Message-ID: <185@tekcbi.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Mar-85 15:56:54 EST
Article-I.D.: tekcbi.185
Posted: Tue Mar 5 15:56:54 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Mar-85 04:08:34 EST
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 74
After playing with the Rune Software Electronic Pad 512 demo package for
several days I have the following observations:
1. The Electronic Pad provides you with 9 'pages' about the size
of a MacPaint window into which to enter your schematic. You
do not get a large scrollable window to work in. You must
make connections between these pages.
2. The connections between the pages are made via labeled
'Terminals' which must be on each page that uses the signal,
and the labels must match (there is no way to copy a label
so you must remember the label name when you add it to a new
page). The terminals and thier labels take up a lot of scarce
circuit area.
3. The circuit elements and their labels are large enough that
putting more than about 12 elements per page could be a real
challange. The documentation claims that circuits with up to
160 components can be simulated.
4. Each circuit element has a label and a propagation delay
associated with it. In the case of flip-flops it appears
that all prop times are equal, and I have found no information
on set-up and hold times of the flip-flops.
5. The circuit elements available are: AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR,
XNOR, NOT, D flipflop, JK flipflop, Terminal (used to connect
signals to other pages), Input (signal source with up to 40
transitions specifiable), Output and Probe (to gather data to
display when doing a timing simulation). There is no
tri-state capability in these components, and no method of
creating new symbols (all of the gates are 2 input--I'd like
some with more inputs!).
6. Once a circuit element is placed on the page, it is fixed.
To move it you must DELETE it and then recreate it. There
is no click-drag-release or even cut & paste available.
7. Logical connections are made between devices by selecting
clicking on an output and an input. A line is then
automatically drawn between the two nodes. The autorouting
algorithm is very good at drawing parallel lines on top of
each other, so it becomes very hard to tell what is connected
to what.
8. A 'macro' capability allows you to create a one-page ciruit
that can be included in other designs. The macro takes up one
page of the design it is add to (instead of being a nice little
'black box' with terminals to connect to). All connections to
the macro are via the above mentioned terminals. Note that if
the macro is small other components can be added to the page
after the macro is put on, but a macro must be the first thing
on a page and is put there in exactly the same form and
position as when it was created with the macro editor.
9. The circuit simulation capabilities seem to be OK. Comparing
its output against a (very accurate) mainframe based program
did uncover some minor differences. The simulation ran
comfortably fast on a circuit of about 25 components. It also
appeared to handle asynchronous events with no trouble. The
documentation claims 85% simulation accuracy.
10. The simulation allows you to specify a start time and a sample
time. The output displays 6 samples starting at the specified
time. Up to 12 signals can be displayed. The 12 signals are
selected by connecting 'probes' to circuit nodes.
11. The only way to print any output (either schematic or
simulation) is via the command-shift-4 to printer or
command-shift-3 to a macpaint document.
In my opinion the package is a good demonstation of the type of SW that can
be witten for the Mac. If you can live with the user interface, the
package is probably OK. I am hoping that the user interface will be made more
Mac-like, and that the macro and printing capabilities are enhanced. The
simulation seems to be up to snuff for a $600 package. The wisest thing to
do is get the demo package and play with it to determine if it meets your
needs.
The opinions expressed here are mine and do not necessarily reflect the
views of my employer or anyone else (I'm very opinionated you know).
Ken Hillen
tektronix!tekcbi!kenh