A Hierarchical Design Rule Checker
Read PDF →Whitney, 1981
Category: EDA
Overall Rating
Score Breakdown
- Cross Disciplinary Applicability: 3/10
- Latent Novelty Potential: 2/10
- Obscurity Advantage: 2/5
- Technical Timeliness: 2/10
Synthesized Summary
This paper is a valuable historical document showcasing the early recognition of the need for hierarchical analysis in VLSI design and the technical challenges faced on limited hardware.
However, the specific algorithmic approaches and data structures described (like bounding box filtering, disk-based interaction lists, and the limited handling of primitive symbols) were heavily influenced by the constraints of the time and have been fundamentally surpassed by more robust and scalable geometric and spatial processing techniques prevalent in modern tools.
There is no specific, actionable algorithmic or conceptual gem described that offers a unique path for modern research compared to existing methods.
Optimist's View
The core idea of hierarchical DRC is standard practice in modern EDA...
...the specific implementation details described... might hold latent value for specific hierarchical data analysis problems outside of traditional VLSI layout.
The fundamental approach of exploiting hierarchy in a structured dataset to perform rule checks efficiently is broadly applicable.
Modern computing offers orders of magnitude more memory, faster processors, parallel computing capabilities, and mature spatial data structures... that could allow a hierarchical algorithm based on this principle to operate entirely in memory...
Skeptic's View
The fundamental assumption seems to be that designs are strictly hierarchical with minimal overlap and well-defined boundaries between instances...
The paper's reliance on simple bounding box overlaps as the primary interaction filter... are insufficient for the intricate geometric and physical checks required today.
Its core contribution was more a hierarchical filtering strategy... rather than a breakthrough in the fundamental geometric algorithms needed for DRC.
The paper's primary technical limitation is its dependence on bounding boxes for initial filtering. While bounding boxes are quick to check, they are crude approximations.
Final Takeaway / Relevance
Ignore