ELECTRONIC CAD FRAMEWORKS

The term CAD framework has come to mean all of the underlying facilities provided to the CAD tool developer, the CAD system integrator, and the end-user (IC or system designer) necessary to facilitate their tasks. The major goal of a CAD framework is that it reduce the time and cost needed to develop or modify a CAD system such that it meets the needs of its users. Unfortunately, this seemingly simple test represents a very broad and difficult set of requirements, many of which involve interacting tradeoffs, and most of which are evolving rapidly with time. The development of the CAD framework concept in the domain of electronic circuit design is reviewed. Brief descriptions of the most important work in the area are provided. The major components of a CAD framework are identified and the requirements and desirable features of these components are described in some detail. Many of the key engineering tradeoffs required to build CAD frameworks are also examined, using examples from existing CAD systems. Standardization is an important part of the drive for better frameworks, the emerging framework standards efforts are also reviewed. © 1990 IEEE