Subject: Re: IBIS to Proprietary Simulator Model Conversion Tools

From: Fred Vance <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 30 Oct 95 09:57:52 -0800

Jon,

In reply to items (1) to (6) below:

(1) I applaude your prowess in supporting IBIS.

(2) Historically, you have also introduced models of increasing complexity as  
the demand for them arose.

(3) Thank goodness. If IBIS were a simulation language, we'd never get any  
consensus on it.

(4) So? Associate the timing information with the IBIS model during  
translation.

(5) Using IBIS models shouldn't preclude the use of simpler (or more complex)  
models.

(6) Absolutely. Just allow your SI program to commune with the IBIS scriptures  
for a divine revelation.

Fred

Begin forwarded message:

Date: Fri, 27 Oct 95 16:51:09 PDT
From: [email-masked] (Jon Powell)
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked]
In-Reply-To: <[email-masked]>  
(uunet!firepower.com!fvance)
Subject: Re: IBIS to Proprietary Simulator Model Conversion Tools

Fred,

I can reply for QUAD DESIGN:

1) We supply an IBIS converter, at no extra cost, as a part of our tool. 

2) Historically, the IBIS standard did not support the same level of  
information
that an XTK model supports. That is, the XTK models could model certain objects  
that
IBIS could not model and so if we supported IBIS as our sole language we would  
either
be reducing our capability or making a "dialect" of IBIS, neither of which we  
wanted
to do. (we still want to be able to release advanced behavioral simulation  
constructs
that have not had time for IBIS approval).

3) IBIS is NOT a simulation language but a data exchange mechanism targetted at  
SI
problems. Translating it into a simulation language seems appropriate under  
many conditions.

4) IBIS does not contain certain timing information that is essential to the  
Quad Design methodology
for SI simulation. We insert this information during the translation process.

5) For simple devices, Quad Design models are much easier to write than IBIS  
models. We have a huge
user base trained in writting Quad Design models and they would kill us if we  
switched to IBIS.

6) IBIS is God and if a mere SI program touched it directly it would burst into  
flame.