When preparing for undergraduate EDA projects, we were facing these two related issues: 1) how to handle components with various levels of description depending on the tool invoqued: analog simulator, digital simulator, PCB fabrication, ASIC synthesis, and 2) how to handle system level simulation with multiple technological proposals, multiple boards, and outside world models. Because these projects were to start quickly at the first year, our decision was to offer designers a single schematic symbol for any electronic component whichever tool they invoque upon, and we developed a methodology for system level.

The examples we show are taken from simple student projects, but solutions we propose are valid in an industrial environment. Usual solutions are built upon symbol properties usage like MODEL, COMP, etc. associated with various viewpoints. This may not be sufficient when hierarchical description vary depending on technology used or when various models for the same tool are necessary.

In return, it implies the burden of managing a specific company libraries and undertaking the design and support of specific models. Examples of libraries and models will be explained. Definite improvement of V8 solutions vs. those previously developed in V7 will be exposed.

Bio:
Roland Mercier is responsible in his University for EDA courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. He manages a 50 node network including 25 EDA seats (Mentor Graphics). He supports the teaching team, managing libraries and providing customizations. He is directly involved in the following fields : Unix and Xwindow management, VHDL modelisation and synthesis, PCB projects, Telecom signal processing, Microwave. Since 1986, Roland MERCIER has been the "Networks and EDA Applications Manager" in the so-called "IAO/IUT project" involving 45 French university centers, and providing more than 350 Mentor Graphics seats for undergraduate EDA courses. He supports the V7-V8 conversion process. He has been teaching in the University of Paris 10 (the Ville d'Avray Center) since 1975. Roland Mercier has been the French MUG president since 1991and EuroMUG president since 1993. See Web pages and . beware of upper and lower case characters.