Distributed computer aided design system and method

Abstract

A distributed computer aided design (CAD) system includes a CAD server station and one or more CAD client stations remote from the server station but connectable thereto via a communications medium such as an intranet or the internet. The CAD server station includes a CAD tool for performing CAD tasks and a communications interface. The CAD client stations include display and data entry facilities for displaying a design parameter entry document to a user and for accepting design parameters entered by the user, as well as a communications interface for transmitting entered design parameters via the communications medium to the server station. The CAD tool at the server station is configured to receive the design parameters from the client station, to perform CAD tasks based on the design parameters and to return processed design data to the server station via the communications medium. The client station can include a workstation with a web browser capability. The server station can be configured to respond to a request from a client station to supply a design parameter input form. Integrated circuit design can be performed by providing circuit design executables and circuit design libraries (e.g for memory cells) at the CAD tool. The CAD tool can also provide simulation tools.