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Saving nodes in spectre include file

akrebs

I am trying to adjust my list of saved nodes in a simulation depending on an ADE design variable.  i.e. if a certain part of a circuit is enabled for a simulation, the nodes in that part will get saved.

I have been trying to do this using a spectre include file within ADE-XL to define nodes to save.

 //start

save I131.*                //save all nodes inside instance I131

// This section is where I was trying to save depending on a design variable

// Couldn't get it to work

// diff_ac is a design variable in ADE

if ( diff_ac < 0.5 ) {

save I129.*

} else {

save I128.*

} 

//end 

 

The first save statement works, so the script is definitely getting read in. But, neither of the save statements in the if() statement working.  No errors, but no save either.  My understanding is that ADE design variables become parameters in spectre.  Is my if() statement used correctly?  Do I need to reference the design variables in a different way?

  • You cannot use "if" for this. The "if" statement in spectre is a "structural if" - which means it can only be used for conditional inclusion of instances and not arbitrary other statements. See "spectre -h if" for more details.

    Regards,

    Andrew.

  • Thanks.

    Is there different way you can suggest to define nodes to save based on an ADE design variable?

  • You could do this with ADE XL, because ADE XL supports SKILL expressions in the global variables.

    First of all, create two files, with the two different save statements you want:

    saveI129.scs
      save I129.*

    saveI128.scs
      save I128.*

    then in the ADE test editor, in the Setup->Model Libraries form, specify the filename to include as VAR("SAVEFILE"). This will create a design variable (and global variable) called "SAVEFILE". 

    In the global variables (not the design variable for the test - SKILL expressions are only supported in global variables), you can set SAVEFILE to:

    if(diff_ac<0.5 "saveI129.scs" "save128.scs")

    Then as you sweep diff_ac in ADE XL, the netlists will get created with different include statements...

    It worked for me, anyway!

    Regards,

    Andrew.

  • Brilliant Andrew. I have just used this trick to save all nodes or not; if(saveAllNodes>0.5 "path/saveAllNodes.scs" nil). As designers sometimes forget they have left all the nodes saved in the test editor then run corners in ADEXL and fill up the disk space then this global variable when set to 1 will be a good visual reminder before hitting run that you may be saving more data than you intend. Perhaps i need to open a new topic but for me a better idea is to have a warning come up before running corners if all the nodes are saved. Could there be a clever way at doing this?

  • Hi Lance,

    Sorry about the delay - just having a bit of a catch up on old posts. This could be done with an ADE XL "preRun" signal trigger. It would need some custom code, but it could be done potentially. axlSessionConnect() is the function to register the trigger.

    Regards,

    Andrew.

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