Abstract: A method for operating a data processing system that causes the data processing system to test the consistency between a schematic description of an electronic circuit and a physical implementation of that circuit includes a master device having a plurality of component devices connected by a network of conductors is disclosed. Each of the component devices has a plurality of package pins that connect the component device to the network of conductors. Information specifying a schematic netlist generated from the schematic description and specifying a layout description of the physical implementation is received by the data processing system. The layout description specifies the network of conductors. The data processing system determines any package shorts in the component devices and generates a layout netlist from the layout description. The layout netlist is compared with the schematic netlist.

Abstract: A method for operating a data processing system to generate a layout for a netlist circuit based on a physical layout of that circuit is disclosed. A schematic of the circuit and an input defining a physical layout of the circuit are received by the data processing system. The schematic includes a plurality of schematic devices, characterized by unique schematic device names. The data processing system generates a graphical representation of the circuit from the physical layout, having one layout device corresponding to each of the plurality of schematic devices, each layout device being characterized by a graphical representation name that is the same as the schematic device name of the corresponding schematic device. First and second netlists are generated from the graphical representation and schematic, respectively. The data processing system generates a report specifying any differences in the first and second netlists.

Abstract: A method of operating a data processing system to extract instances of devices contained in a description of an integrated circuit and data processing systems implementing that method are disclosed. A device instance database includes a plurality of instances of devices contained in the integrated circuit, each device instance identifying corresponding structures in the integrated circuit that are part of the device instance. A device type definition library is used to search for instances of devices and includes a plurality of device type definitions, one of the type definitions defining a compound device includes two devices included in the device instance database. The data processing system searches the device instance database for compound devices defined in device type definition library, and updates the device instance database when a new device is found.