* New: Python/C++ API level:
* Write a new C++/template wrapper to get rid of boost::python
* The int & long Python type are now merged. So a C/C++ level,
it became "PyLong_X" (remove "PyInt_X") and at Python code
level, it became "int" (remove "long").
* Change: VLSISAPD finally defunct.
* Configuration is now integrated as a Hurricane component,
makes use of the new C++/template wrapper.
* vlsisapd is now defunct. Keep it in the source for now as
some remaining non essential code may have to be ported in
the future.
* Note: Python code (copy of the migration howto):
* New print function syntax print().
* Changed "dict.has_key(k)" for "k" in dict.
* Changed "except Exception, e" for "except Exception as e".
* The division "/" is now the floating point division, even if
both operand are integers. So 3/2 now gives 1.5 and no longer 1.
The integer division is now "//" : 1 = 3//2. So have to carefully
review the code to update. Most of the time we want to use "//".
We must never change to float for long that, in fact, represents
DbU (exposed as Python int type).
* execfile() must be replaced by exec(open("file").read()).
* iter().__next__() becomes iter(x).__next__().
* __getslice__() has been removed, integrated to __getitem__().
* The formating used for str(type(o)) has changed, so In Stratus,
have to update them ("<class 'MyClass'>" instead of "MyClass").
* the "types" module no longer supply values for default types
like str (types.StringType) or list (types.StringType).
Must use "isinstance()" where they were occuring.
* Remove the 'L' to indicate "long integer" (like "12L"), now
all Python integer are long.
* Change in bootstrap:
* Ported Coriolis builder (ccb) to Python3.
* Ported Coriolis socInstaller.py to Python3.
* Note: In PyQt4+Python3, QVariant no longer exists. Use None or
directly convert using the python syntax: bool(x), int(x), ...
By default, it is a string (str).
* Note: PyQt4 bindings & Python3 under SL7.
* In order to compile user's must upgrade to my own rebuild of
PyQt 4 & 5 bindings 4.19.21-1.el7.soc.
* Bug: In cumulus/plugins.block.htree.HTree.splitNet(), set the root
buffer of the H-Tree to the original signal (mainly: top clock).
Strangely, it was only done when working in full chip mode.
* New: In CRL/helpers/utils.py, create a Python "class decorator".
Works like a decorator but without the need of implementing
the Concrete/Abstract classes structure Design Pattern.
Create proxies in the derived class for the base class
attributes & methods.
* Change: In cumulus/plugins/alpha/block/configuration.py, enrich
the BlockState object to support core2chip parameters. Make it
even more autonomous from the Block class.
* New: In cumulus/plugins/alpha/core2chip, port of the core2chip plugin
and integration with the alphs/block plugin. At "constant features"
as a first. Only ported "cmos", phlib will be later.
* Change: In CRL/helpers, cumulus/plugins, oroshi & karakaze,
Move towards more Python PEP8 compliance:
* All indentations sets to 4 spaces (in progress).
* In plugins, remove messages about software collections
and RHEL (too many case could wrongly lead to that).
Instead systematically uses "helpers.io.catch()".
* Put in lowercases all modules names. Note that C++ exported
modules *keep* their Capitalized names (to preserve the
identity with the C++ namespace).
* When making import, use full path.
* Rename the run function from "ScriptMain()" to "scriptMain()".
* Cleanup: In CRL/etc, remove obsoleted configuration files,
the one ending in ".conf". Keep those who have not been ported
to the new style yet.
* New: In Hurricane/src/configuration, first trial at replacing the
C preprocessor macros by C++ templates. Applied first to configuration
from VLSISAPD.
This is unfinished business, just a limited demonstrator for now.
It is installed as a separate Python library "Cfg2" which do not
interact with the rest of Coriiolis.
The end goal is to fully remove boost and merge VLSISAPD useful
components directly inside Hurricane.
* Change: In Hurricane::Error constructors disable the backtrace generation.
(*very* slow).
* Change: In Hurricane::Library::getHierarchicalname(), more compact
naming. Remove the name of the root library.
* New: In Hurricane::Net, new type "FUSED", for component with no net.
More efficient than having one net for each.
* Change: In CellViewer, BreakpointWidget, use Angry Birds icons.
* Change: In CellWidget::State, use the hierarchical name (cached) as key
to the state. This allow to load two cells with the same name but from
different libraries in the widget history.
* Change: In PyGraphics, export "isEnabled()" and "isHighDpi()" functions.
* Change: In CRL/etc/symbolic/cmos/plugin.conf, and
CRL/etc/common/plugin.conf use the physical dimensions converters.
* Change: In CRL/etc/symbolic/cmos/technology.conf, make the GDS layer
table coherent with the default Alliance cmos.rds.
* New: CRL/python/helpers/io.py, put ErrorMessage new implementation here,
along with a new ErrorWidget written in PyQt4. It seems finally that
PyQt4 can be used alongside Coriolis Qt widgets.
New ErrorMessage.catch() static function to manage all exceptions
in except clauses.
* Change: In CRL/python/helpers/, no longer use ErrorMessage.wrapPrint(),
directly print it.
Rewrite the utilities to display Python stack traces "textStacktrace()"
and "showStacktrace()".
* Change: In CRL::AllianceFramework, shorten the names of the libraries.
* Change: In CRL::ApParser & CRL::ApDriver, more accurate translation between
Alliance connectors (C record) and Hurricane::Pin objects. Pin are no
longer made square but thin and oriented in the connecting direction.
Use the new fused net for unnamed components.
* New: In CRL::GdsParser, implementation of SREF parsing, i.e. instances.
Due to the unordered nature of the GDS stream, instances creation are
delayed until the whole stream has been parsed and only then are they
created.
For the sake of reading back Alliance s2r GDS, we assume that any
TEXT following a boundary is the Net name the boundary (component)
belongs to.
Create abutment box for Cells, computed from the bounding box, so
the Hurricane QuadTree could work properly.
Make use of the fused net for unnamed components.
* New: In Cumulus/plugins/chip, complete rewrite of the I/O pad management.
Now we can mix real (foundry) pads and a symbolic core.
To cleanly support the de-coupling between the real part and the
symbolic one we introduce a new intermediary hierarchical level, the
corona. We have now:
Chip --> Pads + Corona --> Core.
At chip level (and if we are using real pads) the layout is fully
real (excepting the corona).
The Corona contains everything that is symbolic. It has symbolic
wires extending outward the abutment box to make contact with the
real wires coming from the pads.
In the pad ring we can use corners instances (or not), pad spacers
or directly draw wires between connectors ring pads.
Provide two flavors: placement only or full place & route.
WARNING: If routing in a second step, *do not route* the *Chip* but
the *Corona*.
* Change: In Cumulus/plugins/clocktree, give the modified Cell an
additional extension of "_cts" (Clock Tree Synthesis) instead of
"_clocked", to follow the common convention.
* New: In cumulus/plugins/S2R.py, encapsulate call to Alliance S2R and
reload the translated Cell in the editor.
* New: In cumulus/plugins/core2chip, provide an utility to automatically
create a chip from a core. To work this plugins must have a basic
understanding of the pad functionalities which may differs from
foundry to foundry. So a base class CoreToChip is created, then for
each supported pad foundry a derived class is added. Currently we
support AMS c35b4 and Alliance symbolic cmos.
* Bug: In Anabatic::Configuration, read the right configuration parameter
"anabatic.topRoutinglayer" (Katana), and not the one for Katabatic...
* Change: In Unicorn/cgt.py, process the plugins in alphabetical order
to ensure a reproductible ordering of the menus...
* Change: In boostrap, remove support for Chams.
* New: In Hurricane::Technology, added support for DTR rules, UnitRule,
PhysicalRule and TwoLayersPhysicalrule. Added devices descriptors and
models descriptors (for Spice). Spice description is not used yet
but kept anyway in case of future use.
* New: Hurricane::Analog whole library and it's Python interface. This
provides support for transistors, capacitors and resistors. Only
transistor support is fully implemented as of now.
* New: In CRL/python/coriolisInit.py, read configuration files for the
Analog extension (analog.conf & devices.conf). Thoses are optionals
and a simple warning is issued if not found.
Added helpers/AnalogTechno.py DTR loading helper.
Add analog configuration files for 180/scn6m_deep_09.
* New: Oroshi tool that provides actual layout drawing for transistors.
* Change: In CRL Core, in coriolis2/etc the file an directory structure
describing the technonolies is modified.
Before, one technology was split in two: the symbolic part that
may be shared across multiple real technology and the real technology
itself. To configure this we needed in ".coriolis2/techno.py" two
variables:
* symbolicTechnology.
* realTechnology.
After, we duplicate the symbolic technology in each real ones, so
to configure we only have to refer to one technology with the
variable:
* technology.
Pure sympolic technologies are still availables, associated with
a dummy real one.
We provides:
* 180/scn6m_deep_09 for MOSIS 180nm
* 45/freepdk_45 for FreePDK 45nm (work in progress).
* symbolic/cmos for classical Alliance symbolic.
* Change: In CRL Core python/helpers, SymbolicTechnology.py and
RealTechnology.py are now grouped under Technology.py.
* New: In VLSISAPD, in Configuration, add a new priority level UserFile
to distinguish between the system configuration files and the user's
configuration files (which take precedence).
* New: In Hurricane, in Script (Python), improve the API to be able
to support Chams (and remove the duplicate capability from it).
Add separate functions to perform the initialize/run(s)/finalize
cycle step by step.
* Change: In CRL Core, rename real technology <hcmos9> to <hcmos9gp>,
it's offcial name from CMP/ST. This is the 130nm.
Move the reading of the symbolic & real technologies names from
coriolisInit.py to helpers.__init__.py, to be shared with
chamsInit.py.
To avoid a clash of names inside of helpers, the two variables
of techno.py are renamed "symbolicTechnology" and "realTechnology".
Move python init system from crlcore/src/crlcore to crlcore/python.
* New: In CRL Core, In Utilities, add site-packages/pharos to the
PYTHONPATH.
* Change: In Kite, move python init system from kite/src/init to
kite/python.
Jean-Paul Chaput