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is there a way to see changes on layout in real time?

VadimBorisov

Hello all,

I just want to ask a simple question is there a way to see changes on layout view in real time, I mean my SKILL scripts doing a lot of stuff, can I see the whole process, not the result? 

Kind regards,

Vadim

  • Hi Vadim

    SKILL scripts generally use non-interactive cmds (e.g. dbOpenCellviewByType) and not interactive cmds (e.g. geOpen) so I think it would not be possible for you to see the effects of the cmds visually in real time. Would you please let us know why it is important to view the whole process?


    Best regards
    Quek

  • Hi Vadim,

    The effect/results of various SKILL commands typically *are* seen immediately in an open layout. However, if you are doing a lot of intensive operations the graphics may not update until after the commands have finished, probably as an efficient way to handle graphical updates, waiting for the next 'idle' CPU time before refreshing. You could insert some hiRedraw() commands to try to force the graphics to update every so often, between chunks of code.

    I hope that this helps.

    Best regards,

    Lawrence.

  • HI Quek,

    thank you for your response.

     

    Would you please let us know why it is important to view the whole process? 

    Sure, long story short, in order to debug my script, plus it's a good option for visualizing your algorithm. 

    Best regards,

    Vadim

  • There are several ways you can go about getting what you want. The skill debugger is the best option, but some extra features in your code can not only help you debug but might be a feature for your users.

    If you have a skill debugger license, you can use the IDE to set a breakpoint in your code and keep running to the breakpoint. The results will display in your virtuoso window. Keep pressing the continue button to incrementally see what is happening.

    I wrote some net tracing code that could sometimes run for a long time and I put a couple of features in that code to help in this situation.

    1. I put a timeout on the form so the tracing would pause in the loop it ran and ask the user if they wanted to continue. When it paused, they could see the partial results. If they said yes on the dialog the program would continue, if they said no, it would end with partial results.

    2. Since I was creating highlights, I created a list that contained information about each highlight as it was created. I created a debug interface with a slider bar that would allow me to recreate the highlights by moving the slider bar left and right (kind of like watching a YouTube video). This actually made it easier for users to find shorts when highlighting nets.

    Derek

  • Thank you Derek! It's actually what I was looking for.
  • Wov Derek, that sounds fantastic. Is the short highlighter script available for public access? I like the way you have thought it like a video player...
  • Sorry, it is not. I've asked Cadence in the past to provide the objects that are traced by Mark Net so that similar functionality could be created, but I'm not aware of any built in functionality to do so.

    Derek

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