how to start with development of eda tools

Hendra wrote:

> Thomas Reinemann <thomas.reinemann@mb.uni-magdeburg.de> wrote > 

>>Classical approaches teach logic elements and logic minimation, but this is
>>counterproductive.

> Why does the academic community still teach methods that are not used
> in the industry, such as K-Map?

Why do we teach addition in first grade if everyone has
hand calculators to do it?

I do think it is still useful to know how to at least simple
logic minimization by hand.  (In case you are lost on a desert
island with a pile of TTL chips.)

It is useful to have at least some idea how much logic will be
generated for different designs, or even if they are synthesizable
at all.  (FF's that trigger on both edges, for example.)

In many cases I prefer HDL to GUI schematic entry tools.  It just
takes too much work moving around little rectangles and getting all
the lines to go the right way.   It is nice to have a tool that will
generate a schematic from HDL, though.

-- glen

kevin wrote:
 > how to start with development of eda tools(e.g simulation tools and
 > synthesizing tools): what knowledge should i know and where i can find
 > the
 > informations(tutorial, guides or something else)

People have already given you the hardware experiences you'll need.
Add to that list at least one graduate level course in compiler
construction, and/or equivilent experience.

The techniques for how simulation engines work come from operations
research (discrete event simulations) with a dose of queuing theory.
Most digital simulators are to some degree simle discreet event
simulations underneath. This sort of information should be relatively
easy to find. (I had coursework and work experience to draw on here.)

The techniques for synthesis are deeply hidded from the public. It's
probably easier to get documentation for building an atomic bomb:-)
There are all kinds of books on combinational logic synthesis, but
for synthesis of algorithms (i.e. sequential, behavioral code) the
only book I can find is:

Logic Synthesis for Control Automata
Samary Baranov
Kluwer Acedemic Publishers

Of course, it makes no mention of behavioral, sequential code. You
have to make the mental connections yourself.

-- 
Steve Williams                "The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
steve at icarus.com           But I have promises to keep,
http://www.icarus.com         and lines to code before I sleep,
http://www.picturel.com       And lines to code before I sleep."