Main Window

When you start Abstract Generator for the first time, the main window appears.

The application title bar contains the name of the application and the name of the current library if one has been set. If no library has been opened, the title bar of the application displays no current library next to the name of the application, as is shown in the figure above.

Menu Bar

The menu bar provides access to all Abstract Generator operations. You can also perform some of these operations by quickly using the buttons on the toolbar below the menu bar.

Menu commands and toolbar buttons are grayed out when they are not available or do not apply in a particular scenario. For example, until you set a library you cannot import logical or layout information, so these and most of the other commands will be grayed out. Similarly, you cannot use the abstract generation steps until you have selected one or more cells in the Cell Preferences for Abstract Generation

Toolbar

The toolbar is located below the pull-down menus and provides six button shortcuts to the most commonly used functions in Abstract Generator. Moving from left-to-right, the first three buttons are associated with functions in the File menu and the last three with functions in the Flow menu.

The left-to-right sequence of the buttons implies the basic flow in the abstract generation process, that is, set the current library, import data, and then run the abstract generation steps. You can use these functions in any permitted sequence to achieve more complex flows. Illegal button sequences are prevented by graying-out unavailable functions.

• Open Library: Specifies the library you want to process in Abstract Generator. See Opening a Library in Abstract Generator.
• Import GDSII Data: Creates cellviews from existing layout information in GDSII format. See Importing GDSII Information in Abstract Generator.
• Import Logical Data: Creates cellviews from existing logical information. See Importing Logical Data in Abstract Generator.
• Pins: Lets you view and modify the bin options relevant to the Pins step.
• Extract: Lets you view and modify the bin options relevant to the Extract step.
• Abstract: Lets you view and modify the bin options relevant to the Abstract step.

Bin Pane

The exists on the left of the main application window below the menu bar and toolbar. The Bin pane displays the system bins and user bins, if any, and the number of cells in each bin. The number next to each bin name in the Bin pane indicates the number of cells in that bin. In the figure above, all the bins are empty. See Bin Preferences for Abstract Generation.

Cell Pane

The Cell pane is situated on the right of the main window below the menu bar and toolbar. It lists the cells contained in the selected bins and reports the status of those cells.

You need to select at least one cell before you can run any of the flow steps or view a status report on a cell. See Cell Preferences for Abstract Generation.

Log Window

The Log window is located in the bottom half of the Abstract Generator main window. The log displays all user interactions with Abstract Generator, including the display of version information on startup, error, warning, and info messages, and TCL/SKILL commands that have been input during a session.

Above the Log window, Abstract Generator provides the interface language Interpreter Options, TCL or Skill. Skill is the default and recommended language option.

The LOG, ERROR, WARNING, and INFO entries in the Log window are color coded to make it easier to locate serious problems. The LOG and INFO entries are highlighted in BLUE, WARNING messages in ORANGE, and ERROR messages in RED.

Each ERROR, WARNING, and INFO message also has a unique message identifier, such as (ABS-246). In this identifier, “ABS” represents “Abstract Generator”, and “246” represents the unique number for identifying the message. All ERROR and WARNING message identifiers are highlighted in clickable BLUE hyperlinks. Clicking the identifier invokes the Doc Assistant in your browser window that displays extended description and possible workaround for the particular ERROR or WARNING message you clicked on.

Command Entry Field

The TCL/SKILL command entry field is at the bottom of the Log window and extends up to under the Command History window. In this field, at the abstract> prompt, you can manually enter a specific command function, for example absSelectAllBins, that tells Abstract Generator what operation to perform. The Command History window provides other quicker methods of entering command information in this field. See Abstract Generator SKILL Functions.

Command History Window

The Command History window provides a list of all the TCL/SKILL commands that have been entered in the command entry field.

This window helps you save time in re-typing a command. Double-click to select a command in this window, then place your cursor over the Command Entry Field, and click the middle mouse button to copy the command in the command entry field.

Alternatively, you can also scroll through the commands listed in the Command History window by using the cursor keys on the keyboard, with whatever command you have highlighted appearing in the command entry field ready for use.

Percent Complete

The Percent Complete message box lets you monitor the progress of the current step.

The label on the Percent Complete message box tells you what operation is currently being tracked, for example Running Extract as in the figure below, while the bar and percentage give you a visual indication of the progress.

Use the Stop button in the Percent Complete message box to stop the current operation. Abstract Generator prompts you to confirm that you stop the operation.

Depending on the step that is running, Abstract Generator might not be able to stop the operation immediately. In this case, it will proceed until the next safe point before stopping. You can ascertain the current state of your library from the status indicators in the Cell pane, and from the log file saved in the run directory.