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Preface

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This manual assumes that you are familiar with the development and design of integrated circuits. It contains reference information about the following Diva® verification products:

• Design Rule Checker (DRC)
• Layout Parasitic Extractor (LPE)
• Parasitic Resistance Extractor (PRE)
• Electrical Rules Checker (ERC)
• Layout Versus Schematic program (LVS)

In addition, Diva has a remote verification capability that lets you run jobs on a remote machine. This renders the local stations free to perform other tasks.

The preface discusses the following:

• Related Documents
• Typographic and Syntax Conventions

Related Documents

Diva is often used with other Cadence products to find and correct design errors. The following manuals give you more information about the tools associated with Diva.

• To learn more about the Open Simulation System, read the Open Simulation System Reference.
• To learn more information about editing and loading technology files, read the Technology File and Display Resource File User Guide.
• To learn more about parameterized cells, see Virtuoso Layout Editor User Guide.
• To learn more about other menus on the menu banner, read the Virtuoso Layout Editor User Guide.
• To learn more about other PDRACULA commands, read the Dracula Reference manual.
• The Inherited Connections Flow Guide describes how to use inherited connections and net expressions with various Cadence® tools in the design flow.
• The Virtuoso Schematic Composer User Guide describes connectivity and naming conventions for inherited connections and how to add and edit net expressions in a schematic or symbol cellview.
• The Cadence Installation Guide tells you how to install the product.

Typographic and Syntax Conventions

Here are some conventions used to describe menu commands.

Each form shows you the system defaults:

• Filled buttons are the default selections.
• Filled-in values are the default values.

This list describes the syntax conventions used in this manual.

literal (LITERAL)

Nonitalic (UPPERCASE) words indicate keywords that you must enter literally. These keywords represent command or option names.

argument (z_argument)

Words in italics indicate user-defined arguments for which you must substitute a name or a value. (The characters before the underscore (_) in the word indicate the data types that this argument can take. Names are case sensitive. Do not type the underscore (z_) before your arguments.)

|

Vertical bars (OR-bars) separate possible choices for a single argument. They take precedence over any other character.

[ ]

Brackets denote optional arguments. When used with OR-bars, they enclose a list of choices. You can choose one argument from the list.

{ }

Braces are used with OR-bars and enclose a list of choices. You must choose one argument from the list.

...

Three dots (...) indicate that you can repeat the previous argument. If you use them with brackets, you can specify zero or more arguments. If they are used without brackets, you must specify at least one argument, but you can specify more.

argument...: specify at least one, but more are possible

[argument]...: you can specify zero or more

,...

A comma and three dots together indicate that if you specify more than one argument, you must separate those arguments by commas.

⇒

A right arrow precedes the possible values that a SKILL procedure can return. This character is created with a special symbol font in the publishing tool. It is represented in ASCII by an equal sign and a greater than sign (=>).

/

A slash separates the possible values that can be returned by a SKILL procedure.

SKILL Syntax Examples

The following examples show typical syntax characters used in SKILL.

Example 1

list(
    g_arg1
    [g_arg2] ...
    )

 ⇒ l_result

Example 1 illustrates the following syntax characters:

list

Plain type indicates words that you must enter literally.

g_arg1

Words in italics indicate arguments that you must substitute a name or a value.

( )

Parentheses separate names of procedures from their arguments.

_

An underscore separates an argument type (left) from an argument name (right).

[ ]

Brackets indicate that the enclosed argument is optional.

⇒

A right arrow points to the description of the return value of the procedure. Also used in code examples in SKILL manuals.

...

Three dots indicate that the preceding item can appear any number of times.

Example 2

needNCells(
    s_cellType | st_userType
    x_cellCount
    )

 ⇒ t/nil

Example 2 illustrates two additional syntax characters.

|

Vertical bars separate a choice of required options.

/

Slashes separate possible return values.

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