Patent ID: 6848094

Claim:
A method of global simplification of a netlist comprising steps for: generating a variable set representative of inputs and outputs of logic elements in a netlist; re-ordering the inputs and the outputs of the logic elements in the variable set so that the inputs are ordered before the outputs; generating a key set representative of the inputs of the logic elements that are connected to the outputs; assigning names in the variable set representative of equivalent outputs having two or fewer essential variables to the same variable name wherein a variable x i is defined as an essential variable of a logic function F(x 0 , . . . ,x i , . . . ,x k ) if a subset of values (a 0 , . . . ,a i−1 ,a i+1 , . . . ,a k ) of variables (x 0 , . . . ,x i−1 , x i+1 , . . . ,x k ) exists such that F(a 0 , . . . ,a i−1 ,0,a i+1 , . . . ,a k ) is not equal to F(a 0 , . . . ,a i−1 ,1,a i+1 , . . . ,a k ); inserting names in the variable set that are representative of outputs having more than two essential variables; and assigning a value to each of the outputs having two or fewer essential variables.