Two common challenges in multi-vendor EDA environments are the management of the design tools and providing users with convenient access to set-ups that allow successful use of the tools both individually and in combination. One challenge in managing design tools is balancing the need to provide the "cutting edge" users with timely access to the latest version of tools, while also providing a stable environment that allows project teams to use the same tool versions throughout the course of the project. Another challenge is managing the support issues resulting from such a diverse environment. It is impractical to support every conceivable combination of tool versions that might be used. An approach that provides structure to tool version selection has several advantages.

The design automation group of Eastman Kodak Company's Digital Technology Center (DTC) has been addressing this challenge for quite a while. This paper will discuss the CAE tool environment in DTC, the approaches taken previously, and the process by which the best characteristics of each approach were taken and used to develop a new approach. This approach resulted in a custom Tcl/tk tool being developed. This tool is presently in the initial stages of being introduced throughout the company as part of a corporate effort to standardize the design tools for electronic system design.

Bio:
The authors are members of the Design Automation group of the Digital Technology Center of the Eastman Kodak Company.