Patent Document ID: 7577929
Application ID: 11187722
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of estimating performance characteristics of a configuration of a circuit, wherein the configured circuit implements a user design, the method comprising: for each of one or more sample designs: selecting design characteristics of the sample design; determining values for the design characteristics; for each of a plurality of respective compilation phases performed for the sample design having the same determined values for the design characteristics, a compilation providing a configuration for a placement of logic of the sample design on the circuit to implement the sample design: receiving one or more performance values for one or more performance characteristics of the respective configuration of the circuit; determining, with a computer system for designing circuits, a performance estimate model from the values for the selected design characteristics and a performance metric of the received performance values associated with each sample design, wherein the performance estimate model accounts for a random variability of values of the performance metric following a subsequent compilation phase in a compilation process that determines a configuration of the circuit to implement the user design; and providing the performance estimate module to a user, wherein the performance estimation module is adapted to receive a representation of at least a portion of the user design and to output a probability distribution function of performance values in response to values for design characteristics of the user design.