BoardSurfers: Training Insights: Improve your ‘SKILL’ with Allegro PCB Editor

Cadence SKILL is a high-level, interactive programming language based on the popular artificial intelligence language, Lisp, that lets you customize and extend your design environment. With its conventional C-like syntax, novice users can quickly learn to use SKILL, while expert programmers can access the full power of Lisp. Even though SKILL is as easy to use as a calculator, its powerful programming language features provide support for virtually unlimited applications. SKILL provides a functional interface to its underlying subsystems quickly enabling you to customize existing CAD applications and develop new applications.

The updated Allegro PCB Editor SKILL Programming Language online course introduces you to the SKILL programming language and its ability to interact with Allegro® PCB Editor. The first section of the course introduces the SKILL programming language, its variables, and syntax. You explore lists which are the basic building blocks of the language. You also learn how to create functions and control the program flow and I/O functions for files. By the end of the first section, you will be able to write a program that reads a file, parses the file, and prints the information contained in the file. Your solution will look similar to the following code snippet:

The next section introduces you to AXL-SKILL, which is an extension of the SKILL programming language that lets you interact with Allegro PCB Editor, as shown in the following diagram:

In this section, you determine the methods of reading and writing the Allegro PCB Editor database. You learn how to read the database to perform functions such as counting the number of pins in a design. AXL-SKILL also lets you write to the database. You will be able to add shapes to the example design.

The final section of the course covers the SKILL functions to interface with the user-reading user inputs through forms and creating your own forms. 

 Click the training byte link now or visit Cadence Support and search for this training byte under Video Library.

If you find the post useful and want to delve deeper into training details, enroll in the following online training course for lab instructions and a downloadable design:

Allegro PCB Editor SKILL Programming Language v22.1QIR2 (Online)

You can become Cadence Certified once you complete the course.

Cadence Training Services now offers free Digital Badges for all popular online training courses. These badges indicate proficiency in a certain technology or skill and give you a way to validate your expertise to managers and potential employers. You can add the digital badge to your email signature or any social media channels, such as Facebook or LinkedIn, to highlight your expertise.

To find out more, see the blog post Take a Cadence Masterclass and Get a Badge.

You might also be interested in the training Learning Map that guides you through recommended course flows as well as tool experience and knowledge-level training modules. To find information on how to get an account on the Cadence Learning and Support portal, see here.

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