NAME

       lvx - Logical Versus eXtracted net-list comparator

SYNOPSIS

       lvx format1 format2 filename1 filename2 [ -a ] [ -u ] [ -o ] [ -f ]

DESCRIPTION

       lvx  compares  two  gate-level  or  block  level  net-list.  The  goal  is  to  compare  a
       specification net-list (logical net-list), the input to a place and route tool,  with  the
       physical net-list (extracted net-list) obtained by the cougar(1) extractor.
       The  net-list 1 is considered as the logical net-list and net-list 2 as the extracted net-
       list.
       lvx is an one-level hierarchical tool:

              The two net-list are flattened, if the -f option is present, to the cells contained
              in   the  catalog  file.  The  path  to  the  catalog  file  is  indicated  in  the
              MBK_CATA_LIB(1) variable for the cell library, and in the MBK_WORK_LIB(1)  variable
              with  the  name  MBK_CATAL_NAME(1)  for user blocks ( catal(5) ) that are not to be
              flattened.

              For both net-list, the instances are considered as black-boxes.

              The two net-list must have the same external connectors names.

              The two net-list must have the same instances names.

              The two net-list must have the same signals names for unconnected signals.

              The two net-list cannot directly contain transistors.

       Comparison is performed in three steps:

              Compare terminals.

              Compare instances.

              Compare connections.

              Compare unconnected signals.

       If an error occurs during first or second step, a message is immediately displayed and the
       third  step  will  not  start:  lvx  cannot  compare connections (signals) if terminals or
       instances are not equivalent.
       The -o option allows to order connectors if the steps described before have  been  reached
       successfully.   Extracted_netlist  is  then saved on disk. The file get the name filename2
       suffixed by the value of MBK_OUT_LO(1) variable.
       Routers add automatically empty feed-through cells.  These cells must not  be  taken  into
       account  in  the comparison.  A cell that have the F attribute in the catalog file ( catal
       (5) ) is considered as feed-through cell, and are deleted, in memory,  from  the  net-list
       where it appears.

OPTIONS

       -a     Some  routers generate layout with several physical connectors for power and ground
              ( VDD or VSS ).  If those connectors are not internally connected, they  will  have
              different  indexed  names  (  VDD1 , VDD2 etc...) in the extracted net-list.  It is
              possible  to  perform  reduction  on  those  power  and  ground  connectors  before
              comparison,  using the -a option.  After reduction, each instance contains only one
              VDD connector and one VSS connector, as the main figure.

       -o     In this case, lvx produces a modified net-list (saved with the  name  filename2  ),
              which  is  a  copy  of  net-list 2 with ordered connectors.  Terminals and instance
              connectors are relisted in the order of the models in net-list 1.  The  saved  net-
              list is done with the MBK_OUT_LO(1) format, so user has to set this variable before
              running lvx .  If he does not, default value is used, and net-list 1 could be  lost
              if filename are identical and input format same as output format.
              If -a option is used, then the saved net-list is the reduced net-list with only one
              VDD and one VSS .

       -u     This option force lvx to check the consistency of unassigned  signals  between  the
              two netlists.

       -f     The  two  net-lists  are flattened to the leaf cells contained in the catalog file.
              Usually the extracted net-list is a flatten net-list, while the logical one can  be
              a hierarchical net-list.

EXAMPLES

       With   logical_netlist  named  amd2901.vst  and  the  corresponding  extracted_netlist  as
       amd2901.al containing multiple power connectors, the command line is :

              lvx vst al amd2901 amd2901 -a

OUTPUT FILES

       filename2.xx        Netlist view saved when the -o option is present. The  suffixe  depend
                           on the MBK_OUT_LO(1) environment variable.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       MBK_CATA_LIB        contains  the directories where the cell librtaries are.  MBK_WORK_LIB
                           contains the directory path of the working directory, usually set to .
                           (dot).

       MBK_OUT_LO          contains the expected format of the netlist output.

       MBK_CATAL_NAME      contains the name of the user cell catalog.

SEE ALSO

       cougar(1), MBK_OUT_LO(1), MBK_WORK_LIB(1), MBK_CATA_LIB(1), MBK_CATAL_NAME(1), catal(5) .

DIAGNOSTICS

       The  string  "_logic" is appended to the net-list 1 and the string "_extract", is appended
       to the net-list 2.

       Two kinds of error message can occur:

              A fatal error causes the program to exit.  It happens when one of the net-lists  is
              not correct, lvx cannot construct internal structure for compare.

              A  compare  error occurs when the figures are not identical.  It happens when basic
              objects (instances, connectors) do not exist in both net-list, or when  connections
              (signals) do not connect same terminals or instances in the two net-lists.

       Exit code 0 is returned for identical net-lists.