The DesignArena technology sits one layer on top of the company's RTL closure tool, DesignWarrior, said Tom Daspit, vice president of marketing for InTime. It tells them upfront in the process the number of gates, number of pads, number of big blocks, as well as voltage and clock domains. The DesignArena tool borrows from the Microsoft wizard concept. Users are not required to enter code but rather are guided by the tool to enter data in a click-through table environment. Daspit said users specify a physical library developed by InTime or third parties such as Virtual Silicon, Artisan Components, NurLogic or Avanti.
Users additionally enter clock information, voltage domains, and the number and type of signal pins.
The tool then cranks out a graphical description of the design and a DesignWarrior format file, which can be used in RTL creation and floor planning. As RTL is fed to DesignWarrior, the tool refines the estimate from DesignArena. Daspit said the tool tells users how many levels of logic they can stuff in for a given clock domain. Daspit said DesignArena automatically routes power buses once the user places the memory and intellectual-property blocks. It also calculates the number of power and ground pad cells required, offering a pre-RTL physical view of the design.