Ocean script that calls other ocean scripts. Is that possible?

Hi Canosa,

The OCEAN function design() will return the current design if it has been set, and nil otherwise, so you might use this to rely on the design being set globally before any of the scripts run.  For example, in each of the files, if you had an explicit "design" statement opening a specific design, replace it with something that checks for a global design first.  Also, do not include a "simulator('spectre)", for example, in each script as this would start a new session - you want these to run under the same session (if I understand correctly).  Example, have this near the top of each script:

unless(design()

  design("...") ;; original entry

)

The idea is that if a design is not yet set, design will return nil and the script can set up the design as before. I think that you might be able to do something similar with the simulator command, i.e., if a simulator session is already running use that, otherwise set up a new one - simulator will return the current simulator setting.

So to use the three scripts all together, you would manually start a simulator and design session and then load each of the scripts.

I hope that this works as I think it would and that it helps you!

Regards,

Lawrence.

Lawrence,

Whilst your suggestion is quite appealing, it has a number of drawbacks. One is that it requires the simulator to be the same in all script (because calling simulator('somethingElse) will reset the session and hence lose the design), but the main one is that it would require each script to use the delete() function to delete everything before running. For example, imagine I had one script which did analysis('ac ...), and another which did analysis('tran ...). If I ran the first script, and then the second script, using Lawrence's suggestion for avoidance of calling simulator() or design() if already called, it would run an ac analysis in the first script, and then a tran and an ac in the second. The analysis calls (like many other things are cumulative). Since you've no idea what ran before, you'd have to assume you needed to delete everything (and not quite everything can be deleted). So it's really safer to call simulator() each time to start a fresh session.

You could then declare a global variable:

MYdesign="/path/to/netlist"

and then in each script:

simulator('spectre)
design(MYdesign)

If you wanted to allow it to specify the design as a lib/cell/view triplet, you could do:

MYdesign='("/path/to/netlist")

or

MYdesign='("myLib" "myCell" "myView")

and then do in each script:

simulator('spectre)
apply('design MYdesign)

And of course if you want to avoid the global variable, you could use SKILL++ to create a closure (but I won't complicate things with that suggestion this late on a Friday night (well, it is for me)!).

Regards,

Andrew.

Good point Andrew, I forgot that the analyses etc. would be cumulative, so your proposal is better.  Good evening and have a beer since it's Friday night (or perhaps you have already had some for inspiration? ;-) )

Regards,

Lawrence.