6 Migrating from PIPO to XStream

This chapter contains the following sections:

Overview

From the ICOA5.1.51 release PIPO has been replaced by XStream on OpenAccess. Both PIPO and XStream provide Stream Out capability to generate GDSII format data required for mask generation, and both provide a Stream In capability to restore that data into a Virtuoso environment database. However there are differences in the functionality and use model of PIPO and XStream. The following sections explain these differences in terms of command line usage, arguments and options, template file, and syntax.

One difference between PIPO and XStream is that you could, to some extent, use PIPO as a Virtuoso environment database archival mechanism. For example, using PIPO you can preserve Pcells and keep ROD data though these options are not sufficient to archive the complete design information, such as connectivity or user defined groups. XStream on the other hand does not allow you to preserve Pcells and ROD data. XStream does not duplicate the archival mechanism of PIPO in OpenAccess.

PIPO-XStream Template File Differences

As a PIPO user, you might be running PIPO Stream In - Stream Out from the command line or from customized scripts with the command line function embedded within. These scripts might use established PIPO template files which can be managed outside of the Virtuoso environment GUI.

Moving to XStream, some options and the template file syntax has changed, so you cannot directly use existing PIPO template files with XStream. For example, PIPO template file implements the SKILL list syntax, whereas the XStream template file uses a straight ASCII text, space, and line delimited format. Each line contains the option or argument, the value, and an optional comment or description.

For a Boolean argument, the value is not shown. A nil or an unasserted option is preceded by the comment character, #. A t or asserted option is just listed without a value as shown below:

PIPO	XStream Equivalent
`‘ignoreBox "nil"`	`#ignoreBox`
`‘ignoreBox "t"`	`ignoreBox`

For all text, lists, and other string values, the values can be specified with or without quotes.

Numeric values are specified without any special characters. In-line comments, if present, are preceded by the comment character, #.

Although most PIPO options have identical XStream equivalents, some may have the same functionality but not an identical option name. Some of the seemingly arbitrary option name changes in XStream have been done to maintain compatibility with the native OA Stream translator.

The following section explains the differences in the commands and the options between PIPO and XStream.

Stream In Template File Mapping

The following table maps the PIPO Stream In options with the corresponding XStream options with notes on differences in functionality and changes in the use model.

Stream In Template File Options
PIPO Option	XStream Option	Notes
runDir	runDir	Same options
inFile	strmFile	Equivalent options
primaryCell	topCell	Equivalent options
libName	library	Equivalent options
-	view	New option XStream allows you to specify the view name, default being `layout`.
techFileName	loadTechFile	Equivalent options
scale	-	Unsupported option In DFII on CDB, you could change the DBU/UU of a design at the library level. This is not permitted on OpenAccess and therefore not supported by XStream.
errFile	logFile	In PIPO, the error file contains messages and summary information. Therefore the PIPO template option `errFile` is equivalent to using both the `logFile` and `summaryFile` options in XStream.
cellMapTable	cellMap	Equivalent options
layerTable	layerMap	Equivalent options
textFontTable	fontMap	Equivalent options
restorePin	pinAttNum	Equivalent options
propMapTable	propMap	Equivalent options
propSeparator	propSeparator	Same options
userSkillFile	userSkillFile	Same options The PIPO and XStream options are the same. In PIPO the following SKILL functions are supported: piCellNameMap piLayerMap piTextMap pipoErrShapesHandler piPropMap In XStream all the above SKILL functions are supported for Stream In except `pipoErrShapesHandler`.
-	objectMap	New option XStream provides an object map file to preserve non-maskable OpenAccess objects, such as boundaries and blockages. Object mapping file maps the object type and sub type to the Stream layer-datatype pair. This option is not applicable for PIPO.
-	viaMap	New option Vias are objects in OpenAccess. The via map file maps the Structure names from the Stream file to the corresponding viaDef names in the input technology library. The original vias can then be recreated during subsequent Stream Ins. This option is not applicable for PIPO.
checkPolygon	-	Unsupported option OA does not allow coincident or colinear points and removes them during creation of paths and polygons. XStream only reports incomplete or illegal polygons in the log file. Therefore this option is not supported by XStream.
snapToGrid	snapToGrid	Same options
arrayToSimMosaic	arrayInstToScalar	Changed option By default on OA, mosaics are kept as OA arrays (AREF in SKILL). when you set `arrayInstToScalar` to t, XStream converts the arrays to scalar instances (SREF in SKILL). This is a reversal in behavior from `arrayToSimMosaic` in PIPO.
skipUndefinedLPP	skipUndefinedLPP	Same options
zeroPathToLine	ignoreZeroWidthPath	Changed option This PIPO option, `zeroPathToLine` can have the values <`lines/ignore>`. By default, during Stream In, XStream converts zero width paths into lines and they are ignored only when `ignoreZeroWidthPath` option is set to `t`. Therefore the mapping is as follows: `‘zeroPathToLine "lines"` maps to `#ignoreZeroWidthPath` while `‘zeroPathToLine "ignore"` maps to `ignoreZeroWidthPath`
caseSensitivity	case	Equivalent options
convertNode	translateNode	Equivalent options
keepPcell	-	Unsupported option This PIPO option preserves parameterized cells (Pcells) by reading the SKILL files already created by Stream Out in the `KPDIR` directory located in the run directory. PIPO can be used to some extent for database archival whereas XStream is not meant to be used as a database archival mechanism.
mergeUndefinedPurposeToDrawing	mergeUndefPurposToDrawing	Equivalent options
reportPrecision	-	Unsupported option XStream does not perform this precision check and therefore this option is not supported by XStream.
ignoreBox	ignoreBoxes	Equivalent options
refLib	-	Unsupported option In PIPO this boolean option merely indicates whether to use reference libraries. If this flag is set to ‘t’ then `refLibOrder` is searched for the list of reference libraries. XStream uses only one option `refLibList`. If `refLibList` is empty then it implies that no reference library is being used.
refLibOrder	refLibList	Equivalent options
noWriteExistCell	noOverwriteCell	Equivalent options
runQuiet	-	Unsupported option XStream does not filter warning and information messages during translation. All error, warning, and information messages are written to the log file. Therefore this option is not supported by XStream.
NOUnmappingLayerWarning	-	Unsupported option XStream does not filter warning and information messages during translation. Therefore this option is not supported by XStream.
hierDepth	hierDepth	Same options
maxVertices	-	Unsupported option This option is not supported by XStream during Stream In though you can use this option during Stream Out.
rodDir	-	Unsupported option Using PIPO you can preserve Pcells and keep ROD data though these options are not sufficient to archive the complete design information. XStream does not allow you to preserve Pcells and ROD data as it is not intended to be used as an archival mechanism.
keepStreamCells	keepStreamCells	Same options
attachTechfileOfLib	attachTechFileOfLib	Equivalent options
comprehensiveLog	-	Unsupported option This is a SKILL reporting mechanism which is not applicable on XStream. Therefore, this option is not supported by XStream.
appendDB	appendDB	Same option Use the Append Existing Database option to append data to an existing database. If the GDS file contains duplicate shapes or instances, they will be appended to the existing database.
genListHier	-	Unsupported option XStream writes hierarchical information in the summary file.
-	disableLocking	New option XStream provides the `disableLocking` option to disable file locking during Stream In. The disabling of file locking reduces the run time of Stream In especially if the designs contain a large number of cellviews in their hierarchy or library.
-	summaryFile	New option XStream provides two files for messages and summary information whereas in PIPO the error file contains both messages and summary information. Therefore the PIPO template option `errFile` is equivalent to using both the `logFile` and `summaryFile` options in XStream.

Stream Out Template File Mapping

Stream Out Template File Options
PIPO Option	XStream Option	Notes
runDir	runDir	Same options
libName	library	Equivalent options
primaryCell	topCell	Equivalent options
viewName	view	Equivalent options
outFile	strmFile	Equivalent options
scale	-	Unsupported option In DFII on CDB, you could change the DBU/UU of a design at the library level. This is not permitted in OpenAccess and therefore not supported by XStream.
units	-	Unsupported option In DFII on CDB, you could change the DBU/UU of a design and set the units at the library level. This is not permitted in OpenAccess and therefore not supported by XStream.
hierDepth	hierDepth	Same options
convertToGeo	flattenPcells	Equivalent options This PIPO option flattens Pcells to geometry. XStream provides the Flatten Pcells option to flatten the Pcell instances in the designs.
maxVertices	maxVertices	Same options
refLib	refLibList	Equivalent options In PIPO this boolean option merely indicates whether to use reference libraries. XStream uses only one option `refLibList`. If `refLibList` is empty then it implies that no reference library is being used. Therefore the mapping is as follows: ’refLib t maps to refLibList "XST_CDS_LIB" while ’refLib nil maps to refLibList "" For more information on refLibList see the Design Translation Using XStream Translator chapter of the Virtuoso Studio Design Environment Adoption Guide.
libVersion	-	Unsupported option This PIPO option allows you to change the version number of the output GDSII Stream. Default: 5.0. In XStream the version number of the output GDSII Stream is always 5.0.
checkPolygon	-	Unsupported option OA does not allow coincident or colinear points and removes them during creation of paths and polygons. XStream only reports incomplete or illegal polygons in the log file. Therefore this option is not supported by XStream.
snapToGrid	snapToGrid	Same options
simMosaicToArray	arrayInstToScalar	Changed option By default on OA, mosaics are kept as OA arrays (AREF in SKILL). when you set `arrayInstToScalar` to t, XStream converts the arrays to scalar instances (SREF in SKILL). This is a reversal in behavior from `arrayToSimMosaic` in PIPO.
caseSensitivity	case	Equivalent options
lineToZeroPath	ignoreLines	Changed option In PIPO the template option `lineToZeroPath` can have the values `<path/ignore>`. By default, during stream out, XStream converts lines to paths and they are ignored only when `ignoreLines` option is set to `t`. Therefore the mapping is as follows: `‘lineToZeroPath "path"` maps to `#ignoreLines` while ‘lineToZeroPath "ignore" maps to ignoreLines
convertDot	convertDot	Same options
rectToBox	rectToBox	Same options
convertPathToPoly	pathToPolygon	Equivalent options
keepPcell	-	Unsupported option XStream does not support preservation of Pcells. See the Overview section for details.
useParentXYforText	-	Unsupported option XStream does not do any data manipulation or data checking and therefore this option is not supported by XStream as yet.
reportPrecision	-	Unsupported option XStream does not perform this precision check and therefore this option is not supported by XStream.
runQuiet	-	Unsupported option XStream does not filter warning and information messages during translation. All error, warning, and information messages are written to the log file. Therefore this option is not supported by XStream.
errFile	logFile	Equivalent options In PIPO, the error file contains messages and summary information. Therefore the PIPO template option `errFile` is equivalent to using both the `logFile` and `summaryFile` options in XStream.
NOUnmappingLayerWarning	-	Unsupported option XStream does not filter warning and information messages during translation. Therefore this option is not supported by XStream.
techFileChoice	techLib	Changed option The XStream option `techLib` and the PIPO option `techFileChoice` are not equivalent. The `techFileChoice` option is to choose the technology file attached either to the input library or to each cellview that is traversed. A Virtuoso product can have any cellview attached to any technology file. The `techLib` option in XStream is for obtaining information about the layers and purposes used in the design. By default, the technology file of the source library is used to get information about the layers and purposes used in the design.
pcellSuffix	-	Unsupported option XStream does not support preservation of Pcells. See the Overview section for details.
respectGDSIILimits	respectGDSIINameLimit	Equivalent options
dumpPcellInfo	-	Unsupported option XStream does not support preservation of Pcells. See the Overview section for details.
cellMapTable	cellMap	Equivalent options
layerTable	layerMap	Equivalent options
textFontTable	fontMap	Equivalent options
convertPin	convertPin	Same options
pinInfo	pinAttNum	Equivalent options
pinTextMapTable	pinTextMap	Equivalent options
propMapTable	propMap	Equivalent options
propSeparator	-	Unsupported option By default, XStream uses a blank space as the property separator during Stream Out. You cannot specify a property separator during Stream Out though you can specify it during Stream In.
userSkillFile	userSkillFile	Equivalent options In PIPO the following SKILL functions are supported: poCellNameMap poParamCellNameMap pipoErrShapesHandler poLayerMap textFontMap poTextMap poPropMap In XStream all the above SKILL functions are supported for Stream Out except `poParamCellNameMap` and `pipoErrShapesHandler`.
rodDir	-	Unsupported option This option is not supported by XStream. Using PIPO you can preserve Pcells and keep ROD data though these options are not sufficient to archive the complete design information. XStream does not allow you to preserve Pcells and ROD data as it is not intended to be used as an archival mechanism.
comprehensiveLog	-	Unsupported option This is a SKILL reporting mechanism which is not applicable on XStream. Therefore, this option is not supported by XStream.
genListHier	-	Unsupported option XStream writes hierarchical information in the summary file.
-	objectMap	New option This option is not supported by PIPO.
-	viaMap	New option This option is not supported by PIPO.
-	blockagePurpose	New option In XStream, you can specify the purpose on which blockages are to be translated. By default during Stream Out, blockages in the input OpenAccess database are translated as `BOUNDARY` elements in the output Stream file.
-	summaryFile	New option XStream provides two files for messages and summary information whereas in PIPO the error file contains both messages and summary information. Therefore the PIPO template option `errFile` is equivalent to using both the `logFile` and `summaryFile` options in XStream.

Using the PIPO-XStream Template Conversion Utility

If you have been using PIPO and want migrate to XStream you can convert your existing PIPO templates to XStream template file using the pipo2Xstrm.pl utility. This utility can be accessed from the <install_directory>/tools/dfII/bin directory. This utility creates an XStream template file from an existing PIPO template file.

The command line syntax to execute this pipo2Xstrm.pl is as follows:

pipo2Xstrm.pl {-in PIPOTemplateFileName
[-out XStreamTemplateFileName]
[-log TranslationLogFileName]
[-overwrite]
[-help] }

If the pipo2Xstrm.pl utility fails to run, then copy the utility from <install_directory>/tools/dfII/bin directory to you local bin directory and modify the first line of code in the script by specifying the complete path from where you can use the perl executable:

#!/usr/bin/perl

change to:

#!<you_local_path_to_perl>

You can exit the script using CTRL-C key combination.

This utility automatically determines whether the input PIPO template file is for Stream In or Stream Out and creates the corresponding XStream template. If you specify a log file name, the log file contains:

XStream replacements for PIPO options
XStream inserted options for those missing from the PIPO template
additional options specific to XStream, and
PIPO options not supported in XStream on OpenAccess.

Using the PIPO-XStream Utility

The following section contains the sample XStream files translated from PIPO and the corresponding log files that the pipo2Xstrm.pl utility generates.

Use the following commands to run the utility.

pipo2Xstrm.pl - in streamOut.il -out xstrmIn.templt -log xlatestrmIn.log

..............

WARNING: Handling of mosaics has changed - review documentation on arrayInstToScalar

................................

PIPO to XStream strmIn template translation complete.

Review template output. You may want to change file names, etc. from retained values.

Following is a sample XStream stream in template file translated from PIPO

# XStream strmIn template translated from PIPO strmIn template.

# Source PIPO strmIn template file: streamIn.il

# Destination XSTREAM strmIn template file: xstrmIn.templt

# Wed Jul 20 20:46:51 2005

runDir      "."   # Run Directory

strmFile    "test.gds" # Input Stream File

topCell     ""    # Toplevel Cell to Translate

library     "strmLib"   # Destination Library

loadTechFile      ""    # ASCII Tech File

logFile     "PIPO.LOG" # Output Log File Name

hierDepth   32    # Hierarchical Depth to Translate to (0-32)

#snapToGrid       # (t/nil)

#arrayInstToScalar      # (t/nil)

case "lower"     # upper | lower | preserve

#ignoreZeroWidthPath    # (t/nil)

translateNode     # (t/nil)

#skipUndefinedLPP       # (t/nil)

#ignoreBoxes      # (t/nil)

#keepStreamCells # (t/nil)

attachTechFileOfLib     ""    # Tech Lib to Attach to Target Lib

#NoOverwriteCell # (t/nil)

cellMap     ""    # Input Cell Map File

layerMap    "layerMap" # Input Layer Map File

fontMap     ""    # Input Font Map File

pinAttNum   0     # Stream Attribute # (1-127) for Preserving Pins

propMap     ""    # Input Property Map File

propSeparator     ","   #

userSkillFile     ""    # Input User SKILL File

refLibList ""    # File Containing refLibList

#mergeUndefPurposToDrawing    # (t/nil)

viaMap      ""    # Input Via Map File

view "layout"    # Destination View Name

summaryFile       ""    # Output Summary File

#disableLocking   # (t/nil)

objectMap   ""    # Input Object Map File

Following is a sample of the corresponding pipo2Xstrm stream in translation log file

# Source PIPO strmIn template file: streamIn.il

# Destination XSTREAM strmIn template file: xstrmIn.templt

# Wed Jul 20 20:46:51 2005

runDir replaces runDir

strmFile replaces inFile

topCell replaces primaryCell

library replaces libName

loadTechFile replaces techfileName

scale is unsupported in XStream.

units is unsupported in XStream.

logFile replaces errFile

refLib is unsupported in XStream.

hierDepth replaces hierDepth

maxVertices is unsupported in XStream.

checkPolygon is unsupported in XStream.

snapToGrid replaces snapToGrid

WARNING: Handling of mosaics has changed - review documentation on arrayInstToScalar

arrayInstToScalar replaces arrayToSimMosaic

case replaces caseSensitivity

ignoreZeroWidthPath replaces zeroPathToLine

translateNode replaces convertNode

keepPcell is unsupported in XStream.

skipUndefinedLPP replaces skipUndefinedLPP

ignoreBoxes replaces ignoreBox

reportPrecision is unsupported in XStream.

keepStreamCells replaces keepStreamCells

attachTechFileOfLib replaces attachTechfileOfLib

runQuiet is unsupported in XStream.

saveAtTheEnd is unsupported in XStream.

NoOverwriteCell replaces noWriteExistCell

NOUnmappingLayerWarning is unsupported in XStream.

genListHier is unsupported in XStream.

cellMap replaces cellMapTable

layerMap replaces layerTable

fontMap replaces textFontTable

pinAttNum replaces restorePin

propMap replaces propMapTable

propSeparator replaces propSeparator

userSkillFile replaces userSkillFile

rodDir is unsupported in XStream.

refLibList replaces refLibOrder

comprehensiveLog is unsupported in XStream.

Adding missing PIPO option equivalents with default values.

Inserting mergeUndefPurposToDrawing with default value ’nil’

Adding new XStream options with default values.

New option ’viaMap’ with value ’""’

New option ’view’ with value ’"layout"’

New option ’summaryFile’ with value ’""’

New option ’disableLocking’ with value ’nil’

New option ’objectMap’ with value ’""’

PIPO to XStream strmIn template translation complete.

Review template output. You may want to change file names, etc. from retained values.

Following is a sample XStream stream out template file translated from PIPO

# XStream strmOut template translated from PIPO strmOut template.

# Source PIPO strmOut template file: streamOut.il

# Destination XSTREAM strmOut template file: xstrmOut.templt

# Wed Jul 20 21:13:45 2005

runDir      "."   # Run Directory

library     "LIB"       # Input Library

topCell     ""    # Toplevel Cell to Translate

view "layout"    # Toplevel Cell View Name

strmFile    "test.gds" # Output Stream File

hierDepth   32    # Hierarchical Depth to Translate to (0-32)

#flattenPcells    # (t/nil)

maxVertices       200   # Limit of Vertices Allowed

#refLibList       # Name of File Containing refLibList

#snapToGrid       # (t/nil)

#arrayInstToScalar      # (t/nil)

case "upper"     # upper | lower | preserve

#ignoreLines      # (t/nil)

convertDot "node"      # node | polygon | ignore

#rectToBox # (t/nil)

#pathToPoly       # (t/nil)

logFile     "PIPO.LOG" # Output Log File Name

#respectGDSIINameLimit # (t/nil)

cellMap     ""    # Input Cell Map File

layerMap    "layerMap" # Input Layer Map File

fontMap     ""    # Input Font Map File

convertPin "geometry" # geometry | text | geometryAndTxt | ignore

pinAttNum   0     # Stream Attribute # (1-127) for Preserving Pins

pinTextMap ""    # Input Pin Text Map File

propMap     ""    # Input Property Map File

userSkillFile     ""    # Input User SKILL File

viaMap      ""    # Input Via Map File

summaryFile       ""    # Output Summary File

blockagePurpose   "boundary" # Purpose Name for Blockages

techLib     ""    # Technology Library

objectMap   ""    # Input Object Map File

Following is a sample of the corresponding pipo2Xstrm stream in translation log file

# Source PIPO strmOut template file: streamOut.il

# Destination XSTREAM strmOut template file: xstrmOut.templt

# Wed Jul 20 21:13:45 2005

runDir replaces runDir

library replaces libName

topCell replaces primaryCell

view replaces viewName

strmFile replaces outFile

scale is unsupported in XStream.

units is unsupported in XStream.

hierDepth replaces hierDepth

flattenPcells replaces convertToGeo

maxVertices replaces maxVertices

refLibList replaces refLib

libVersion is unsupported in XStream.

checkPolygon is unsupported in XStream.

snapToGrid replaces snapToGrid

WARNING: Handling of mosaics has changed - review documentation on arrayInstToScalar

arrayInstToScalar replaces simMosaicToArray

case replaces caseSensitivity

ignoreLines replaces lineToZeroPath

convertDot replaces convertDot

rectToBox replaces rectToBox

pathToPoly replaces convertPathToPoly

keepPcell is unsupported in XStream.

useParentXYforText is unsupported in XStream.

reportPrecision is unsupported in XStream.

runQuiet is unsupported in XStream.

logFile replaces errFile

NOUnmappingLayerWarning is unsupported in XStream.

techFileChoice is unsupported in XStream.

pcellSuffix is unsupported in XStream.

genListHier is unsupported in XStream.

respectGDSIINameLimit replaces respectGDSIILimits

dumpPcellInfo is unsupported in XStream.

cellMap replaces cellMapTable

layerMap replaces layerTable

fontMap replaces textFontTable

convertPin replaces convertPin

pinAttNum replaces pinInfo

pinTextMap replaces pinTextMapTable

propMap replaces propMapTable

propSeparator is unsupported in XStream.

userSkillFile replaces userSkillFile

rodDir is unsupported in XStream.

comprehensiveLog is unsupported in XStream.

genListHier is unsupported in XStream.

Adding missing PIPO option equivalents with default values.

Adding new XStream options with default values.

New option ’viaMap’ with value ’""’

New option ’summaryFile’ with value ’""’

New option ’blockagePurpose’ with value ’"boundary"’

New option ’techLib’ with value ’""’

New option ’objectMap’ with value ’""’

PIPO to XStream strmOut template translation complete.

Review template output. You may want to change file names, etc. from retained values.

Return to top

Virtuoso Studio Design Environment Adoption GuideProduct Version IC23.1, September 2023

6

Migrating from PIPO to XStream

Overview

PIPO-XStream Template File Differences

Stream In Template File Mapping

Stream Out Template File Mapping

Using the PIPO-XStream Template Conversion Utility

Using the PIPO-XStream Utility

Following is a sample XStream stream in template file translated from PIPO

Following is a sample of the corresponding pipo2Xstrm stream in translation log file

Following is a sample XStream stream out template file translated from PIPO

Following is a sample of the corresponding pipo2Xstrm stream in translation log file

Virtuoso Studio Design Environment Adoption Guide
Product Version IC23.1, September 2023