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The !terms Command: Regenerate Terminals

Syntax: !terms
This command is obsolete. It is actually run automatically when a cell is loaded for editing. It is also called within the !check command. If the terminals of a cell were updated, a message stating this will be added to the convert_rdXXX.log file which is produced during the read operation.

Earlier versions of Xic did not include physical terminals, thus files from these versions don't directly support the features which use these terminals, such as LVS and node naming. This command can be used to update an old file. This will create any missing terminals from the terminals specified in the device specifications in the device library file. If the device library file is also old, the terminals will have to be added by hand with a text editor, or a newer device library file should be used. Terminals are added only in the current cell, so the process must be repeated in any subcells.

Newer versions of Xic use the terminal structures to store the names of the terminals of subcircuits. It is important that the cells contain a terminal structure for each node, or certain commands or actions may not work correctly.

A cell suspected of having ``old-style'' nodes (without terminal structures) can be dealt with as follows. An old-style cell may work perfectly well for generating SPICE output, but there may be problems at some point (for example, the Dump Elec Netlist command won't work for formats other than SPICE), since the internal data are incomplete. To check if a cell has old-style nodes: Open the cell for editing, and press the subct button in the electrical mode side menu. If the cell is OK, then the white box subcircuit terminal markers should appear. If they don't, press the Info button in the View Menu, then press Shift and click anywhere in the drawing window. The Info window will contain info about the cell. Near the bottom of the listing, where the properties are listed, look for lines like ``10 7 1 -2000 29000'', i.e., properties that start with 10. If there are any, the cell has old-style nodes.

To fix, type ``!terms''. That's it. The subct command should bring up the white markers, and a new Info window should list the same property as (for example) ``10 7 1 -2000 29000 _1 0 0 8 ?''.


next up previous contents index
Next: The !ushow Command: Show Up: Extraction Previous: The !ptrms Command: Default   Contents   Index
Stephen R. Whiteley 2006-10-23