Patent ID: 7031899

Claim:
A method for enabling a user to control display of information relating to a circuit including clocked storage elements and unclocked logic elements that communicate via signals including input signals to the circuit and output signals of the storage elements and logic elements, and relating to data indicating states of the signals at a succession of discrete times, the method comprising the steps of: a. receiving input from the user selecting one of the succession of discrete times as a first discrete time and selecting an output signal of one of the storage elements of the circuit as a first signal; b. identifying a first set of all signals of the circuit, other than output signals of its unclocked logic elements, for which the state of the first signal at the first discrete time is a function of the state of every signal of the first set at a second discrete time immediately preceding the first discrete time in said succession of discrete times; and c. generating a display comprising first and second columns of symbols indicating signal states, wherein the first column includes a symbol indicating the state of the selected first signal at the first discrete time, and excludes any other symbol indicating a state of any other signal, and wherein the second column includes a separate symbol corresponding to each signal of the first set indicating a state of its corresponding signal at the second discrete time, and excluding any other symbol indicating a state of any other signal.