Table of Contents
- l2p
- - Creates a PostScript file from a symbolic layout file,or from a
physical layout file.
This software belongs to the ALLIANCE CAD system from the CAO-VLSI team at
ASIM/LIP6/UPMC laboratory.
LIP6/ASIM
University P. et M. Curie
4, place Jussieu
75252 PARIS Cedex 05
FRANCE
Fax : {33/0} 1.44.27.62.86
E-mail support : alliance-support@asim.lip6.fr
l2p [-color] [-drawingsize=<w>x<h>] [-fA3] [-fLETTER] [-fLEGAL]
[-givebwdict] [-givecolordict] [-help] [-noheader] [-papersize=<x>x<y>x<w>x<h>]
[-pages=<x>x<y>] [-tsize=<s>] [-nrname]
[-ncname] [-nrfname] [-niname] [-nsname] [-mfeed] [-real]
[-resol=<x>] [-rflattencatal] [-rflattentrans] [-rotate]
[-scale=<f.f>] [-usedict=<f>] cellname
Two main kind of cells can be used as inputs for l2p :
First, you can use l2p to print symbolic layout cells. File formats can be
.ap or .cp . This is given by an environment variable MBK_IN_PH that gives
the appropriate symbolic layout file format.
Second, you can use l2p to print real layout cells whose file formats can
be .cif or .gds . This is given by an environment variable RDS_IN that
gives the appropriate real layout file format.
The path to the input file is set up by two environment variables:
MBK_WORK_LIB(3)
and if not found MBK_CATA_LIB(3)
. The output of l2p is a
PostScript file in the current directory. The drawing size and the paper
size can be specified by the user. So, you can split your drawing in as
many pages as wanted. The resulting file can be then used on any adequat
Postcript printer.
l2p will generate in the current directory, either a single file called
<cellname>.ps, either several files suffixed by -<x>x<y>.ps, depending on
wether you've asked for a monopage plot or for a drawing that will be
splitted on several pages. If you do something like l2p -pages=2x1 cell,
it will generate two files called cell-1x1.ps, and cell-2x1.ps.
With no options, l2p generate a `standard file', with all options off.
This is ok for leaf cells, but not for large circuits.
- -color generates a color PostScript file for use with color
- interpreters.
The default value gives a black and white PostCript file.
- -drawingsize=<width>x<height>
-
specifies the drawing area in centh of inch. By default, wide =
725 and height = 1068 for french A4 paper. If the drawing size is
bigger than the paper area, then the drawing will be splitted on
several pages.
- -fA3
- The drawing is done on A3 format paper.
- -fLETTER
-
The drawing is done on LETTER format paper.
- -fLEGAL
-
The drawing is done on LEGAL format paper.
- -givebwdict
-
give the Black & White internal PostScript dictionnary. See below.
- -givecolordict
-
This option must be unique on the command line. When used as
in `l2p -givebwdict', l2p then gives on the standard output its
Black & White internal Postscript dictionnary. A PostScript dictionnary
is a set of mac- ros that will be used during interpretation
of your PostScript file. The macros in the internal
- PostScript dictionnaries of l2p allows you to control which
- layer
to output, how to plot rectangles, and specify the colors of
the rectangles. You get the standard diction- nary by a line of
the form `l2p -givecolordict > dict.ps'. You can then edit it, in
order to reuse it with l2p, see the `-usedict' option below.
- -help
- gives you this man page that explains how to use l2p.
- -noheader
-
prevents the border and various info, as the cellname and the position
of the page in the drawing, from being printed.
- -papersize=<x_low_left>x<y_low_left>x<width>x<height>
-
specifies the paper area in centh of inch. By default,
50x50x726x1069 for a4 paper.
- -pages=<number_of_x_pages>x<number_of_y_pages>
-
specifies the drawing area in pages. It can be useful, instead of
having to calculate the size in cenths of inch of the drawing, to
give it in numbers of pages. It takes care of the resizing of the
paper and whether there is a header.
- -tsize=<s>
-
Available sizes:6,8,10,12,14.The default value is 8.
- -nrname
-
No name at all will be displayed.
- -ncname
-
The external connector's names won't be displayed.
- -nrfname
-
The references's names won't be displayed.
- -niname
-
The instances's names won't be displayed.
- -nsname
-
The segments's names won't be displayed.
- -mfeed Manualfeed:if
- set,informs the printer that it will be fed by the
user himself,for each printing .
- -real
- uses real file (cif, gds). By default, uses symbolic layout file
(ap, cp).
- -resol=<x>
-
is the resolution of the file in dots per inch (dpi). This value
has been introducted to limitate the size of the generated
PostScript files. Each rectangle whose width and height are smaller
than the resolution will not be printed. The default value is
72dpi. It should only be changed in one specifical case : when you
want to produce a plot of several meter large. Usually, you must
provide a PostScript file sized for A4 paper with a much better
resolution than 72dpi. You can then increase that value to up to
1000dpi, but be aware that the size of the file will probably be
bigger than a 44Mb SyQuest cartridge that is used in PAO for
exchanging data files.
- -rflattencatal
-
flattens the cell to the catalog level. see catal(5)
for more
details on the use of the catalog file. Be careful, this option
requires a lot of memory...
- -rflattentrans
-
flattens the cell to the transistor level before printing. Be careful,
this option requires a lot more memory...
- -rotate
-
rotate the cell from 90 degree. This is useful if you have a wide
cell, and you want to have it printed in landscape mode.
- -scale=<f.f>
-
forces the cell to be printed with a certain scale (a floatingpoint
number). This is very useful, when you are printing a whole
library of cells, and you want all cells to be printed to the same
scale.
You can find at which scale a cell was printed by looking at the
beginning of the file : `head n1_y-1x1.ps' will show you a
PostScript comment beginning by `%SCALE=3.78435' for example.
- -usedict=<filename>
-
The output Postcript file contains a Postcript dictionnary of
macros.
There are two standard dictionnaries used by l2p for black and
white or color prints. This allows you to use a PostScript dictionnary
different from the two internally encoded into l2p. By modifying
one of the standard l2p dictionnary, you can choose which
layer to output, how to fill the rectangles (empty, hashed,
filled), which color to choose, ... and lots of other possibilities.
The rest of the generated postscript file is mainly orders of
drawing rectangles. PostScript is a reverse polish notation langage,
that is easy to read for simple programs.
If you use this functionnality, and think that your dictionnaries
are worth it, please mail them to alliance-support@asim.lip6.fr, in
order to submit them for inclusion in future version of l2p
(Thanks).
for symbolic file(s) :
setenv MBK_IN_PH ap
setenv MBK_WORK_LIB .
setenv MBK_CATA_LIB /labo/cells/scr
setenv MBK_CATAL_NAME CATAL
setenv RDS_TECHNO_NAME cmos_1.rds
for real file(s) :
setenv RDS_IN cif
setenv MBK_CATAL_NAME CATAL_ROUT
setenv RDS_TECHNO_NAME prol12_1.rds
l2p -color n1_y
will create a colored n1_y.ps file in the current directory : the
`standard' way.
l2p -real cell
will create a cell.ps file in the current directory from cell.cif
or cell.gds, depending on the RDS_IN environment variable.
l2p -pages=3x2 na2_y
size of the created drawing:3 horizontal pages,2 vertical ones;
- SEE ALSO
-
mbk(1)
, rds(1)
, MBK_IN_PH(3)
, MBK_CATA_LIB(3)
, MBK_WORK_LIB(3)
,
MBK_CATAL_NAME(3)
, RDS_TECHNO_NAME(3)
, pageview(1)
, gs(1)
,
ghostview(1)
, lpr(1)
.
You will not be able to generate more than approximativly 30 pages at the
same time (because of the FOPEN_MAX of your environment). In this case,
see the option that is not implemented yet.
The generated PostScript is Level 1 for black& white plots. When you use
color, it generates Level 1 with color extensions. It may not run with
strict Level 1 interpreters, although it runs here with our Apple Personnal
LaserWriter, Sun Sparcprinters, and Canon CLC-300-PS. It follows the
Adobe Document Structuring Conventions 1, and as there is a fake bitmap
image inside each generated files, you can re-use them in your word-processors,
or publishing software, because the PostScript is EPSF-1.2 compliant.
This tool is under development at the ASIM/LIP6/UPMC laboratory, cao-vlsi
research team.
We need your feedbak to improve documentation and tools.
If you find bugs, please fill-in the form at
http://asim.lip6.fr/alliance/support/bug-report/
Thanks for doing this.
Table of Contents
Alliance Web Site © 1997, 2002 ASIM/LIP6/UPMC,
page maintained by Czo [Olivier Sirol]
, last updated on 26 May 2000.