Patent Document ID: 20070106488
Application ID: 11267726
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for predicting behavior a circuit comprising modules that transmit and receive signals through sequential elements, the method comprising the steps of: a. processing a circuit description to classify some signals of the circuit as essential signals and classifying all other signals of the circuit as non-essential signals, b. based on information included in the circuit description and a specification of behavior during a time interval of all primary input signals to the circuit, simulating behavior of the circuit signals during the time interval, including generating and saving first simulation data representing behavior of essential signals during the time interval, c. selecting a subinterval of the time interval, d. selecting a subcircuit of the circuit comprising at least one of the modules, and e. based on information included in the first simulation data and the circuit description, re-simulating behavior only of the selected subcircuit during the selected subinterval, including generating and saving second simulation data representing behavior of signals of the selected subcircuit during the selected subinterval, wherein each signal is classified at step a as an essential signal when its behavior during the full-circuit simulation must be represented by the first simulation data in order to carry out step e for any possible combination of subinterval and subcircuit selected at steps c and d and wherein a signal is classified at step a as a non-essential signal when its behavior during the time interval need not be known in order to carry out step e.