Optimized placement and routing of datapaths

Abstract

A computer system, method and software product enables automatic placement and routing of datapath functions using a design methodology that preserves hiearchical and structural regularity in top down designs for datapaths. The system includes a datapath floorplanner, a datapath placer, and routing space estimator. The datapath floorplanner allows the designer to establish and maintain during floorplannning operations datapath regions that include a number of datapath functions each. The datapath floorplanner creates the datapath regions from a netlist specifying logic cell instances and connectivity information, and from a plurality of tile files. A tile file is a structured description of a datapath function, describing the relative vertical and horizontal placement of all logic cell instances within the datapath function. There is one tile file for each unique datapath function. The datapath function instances then are associated with a particular tile file by the tile file list file. The datapath floorplanner uses the tile files to integrate the placement information with the specific function instances, and further allows the specification of clusters, function interleaving, and net side constraints per region. A datapath placer places the datapath functions in each region using the relative placement information and constraints. The routing space estimator estimates the space needed for routing a placed region. All of this information is interactively provided to the circuit designer so as to allow almost real time modification of datapath placement.