The following table shows the typographical conventions used for the Tcl command syntax.
|
Syntax Notation |
Description |
|
command -argument |
Commands and arguments appear in Courier New typeface. |
|
variable |
Variables appear in blue, italic Courier New typeface. You must substitute an appropriate value for the variable. |
|
[-argument value]
[variable]+
|
Optional arguments begin and end with a square bracket with one exception: if the square bracket is followed by a plus sign (+), then users must specify at least one argument. The plus sign (+) indicates that items within the square brackets can be repeated. Do not enter the plus sign character. |
Note: All Tcl commands are case sensitive. However, their arguments are not.
Syntax for the get_defvar command followed by a sample command:
get_defvar variable
get_defvar “DESIGN”
Syntax for the backannotate command followed by a sample command:
backannotate -name file_name -format format_type -language language -dir directory_name [-netlist] [-pin]
backannotate -dir \
{..\design} -name "fanouttest_ba.sdf" -format "SDF" -language "VERILOG" \
-netlist
You can use the following wildcard characters in names used in Tcl commands:
|
Wildcard |
What it does |
|
\ |
Interprets the next character literally |
|
? |
Matches any single character |
|
* |
Matches any string |
|
[] |
Matches any single character among those listed between brackets (that is, [A-Z] matches any single character in the A-to-Z range) |
Note: The matching function requires that you add a slash (\) before each slash in the port, instance, or net name when using wildcards in a PDC command and when using wildcards in the Find feature of the MultiView Navigator. For example, if you have an instance named “A/B12” in the netlist, and you enter that name as “A\\/B*” in a PDC command, you will not be able to find it. In this case, you must specify the name as A\\\\/B*.
Sometimes square brackets ([ ]) are part of the command syntax. In these cases, you must either enclose the open and closed square brackets characters with curly brackets ({ }) or precede the open and closed square brackets ([ ]) characters with a backslash (\). If you do not, you will get an error message.
For example:
pin_assign -port {LFSR_OUT[0]} -pin 15
or
pin_assign -port LFSR_OUT\[0\] -pin 180
Note: Tcl commands are case sensitive. However, their arguments are not.
To enter an argument on a separate line, you must enter a backslash (\) character at the end of the preceding line of the command as shown in the following example:
backannotate -dir \
{..\design} -name "fanouttest_ba.sdf" -format "SDF" -language "VERILOG" \
-netlist