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Dictionary of Basic CDBA Terms

This appendix contains a compilation of basic terms used for naming functions, constants, and variables. If an official abbreviation exists for the term, it is listed in parentheses after the term.

The terms are categorized here into

This dictionary is not yet complete.

General Terms

The following are general terms used in naming functions, constants, and variables.

Object name	Abbreviation	Description
Bounding Box	BBox	Smallest rectangle that completely contains an object
Coordinate	Coord	Distance along the horizontal (x) and vertical (y) axes (2-dimensions)
Hierarchy	Hier	Design levels built by creating an instance of one cell into another cell
Identifier	Id	Variable or structure that describes a unique occurrence of a database object
Layer		Three dimensions
Library	Lib	Collection of cells
Path		Collection of libraries containing cells
Point		Location specified by one x and one y coordinate
Purpose		What an object does
Layer-Purpose	LP	Combination of layer and purpose. Separately, a layer and a purpose are concepts, not physical entities. A layer and a purpose combined, however, make a physical entity called a "layer-purpose pair." See Layer-Purpose (LP) Pair Functions for a more detailed description.

Terms Involving Actions

The following terms refer to the following actions on database objects:

Creating and deleting objects
Setting and getting attribute values for objects
Testing for Boolean values and performs bookkeeping actions for functions
Performs input and output on cellviews

Creating and Deleting Objects

The terms for creating and deleting database objects are described as follows. The abbreviation for a term is given, if any exists.

Action	Abbreviation	Description
Copy		Copies an object or data structure
Create		Creates an object
Delete		Deletes an object
Initialize	Init	Sets initial values
Make		Finds an object if it already exists, otherwise make creates it.
Move		Moves an object

Actions Using Attributes

The terms for actions using attributes are described as follows.

Action	Description
Fill	Fills in a template with attributes
Get	Gets attributes of an object
Set	Sets attributes of an object

Testing and Bookkeeping

The terms used to test for Boolean values and perform bookkeeping actions for functions are described as follows.

Action	Abbreviation	Description
Count		Counts the number of objects in a collection
Has		Tests if a relationship exists and returns TRUE if the relationship exists
Is		Tests for an object type or a specific condition and returns TRUE or FALSE
Register	Reg	Registers a handler or daemon function
Unregister	Unreg	Unregisters a handler or daemon function

Actions Involving Input and Output for Cellviews

The terms for actions involving input and output for cellviews are described as follows.

Action	Description
Open	Opens a cellview for reading or writing
Close	Closes a cellview
Save	Saves a cellview on disk
Purge	Removes a cellview from virtual memory

Actions on Collections of Objects

The terms used in actions on collections of objects are described as follows. The abbreviation for a term is given, if any exists.

Action	Abbreviation	Description
Add		Adds something to a set or relationship
Subtract	Sub	Subtracts something from a set or relationship
Generate	Gen	Generates objects in a set
Start		Starts an ongoing event, usually to activate a generator
Stop		Stops an ongoing event, usually to inactivate a generator
Select		Selects objects that meet given criteria
Find		Finds an object with the specified attribute

Adjectival Terms

The following adjectival terms indicating quantity, degree, or condition are described. The abbreviation is given, if one exists.

Adjectives	Abbreviation	Description
All		Everything
Equal		Equal in value or pointing to the same object
Minimum	Min	Smallest value
Maximum	Max	Largest value
Permanent	Perm	Object persists for the lifetime of the process
Temporary	Temp	Object is volatile

Alphabetical List of Abbreviations

The following is an alphabetical list of abbreviations for the terms listed in this appendix.

Abbreviation	Full name
bBox	bounding box
conn	connection
CCW	counter-clockwise
CW	clockwise
db	database
det	determinant
dm	design data management
dBox	dialog box
DBU	database units
env	environment
fig	figure
GC	garbage collection
gen	generate
hier	hierarchy
id	identifier
ident	identity
info	information
inst	instance
iter	iterated
lib	library
LP	layer-purpose
mem	member
msg	message
neg	negative
num	number
obj	object
perm	permanent
plac	placement
pos	positive
prop	property
prog	programming
rect	rectangle
rev	revision
rot	rotation
temp	temporary
term	terminal
UU	user units
warn	warning

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Cadence Integrators Toolkit Database ReferenceProduct Version IC23.1, June 2023

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