Patent ID: 7363599

Claim:
A processor-based method for matching a hierarchical identifier with a block instance of a design in a high-level modeling system, comprising: generating a tree representing a hierarchy of a plurality of block instances of the design in the high-level modeling system, wherein the tree includes a respective node for each block instance of the design, and the respective node includes a first name of the block instance; for each successive level of the hierarchy of the tree beginning at a root-level, pattern matching the first name of each node in a first subset of the level of the hierarchy with a second name at a corresponding level of the hierarchical identifier; for each successive level of the hierarchy of the tree beginning at the root-level, selecting a second subset of the first subset of the level of the hierarchy as a function of the pattern matching for the level, wherein, for each successive level of the hierarchy of the tree other than a final-level, a set of children of the second subset of the level of the hierarchy comprises another first subset of a successive level of the hierarchy; choosing a node of another second subset of the final-level of the hierarchy; and determining a block instance of the node.