db mergeDB

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db mergeDB

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db moduleListModel

Create a new module list object.

Usage:

$db moduleListModel

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set moduleListModel [$db moduleListModel]

$db moduleOf

get module of given inst/pin/pinBus.

Usage:

$db moduleOf instPinOrPinBus

Parameters:

instPinOrPinBus: inst, pin or PinBus.

Example:

set oid [$db moduleOf $inst]

$db oper

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db oper

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db orient

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db orient

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db parasiticNetModel

Create a model of the parasitic database.

Usage:

$db parasiticNetModel

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set parasiticNetModel [$db parasiticNetModel]

$db parasiticSchemModel

Create a new Parasitic view object.

Usage:

$db parasiticSchemModel

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set parasiticSchemModel [$db parasiticSchemModel]

$db parentInst

get parentInst of given inst|net|netBus|netSeg|signal.

Usage:

$db parentInst instNetNetBusNetSegSignal

Parameters:

instNetNetBusNetSegSignal: inst, net, netBus, netSeg or signal.

Example:

set oid [$db parentInst $inst]

$db parentModule

get parentModule of given oid.

Usage:

$db parentModule oid

Parameters:

oid: oid.

Example:

set oid [$db parentModule $inst]

$db populateCount

Populate sub-command to get current count of populated data.

Usage:

$db populateCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set count [$db populateCount]

$db populateFlat

Populate sub-command to incrementally fill the database from a binfile.

Usage:

$db populateFlat ?moduleName?

Parameters:

moduleName (optional): Populate the database with the flat data of the given module.

Example:

$db populateFlat "TOP"

$db populateModule

Populate sub-command to incrementally fill the database from a binfile.

Usage:

$db populateModule ?-noflat? ?-parasitic? ?moduleName?

Parameters:

-noflat (optional): Do not automatically populate flat data.
-parasitic (optional): Treat the given module name as a parasitic module.
moduleName (optional): Populate the database with the contents of the given module.

Example:

$db populateModule "TOP"

$db populateSourceFileInfo

Populate sub-command to incrementally fill the source file information in the database for the source file with the given index.

Usage:

$db populateSourceFileInfo ?sfileIdx?

Parameters:

sfileIdx (optional): Populate the database with the line file information of the sfile index.

Example:

$db populateSourceFileInfo 0

$db primFuncOf

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db primFuncOf

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db primitiveFuncOf

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db primitiveFuncOf

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db primitiveOf

get primitive of given inst/pin/pinBus.

Usage:

$db primitiveOf instPinOrPinBus

Parameters:

instPinOrPinBus: inst, pin or PinBus.

Example:

set oid [$db primitiveOf $inst]

$db print_oid_as_slash_path

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db print_oid_as_slash_path

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db print_oid_as_spef

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db print_oid_as_spef

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db rangeLsb

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db rangeLsb

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db rangeMsb

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db rangeMsb

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db refCount

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db refCount

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db reloadModule

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db reloadModule

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db reloadParasitic

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db reloadParasitic

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db report

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db report

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db save

Save the database as a binfile.

Usage:

$db save ?-legacy? binfile

Parameters:

-legacy (optional): Use legacy file format.
binfile: The name of the created binfile.

Example:

$db save "design.zdb"

$db schematic

Create a new schematic object.

Usage:

$db schematic

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set schem [$db schematic]

$db schematicModel

Create a new schematicModel object.

Usage:

$db schematicModel

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set schem [$db schematicModel]

$db search

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db search

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db setPrimitive

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db setPrimitive

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db setXY

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db setXY

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db spos

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db spos

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db sposFilesModel

Create a SPOS file model.

Usage:

$db sposFilesModel

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set model [$db sposFilesModel]

$db symdef

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db symdef

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db symlib

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db symlib

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db tableAlloc

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db tableAlloc

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db tdevice

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db tdevice

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db tools

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db tools

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db top

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db top

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db treeModel

Create a new hierarchy tree model object.

Usage:

$db treeModel

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

set treeModel [$db treeModel]

$db uniqueName

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db uniqueName

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db unusedTopCandidates

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db unusedTopCandidates

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db up

get up of given module/primitive/port/portBus.

Usage:

$db up modPrimPortOrPBus

Parameters:

modPrimPortOrPBus: module, primitive, port or portBus.

Example:

set oid [$db up $mod]

$db utils

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db utils

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db validate

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db validate

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db value

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db value

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

$db widthOf

No Documentation yet.

Usage:

$db widthOf

Parameters:

No parameters.

Example:

    # No example

zdb formatvalue

zdb formatvalue sub-command.

zdb formatvalue changeverilogradix

Change the radix of a Verilog value. Returns the original value in case of errors.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue changeverilogradix radix inputValue

Parameters:

inputValue: Input value in the specified format to be formatted.
radix: Specify the output format: -bin|-oct|-dec|-hex.

Example:

zdb formatvalue changeverilogradix -hex 4'b1010

zdb formatvalue frombinary

Convert a given binary value into an octal, decimal or hexadecimal value.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue frombinary ?-noValueAsX? ?-prefix? ?-singleNoValue? ?-verilogPrefix? ?-width widthVal? radix inputValue

Parameters:

-noValueAsX (optional): Convert '?' as 'X'.
-prefix (optional): Adds 'O' for octal and '0x' for hexadecimal values at the beginning of the output value. prefix and verilogPrefix are mutually exclusive.
-singleNoValue (optional): Convert multiple '?' novalues to only one '?'.
-verilogPrefix (optional): Add [0-9]'[bodh] prefix in Verilog style to the value. prefix and verilogPrefix are mutually exclusive.
-width widthVal (optional default is 0): Adds leading zeros to the input value before conversion to match the given width. Ignored for '-dec'. Ignored if width is too small.
inputValue: Input value in binary format to be formatted. Leading zeros are ignored.
radix: Set the target format with -bin|-oct|-dec|-hex.

Example:

zdb formatvalue frombinary -hex -prefix 1101

zdb formatvalue fromspice

Convert values from Spice notation to a real number. Returns '0.0' for erroneous inputs.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue fromspice ?-hspice? inputValue

Parameters:

-hspice (optional): For inputs in hspice format. Enables the usage of 'a' (atto → 1e-18).
inputValue: Input value in Spice notation to be formatted.

Example:

zdb formatvalue fromspice 10m

zdb formatvalue fromspicestrict

Convert values in Spice format to decimal. Returns empty string for erroneous inputs.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue fromspicestrict ?-hspice? inputValue

Parameters:

-hspice (optional): For inputs in hspice format. Enables the usage of 'a' (atto → 1e-18).
inputValue: Input value in Spice format to be formatted.

Example:

zdb formatvalue fromspicestrict 10m

zdb formatvalue fromverilog

Convert a given verilog value in binary, decimal, octal or hexadecimal format into a decimal value.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue fromverilog inputValue

Parameters:

inputValue: Input value in verilog format to be formatted.

Example:

zdb formatvalue fromverilog 8'b00000101

zdb formatvalue thousands

Add thousands separators to the input value.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue thousands inputValue ?sep?

Parameters:

inputValue: Input value in dec format to be formatted.
sep (optional): Separator to be used. By default ',' is used.

Example:

zdb formatvalue thousands 1234567890

zdb formatvalue tobinary

Convert a number in binary, octal, decimal or hexadecimal format to a number in binary format.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue tobinary ?-prefix? ?-verilogPrefix? ?-width widthVal? radix inputValue

Parameters:

-prefix (optional): Has to be set if the input starts with an 'O'/'0x' for octal/hexadecimal input formats.
-verilogPrefix (optional): Add [0-9]'[bodh] prefix to the value.
-width widthVal (optional default is 0): Number of bits for the result value. Is ignored if the number is too small.
inputValue: Input value in the specified format to be formatted.
radix: Specify the input format: -bin|-oct|-dec|-hex.

Example:

zdb formatvalue tobinary -oct -prefix O12

zdb formatvalue tospice

Convert a real number into a Spice value.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue tospice ?-hspice? inputValue

Parameters:

-hspice (optional): For inputs in hspice format. Enables the usage of 'a' (atto → 1e-18).
inputValue: Input value to be formatted.

Example:

zdb formatvalue tospice 1e-7

zdb formatvalue toverilog

Convert a decimal number to a number in Verilog format with bin|oct|dec|hex radix.

Usage:

zdb formatvalue toverilog ?-separatorDistance separatorDistance? ?-width widthVal? radix inputValue

Parameters:

-separatorDistance separatorDistance (optional default is 0): Set to insert underscore separators with the distance of <separatorDistance> between them.
-width widthVal (optional default is 0): Number of bits for the result value. Is ignored if the number is too small.
inputValue: Input value in the specified format to be formatted.
radix: Specify the output format: -bin|-oct|-dec|-hex.

Example:

zdb formatvalue toverilog -bin -width 10 123

Foreach Loops

$db foreach $iter_type $oid variable $body

loops over all elements of type $iter_type within the specified object. For each element, the specified loop variable is set and the $body is executed.

The body can access the loop variable.

The $body may execute break, continue, and return with the expected results.

The loop variable is actually another OID. For each iteration step, a new OID is created internally and assigned to the loop variable. These new OIDs always have the same module root and path as the specified $oid.

It is not safe to run operators modifying the database while using a $db foreach … loop. Especially if the body of the $db foreach … loop modifies the current iteration type. E.g. $db foreach pin $net while using $db oper disconnect $pin in the body of the foreach loop will cause unpredictable results.

If the specified $oid does not exist or architecturally cannot "contain" elements of $iter_type then the foreach-loop will immediately return an error message (and will not execute the body).

Loop over Modules and Primitives

$db foreach top       cur $body
$db foreach module    cur $body
$db foreach primitive cur $body
$db foreach cell      cur $body
$db foreach parasitic cur $body

loop over top-modules, modules or primitives.

the top-modules are a subset of the "modules" (often just one);
$db foreach cell … loops over both modules and primitives;
$db foreach parasitic … loops over the so-called parasitic modules in random order (they are disjoint to the "module" list).

For each iteration step, the loop variable cur is set to a new module OID or primitive OID. These five foreach-loops are the only ones that do not require an argument $oid (for initialization), since they are based on the database root.

Loop over Interface Ports

$db foreach port       $mod cur $body
$db foreach portBus    $mod cur $body
$db foreach oPort $dir $mod cur $body

Assuming $mod is a module or primitive OID, these foreach-commands loop over the interface ports and portBuses and set the loop variable cur accordingly.

$db foreach port … loops over single-bit ports (including bus members);

$db foreach portBus loops over portBuses;

$db foreach oPort … loops over both simultaneously, setting cur to either a port or a portBus; it does not include bus members and visits the ports/portBuses in a predefined order (as defined by the bus-level functions, where single-bit ports and portBuses are mixed); additionally, oPort can filter ports by direction $dir:

*

loop over all ports and portBuses

input

loop over input ports and input portBuses, skip output, inout and unknown directions

output

loop over output ports/portBuses

inout

loop over inout ports/portBuses

The commands

$db foreach couplingPort $parasitic cur $body
$db foreach couplingInst $parasitic cur $body

can be used to loop over all coupling connections and coupling instances of a parasitic module.

Loop over Instances, Nets and Buses

$db foreach inst     $mod cur $body
$db foreach clocked  $mod cur $body
$db foreach operator $mod cur $body
$db foreach primInst $mod cur $body
$db foreach net      $mod cur $body
$db foreach netBus   $mod cur $body

Assuming $mod is a module OID, these foreach-commands loop over the module contents and set the loop variable cur accordingly.

$db foreach pin       $inst cur $body
$db foreach pinBus    $inst cur $body
$db foreach oPin $dir $inst cur $body

Assuming $inst is an instance OID, $db foreach pin/pinBus … loop over pins or pinBuses of a given instance and set the cur variable accordingly; $db foreach oPin … works analogous to "oPort".

Loop over Bus Information

$db foreach net    $netBus  cur $body
$db foreach member $netBus  cur $body
$db foreach pin    $pinBus  cur $body
$db foreach port   $portBus cur $body

Loop over single bit nets, pins or ports of a given bus object (as before, $netBus, $pinBus, and $portBus are OIDs).

The $db foreach net … and $db foreach member … are identical, except $db foreach net … will skip null OIDs (representing gaps in a netBus definition).

Search Objects by Name

$db search ?-icase? top        $name
$db search ?-icase? module     $name
$db search ?-icase? primitive  $name
$db search ?-icase? cell       $name
$db search ?-icase? parasitic  $name

Analogous to the foreach loop above, these commands search for a top-module, module, or primitive by $name;

$db search cell … searches for a module or a primitive;

$db search parasitic … searches for a so-called parasitic module.

The found object is returned as an OID — or a null OID is returned if the object cannot be found.

If the option -icase is specified then the object is searched in a case insensitive manner.

$db search ?-icase? port     $cell $name
$db search ?-icase? portBus  $cell $name

Analogous to the foreach loop above, these commands search for a port or portBus in the given module or primitive (as specified by $cell).

$db search ?-icase? inst     $mod  $name
$db search ?-icase? net      $mod  $name
$db search ?-icase? netBus   $mod  $name
$db search ?-icase? pin      $inst $name
$db search ?-icase? pinBus   $inst $name
$db search ?-icase? member   $nbus $name (deprecated)

Analogous to the foreach loop above, these commands search for an inst, net or netBus in the given module ($mod) or for a pin or pinBus in the given instance ($inst).

$db search ?-icase? net   $netBus  $name
$db search ?-icase? pin   $pinBus  $name
$db search ?-icase? port  $portBus $name

Analogous to the foreach loop above, these commands search for a sub-net, sub-pin or sub-port in the given netBus, pinBus or portBus respectively.

Getting Bus Information

$db isBusMember $net
$db isBusMember $pin
$db isBusMember $port
$db busOf   $net
$db busOf   $pin
$db busOf   $port
$db widthOf $netBus
$db widthOf $pinBus
$db widthOf $portBus
$db hasRange $bus
$db rangeLsb $bus
$db rangeMsb $bus

$db isBusMember $net/$pin/$port returns a boolean value indicating whether the object is member of a bus;

$db busOf $net/$pin/$port return the OID of the netBus, pinBus or portBus (or an error if the specified $net/$pin/$port is not a member of a bus);

$db widthOf $netBus/$pinBus/$portBus returns an integer defining the bus width.

$db hasRange $bus returns true if the given bus has a range direction.

$db rangeLsb $bus returns the index of the bus' LSB.

$db rangeMsb $bus returns the index of the bus' MSB.

By convention the parsers store the LSB of a bus first.

Getting Hierarchy Information

$db isTop       $mod
$db isModule    $inst|$pin|$pinBus|$mod|$prim
$db isOperator  $inst
$db moduleOf    $inst|$pin|$pinBus
$db primitiveOf $inst|$pin|$pinBus

The first three commands return a boolean value; the fourth command returns the down-module OID (the module referred to by the specified instance) or an error if $inst is not a module; the last command returns the primitive OID as referred to by the specified instance, or an error if $inst is not a primitive. Instead of $inst, a $pin or $pinBus is also accepted with the same effect.

$db isEmpty $module ?-checkDanglingNets?

$db isEmpty … command returns true if the given module is empty (contains no instance or net). If the option -checkDanglingNets is given then nets with no or only one connection are ignored.

$db refCount $oid

$db refCount … returns an integer representing the number of instances referring to the Module or Primitive given as $oid.

But, any other kind of OID can be given as $oid — in that case, the refCount of the $oid's parent module is returned.

$db hasParentInst $inst
$db parentInst    $inst

The first command returns a boolean value; the second command returns an inst OID for the instance one hierarchy level above. Instead of $inst, a $net or $netBus is also accepted with the same effect. This only works for tree-based OIDs.

$db hasParentMod $oid
$db parentModule $oid

the first command returns a boolean value; the second command returns a module OID, pointing to the module that "contains" the given $oid. If the $oid itself is a tree-based module or primitive, then the path is shortened by one element.

More hierarchy information is returned by the $db oid down/up … commands.

Getting Primitive Function

$db primFuncOf $prim
$db primFuncOf $mod
$db primFuncOf $inst
$db primFuncOf $pin

returns the name of the primitive function, e.g. NAND, NMOS etc. or UNKNOWN. For compatibility, the old command name $db primitiveFuncOf … is also supported with the same function.

$db setPrimitive $level

Set a new primitive level according to the given value of $level which is a combination of -clear, -operator, -libcell, -celldefine, -flag and -symbol.

The option -clear removes all primitive level settings.
The option -operator specifies all cells with a known function (Operators) as primitives.
The option -libcell specifies all cells flagged as library cells (e.g. coming from a binlib) as primitives.
The option -celldefine specifies all cells surrounded by the Verilog macros `celldefine and `endcelldefine as primitives.
The option -flag specifies all modules flagged with the leafcell flag as primitives.
The option -symbol specifies all cells with a @symbol attribute (from a symlib) as primitives.

$db oid insideprim $oid

returns true if the given $oid is inside a primitive "module". These OIDs are returned by the picklist command if the -insideprim option is given.

Compare Cell Interfaces

$db identicalInterface ?-icase? $cellA $cellB

Compare if the interfaces of two given cells are identical. If identical, then this function returns true, false otherwise.

The interface includes port and portBus names, direction and order. Update $cellA's port directions from $cellB and vice versa, whatever has more information: update unknown by inout/input/output and update inout by input/output.

If the optional argument -icase is specified, then the port names are compared in a case insensitive manner.

Report Module Size/Insts/Nets

$db report sizeOf    $mod
$db report instCount $result $mod
$db report netCount  $mod
$db report portCount $mod
$db report objCount  ?-cell|-inst|-pin|-net|-netBus|port|portBus|-all?
                     ?$mod|-hier?
$db report histogram
$db report designStatistics $filename

$db report sizeOf … returns a triplet (list with 3 elements) containing the number of ports, instances and nets of the given module.

$db report instCount … computes the number of primitives and modules (all instantiations) and stores the result into the given table ($result is the name of the array variable where the results are stored). For each entry, the key is the primitive or module name (prefixed by the character P or M) and the value is the number of instances.

$db report netCount/portCount … compute and return the number of nets and ports, respectively (in all instantiations).

$db report objCount … reports the number of inst, port and net objects in all instantiations. If the option -hier is given then only one instance of a module is used to count the total number of objects. By adding a type option the returned object count can be limited to the given type.

$db report histogram report statistic (histogram) data for the given database.

$db report designStatistics prints statistic information of the loaded design database into the given file.

Count Objects

$db count cell
$db count module
$db count primitive
$db count parasitic
$db count inst $mod
$db count net $mod
$db count netBus $mod
$db count port $cell
$db count portBus $cell
$db count member $netBus|$portBus
$db count pin $net ?-noport?

The $db count … commands return the number of elements of the given type in the database respectively given owner.

When using $db count pin $net, connected ports may be excluded with -noport.

Is Transistor Device

$db tdevice $inst|$prim

returns true if the given instance or primitive OID refers to a device function.

Is Polar Device

$db tdevice polar $inst|$prim

returns true if the given instance or primitive OID refers to a polar device function.

Get Opposite Pin

$db tdevice oppositePin $pin

For transistor-level primitives, return the "opposite pin" of the given pin or the "opposite port" of the given port; that is for RES, CAP, etc. just the other pin.

For NMOS and PMOS jump from drain to source and vice versa — does not work for gate and bulk pins.

For NPN and PNP jump from collector to emitter and vice versa — does not work for base and substrate pins.

Get Pin by Function

$db getFuncPort $cell|$inst ?-name? ?-noError? $orderedPort

Get the instance pin or cell port at the given ordered port number.

The option -noError will return a empty list for not matching ports.
The option -name allows specifying one of the port functions select, set, reset, clock, enable, drain, and gate as $orderedPort.

Get Bus Member by Index

$db getMember $portBus|$netBus -index|-bit $idx ?-noError?

Get the member of a portBus or netBus at the given index number, if -index is used.
Get the member of a portBus or netBus with the given bit subscript, if -bit is used.
The option -noError will return a null oid for invalid options instead of raising a Tcl error.

Getting Pin Direction

$db directionOf $port
$db directionOf $pin
$db directionOf $portBus
$db directionOf $pinBus

returns one of input, output, inout, and unknown.

For primitive ports (and primitive instance pins), the return string may be extended by a .neg suffix to indicate that their function is inverted, e.g. input.neg.

Getting Connectivity Information

$db isConnected $pin
$db isConnected $port
$db connectedNet $pin
$db connectedNet $port
$db isOneToOneConnection ?-checksequence? $netBus $pinBus
$db isOneToOneConnection ?-checksequence? $netBus $portBus

The $db isConnected … command returns a boolean value indicating whether the object is connected to a net.
The $db connectedNet … command returns a net OID (or an error if the object is not connected to a net).
The $db isOneToOneConnection … command checks if all subnets of the given netBus are connected to the given pinBus or portBus. If -checksequence is used, the first member of the netbus must be connected to first member of the pinBus or portBus and all other connections must be in sequence.

$db foreach pin $net cur $body

loops over the net connections. For each iteration step, the loop variable cur is set to either a port OID or a pin OID.

The loops

$db foreach pinCon  $net cur $body
$db foreach portCon $net cur $body

can be used to get only the pins or the ports connected to the given net object.

Top Module

$db top set $mod
$db top unset $mod

The $db top … commands add or remove a module from the top list.

Clone Object

$db clone ?-bitblasted? ?-skipflaggedport $flag? ?-skipflaggedinst $flag?
          ?-skipcontent? ?-nospos? $oid ?$rename?

The $db clone … command clones an object and returns the OID of the newly created object. If the optional $rename is missing, a unique name is created. Currently only primitives and modules are supported. If the option -bitblasted is specified, then a bit-blasted version of the primitive or module is created. If the original cell has a bus level function then this function is not cloned.

The option -skipflaggedport $flag will not clone ports flagged with the given $flag. If the original cell has a function then this function is not cloned if -skipflaggedport is specified.

The option -skipflaggedinst $flag will not clone instances inside the module to be cloned flagged with the given flag. If -skipcontent is given then this option is not used.

The -nospos option can be used to save memory by not cloning spos information.

Clone Database

$db cloneDB ?-into $otherdb?
            ?-keepcell $flag? ?-keepinst $flag?
            ?-keepnet $flag?  ?-keepport $flag?
            ?-keeppin $flag?
            ?-nospos?

The $db cloneDB … command clones the database with all flagged objects and returns the new database.

The -keep… options define the flags for objects which should be cloned. Flagged nets/netbuses and ports/portbuses are only cloned if the parent module is flagged. Flagged instances are only cloned if the parent module and the referenced cell is flagged. The connections of pins is only cloned if the pins and nets are flagged.

In none of the -keep… options is given, all objects will be cloned.

The -into option can be used to merge or clone flagged or all object into the given database. This can be used to merge multiple databases.

The -nospos option can be used to save memory by not cloning spos information.

Merge Database

$db mergeDB $fromDb ?-rename? ?-nospos?

The $db mergeDB … command clones all cells from $fromDb into $db.

If the -rename option is given, existing cells with the same name get renamed. Otherwise the interface must match. If a existing module has already contents the new contents is ignored.

Get/Set Attributes

$db attr $oid add $attr ?$attr $attr ...?
$db attr $oid set $attr ?$attr $attr ...?
$db attr $oid delete ?$name $name ...?
$db attr $oid get ?-sorted?
$db attr $oid getValue $name
$db attr $oid foreach cur_attr $body

Both, $db attr $oid add … and $db attr $oid set … append one or more attributes to the given $oid — however, set overwrites existing attributes (avoids duplicates) while add simply appends.

The format of $attr is name=value.

$db attr $oid delete … removes the attributes with the specified names from the given OID — or all attributes (if no names are specified).

$db attr $oid get … returns a list of all attributes (list of name=value elements). If the optional switch -sorted is given then a sorted list of all attributes is returned.

$db attr $oid getValue … returns just the value of the specified attribute name (or an empty string if not found).

$db attr $oid foreach cur_attr $body loops over the attributes of the specified object. The loop variable cur_attr is set to the current attribute string (in name=value format).

All six functions accept -db instead of $oid — in this case, the database root attributes are processed.

Get/Set Flags

$db flag $oid|<SCOPE> set   $flag
$db flag $oid|<SCOPE> clear $flag
$db flag $oid is            $flag
$db flag $oid is_set        $flag
$db flag $oid is_clear      $flag
$db flag $oid get
$db flag $oid clear
$db flag $oid toggle        $flag
$db flag $oid supported     $flag
$db flag $type available

The set and clear sub-commands set and clear a flag at the specified object of at all objects of the specified scope.

If the scope is -db then the given flag will be set or cleared at all database objects. Further possible scopes are: -cell, -module, -primitive, -inst, -net, -netBus, -port, -portBus, and -pin to limit the processed object type.

$db flag $oid is $flag returns true if the $flag is set at the specified object;

$db flag $oid is_set|is_clear $flag also return the current flag state (like $db flag $oid is $flag), but afterwards set/clear the flag.

$db flag $oid get returns a list of all set flags at the given object.

$db flag $oid supported $flag returns true if $flag is supported at the given $oid.

$db flag $type available returns a list of all supported flags for the given OID $type.

`$flag`	Description	Supported at
cell	inst	net	port/pin
`zombie`	used by the `$db deleteZombies` command	Yes	Yes	Yes
`red` `green` `blue` `yellow` `target`	general purpose, for Tcl Userware, they have no special meaning in the database. The `clear` command without a flag-name argument clears all these "general purpose" flags.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
`visit` `visit2` `visit3`	general purpose	Yes Yes Yes	Yes	Yes Yes Yes	Yes
`hide`	hide this symbol port or portBus in the schematic windows (all instantiations of modules and primitives are affected); hiding primitive ports is limited to the gate-level functions `UNKNOWN` and `DFF` and the bulk pins at some Spice-level functions (e.g. `NMOS`, `PMOS`, etc). The `hide` flag at a pin displays that pin disconnected in the schematic windows. (In addition to the `hide` flag, the Meta Attributes also control visibility in the schematic windows).				Yes
`neg`	bubble symbol port				Yes
`top` `bottom` `left` `right`	place this port at the top, bottom, left or right side.				Yes
`clock`	mark this port as a clock input pin				Yes
`driver`	mark this pin/port as a driver				Yes
`weakflow`	declare transistor primitives and instances to drive only a small current (is a weak transistor).	Yes	Yes
`power` `ground` `negpower`	this net is a power or ground or negative power net (or constant 1 or 0 in digital logic)			Yes
`undefined`	this is a black-box (the parser was not able to get any information about that module)	Yes
`feedthru`	for incremental schematic navigation pass this buffer-like cell	Yes
`libcell`	this is considered to be a library cell, e.g. defined by `celldefine in Verilog	Yes
`leafcell`	a module flagged with as a `leafcell` can be changed into a primitive by `$db setPrimitive …`.	Yes (module)
`group`	group flagged instances in the tree		Yes
`autogen`	this object is not declared by the user		Yes	Yes
`global`	for future use			Yes

$flag

Description

Supported at

cell

inst

net

port/pin

zombie

used by the $db deleteZombies command

Yes

red
green
blue
yellow
target

general purpose, for Tcl Userware, they have no special meaning in the database. The clear command without a flag-name argument clears all these "general purpose" flags.

Yes

visit
visit2
visit3

general purpose

Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes

hide

hide this symbol port or portBus in the schematic windows (all instantiations of modules and primitives are affected); hiding primitive ports is limited to the gate-level functions UNKNOWN and DFF and the bulk pins at some Spice-level functions (e.g. NMOS, PMOS, etc). The hide flag at a pin displays that pin disconnected in the schematic windows. (In addition to the hide flag, the Meta Attributes also control visibility in the schematic windows).

Yes

neg

bubble symbol port

Yes

top
bottom
left
right

place this port at the top, bottom, left or right side.

Yes

clock

mark this port as a clock input pin

Yes

driver

mark this pin/port as a driver

Yes

weakflow

declare transistor primitives and instances to drive only a small current (is a weak transistor).

Yes

power
ground
negpower

this net is a power or ground or negative power net (or constant 1 or 0 in digital logic)

Yes

undefined

this is a black-box (the parser was not able to get any information about that module)

Yes

feedthru

for incremental schematic navigation pass this buffer-like cell

Yes

libcell

this is considered to be a library cell, e.g. defined by `celldefine in Verilog

Yes

leafcell

a module flagged with as a leafcell can be changed into a primitive by $db setPrimitive ….

Yes (module)

group

group flagged instances in the tree

Yes

autogen

this object is not declared by the user

Yes

global

for future use

Yes

Power/Ground Nets

$db isPgNet $oid

Service function to test if the given net or signal is flagged as power or ground.

Constant Nets

$db value $oid ?$value?

$db value $oid returns the constant value of the $oid ($oid must be of type net, netBus or signal).

If $oid is a signal and there’s a value mismatch at the nets of the signal, and error is returned.

If called with the optional $value argument, then a constant value is set at the given net, netBus or signal object.

Possible values are: 0, 1, X, and Z. If an empty string is specified, then the value at the net, netBus or signal object is deleted.

Deal with Highlight Colors

The following commands can be used to highlight objects module based. An object inside a module that is instantiated multiple times will be highlighted with the given color in each instance of this module. The flathighlight API can be used to highlight individual objects only in one specific instantiation path.

$db hilight $oid set $color ?-permanent?
$db hilight $oid get    ?-permanent|-both?
$db hilight $oid delete ?-permanent|-both?
$db hilight *    deleteAll ?$color? ?-permanent|-both?

The set sub-command sets the highlight color for the object specified by $oid to $color.

The get sub-command returns the current highlight color or an empty list ({}) if nothing is set.

The delete sub-command removes the highlight color from the object specified by $oid.

With the deleteAll sub-command all highlights are removed. The optional $color argument specifies the color of the objects which should be removed. It may be omitted if all highlights should be removed.

There are two sets of highlight colors for each object. "normal" and -permanent colors. They can be set and deleted independent of each other. If both are set, the "normal" color has priority over the permanent color.

$color may be in the range 0..48.

Using the option -both to get either the normal or permanent highlight color will return the permanent value as a negative number to be able to distinguish between normal highlight.

Helper with Highlight Colors

The following commands can be used to highlight objects in module based and flat data. Parasitic and database object are both handled if possible.

$db highlight $oid set $color ?-permanent?
$db highlight $oid get        ?-permanent|-both?
$db highlight $oid delete     ?-permanent|-both?

Get/Set Instance Orientation

$db orient $inst ?R0|R90|R180|R270|MY|MYR90|MX|MXR90?
$db orient $inst ?+R0|+R90|+R180|+R270|+MY|+MYR90|+MX|+MXR90?
$db orient $inst ?-R0|-R90|-R180|-R270|-MY|-MYR90|-MX|-MXR90?

$db orient … gets or sets the orientation of the given instance object.

If the value is prefixed with /-` the orientation is applied relative to the current position. The rotation is applied counter-clockwise if prefix is ` and clockwise if prefix is -.

If the optional "orientation" argument is omitted, then the current orientation of the instance is returned, otherwise the orientation is set to the given value.

Validate

$db validate ?options?

Validate the integrity of the database.

The supported ?options? are:

-namespace

additionally validate object names in the database — to check if they are unique

-icasenamespace

ditto, but perform the check in a case-insensitive way

-spos

additionally validate source file positions

-mode9

perform extra checks on Prim Functions

-flat

additionally check flat data

-torder

additionally check for a cycle in the design hierarchy.

Symlib Support

The symlib operations are used to maintain graphical symbol information in the database.

The typical usage is:

$db symlib add     -fromattr|-fromfunc|-fromstr $str|$fname
$db symlib scan    ?-force?
$db symlib clear
$db symlib remove
$db symlib copy
$db symlib scandef ?-icase? $symdef
$db symlib info
$db symlib create  mySymbols.sym

The add sub-command reads the given symlib file, @symbol attributes or cell functions and adds it to the database.

The scan sub-command updates the symbol information of the database primitives, modules, ports and power/ground nets.

The -force option will overwrite symbol information if it already exists at a given cell. Otherwise it will be left unchanged.

The clear command removes all symlib information while the remove command only removes the symbol libraries add using the add command.

The copy command can be used to create database primitives and modules from added symlib information.

scandef splits the given symbol definition string into a list of separate entries for each contained keyword.

info can be used to get information contained in the symlib header of an added file.

create extracts the symbol information from the given database and creates a symlib file. An existing file will be overwritten.

Details about the symlib file can be found in the Symlib Tutorial.

Symdef Support

The graphical symbol information for port and power ground symbols is stored in the symdef table of a database and referenced by @sym attributes at the ports and power ground nets. The symdef table is maintained by the following commands:

$db symdef set    $name $def
$db symdef get    $name
$db symdef delete $name
$db symdef list

The set sub-command adds or overwrites a symbol definition with the given name.

The get sub-command returns a list containing the stored symbol definition and the optional io mapping info or an empty string if the given name is not stored in the table.

With the delete sub-command the information for the given symbol name is removed from the table.

The list sub-command returns a list of the names of all stored symbols.