Procedure and data structure for synthesis and transformation of logic

Abstract

A procedure is described for the synthesis and transformation of a logic circuit design, provided by the designers, into a database capable of being used to fabricate the actual circuit. The procedure involves the use of model instances which represent the use of circuit components. The original model instances can be associated with groups of rules that determine resulting configurations of generally different model instances or groups of model instances. The rules are tested and, in the presence of a `true` result, a new model instance (or model instances) can replace one or more original model instances in the data base. The rules associated with a model type (or definition) are rules derived by a design model engineer and can include coupled model instances. The rules can be associated with model definitions, as well as model instances. The data structures associated with each model instance indicate the model interface as well as the model interface port and permit a path to followed in the circuit in either the forward or the reverse signal direction. The model instances reside within model definitions which reside with design data in hierarchical form. The rules controlling the synthesis and transformation of the circuit are contained in a separate hierarchy of data structures or knowledge structures to which reference can be made by design data structures.