PC-LINK User's Manual 2-1
USING PC-LINK
Before running PC-LINK, be sure that:
• Your system is correctly configured. (See the
"System Configuration" section in your System Overview manual for a list of requirements.)
• You have installed the PC-LINK program file (PCLINK.EXE).
• You have created all the input binary netlists to be linked and they all have the same filename
extension (usually .NL T).
If you are using the P-CAD recommended directory structure, run PC-LINK from the appropriate project directory.
PC-LINK has two operating modes: interactive and batch. In interactive mode, PC-LINK prompts for each required input on the Program Screen. In batch mode, you create a batch control file containing the required inputs, and PC-LINK reads the inputs from the control file.
The following sections describe how to run PC-LINK in interactive mode and batch mode.
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Interactive Mode
To run PC-LINK in interactive mode, follow the steps
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below.
1. Type:
PCLINK [Return]
When the PC-LINK Title Screen appears, press any key to continue.
The system prompts for the suffix (filename extension) of the input netlists as shown in Figure 2-2. The default is .NLT.
PC-LINK
Net-List SuffIX : .NLT
Enter the suffIX; Press [Return] to accept; [EBC] to exit.
Figure 2-2. PC-LINK Program Screen
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2. Press [Return] to accept .NLT as the input netlist filename extension, or type in the appropriate extension and press [Return].
The system prompts for the work directory.
3. Type the name of the directory where the input netlist files are located and press [Return], or press [Return] to accept the default, "Current," if those files are in the current directory.
4.
5.
The system prompts for the library path.
Type the directory path to the netlists of the
hierarchical components and press [Return], or press [Return] to accept the default, "Current," if those files are in the current directory or if your design is nonhierarchical.
The system prompts for the input netlist filename.
Type the input netlist filename and press [Return].
If you do not enter the filename extension,
PC-LINK enters the extension you specified in step 2 for the netlist suffix.
For a hierarchical design, enter the filename of the schematic netlist for the top level of the design.
For a multisheet design, specify the names of the schematic netlists for the sheets, typing a plus sign after every filename except the last one. If necessary, you can use more than one line to enter the filenames, as shown in Figure 2-3. Press
:PC-LINK User's Manual 2-10
Net-List SuffIX Work Directory Library Pathname Net-List Filename Net-List Filename Net-List Filename
.NLT Current Current
PC-LINK
TSTFL1+TSTFL2+
TSTFL3+TSTFL4+
TSTFL5+TSTFL6
Enter the filename; Press [Return] or [Esc] to exit.
Figure 2-3. Specifying MuItisheet Input
NOTE: You can use a text editing program to create a file containing a list of the netlist files in the multisheet designs before running PC-LINK.
All filenames except the last one must be followed by a plus sign. The file can contain as many lines as necessary. A sample is shown in Figure 2-4.
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,'. ~\ JSHEET1+SHEET2+
SHEET3+
SHEET4
PC-LINK User's Manual 2-11
Figure 2-4. Sample Netlist List File
To input this type of file into PC-LINK, at the Net-List Filename prompt, type @ followed by the filename. For example, if the file above is named NETLIST.LST, you would input it by typing
@NETLIST.LST. PC-LINK reads the file as if each line were entered separately.
After you enter the input filename(s), the system prompts for the output expanded netlist filename.
The default is the input filename with a .xNL extension as shown in Figure 2-5.
PC-LINK User's Manual 2-12
Net-List SuffIX Work Directory Library Pathname Net-List Filename Expanded Net-List
.NLT Current Current
PC-LINK
TESTFILE.NLT TESTFILE.XNL
Enter the filename; Press [Return) to accept; [Esc) to reject.
Figure 2-5. Sample PC-LINK Program Screen
4. Press [Return] to accept the default or enter another filename and press [Return]. If you do not enter the filename extension. PC-LINK enters the default .XNL.
PC-LINK expands the netlist(s). It displays progress reports at the bottom of the screen.
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When processing is complete, the cursor returns to the Net-List Filename prompt. To end the program, press [Esc]. The system returns you to DOS.
If PC-LINK encounters any errors in expanding the netlists, it displays the following message:
Errors detected, Check PCLINK.MSG file.
To view the error message file, first exit from
PC-LINK. Then, at the DOS prompt, type the following command:
TYPE PCLINK.MSG [Return]
Refer to Appendix A, "Error Messages," for a list of possible error messages, the cause of each error, and the appropriate action.
Batch Mode
Batch mode allows you to specify inputs to PC-LINK in a text file. The file is a batch control file
«filename>.BCF) containing several command lines to be processed consecutively without user intervention.
You can use any text editor to create this file. The default filename extension for the batch control file is .BCF
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The batch control file consists of one or more entries.
Each entry contains all the information for one
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keywords and refer to the parameters described below. Each keyword must be accompanied by the corresponding parameter value. LINK is required and must be the last keyword in the entry. The other keywords are optional and can be in anyorder. At least one blank space is required between ("\)
a keyword and its parameter value. ~
.ext is the filename extension to be used for all the netlist filenames encountered during the linking process. If it is not present, PC-LINK uses the default .NLT extension. If an extension is specified in one entry, it is used for all subsequent entries until another SUFFIX keyword is used.
workdir specifies the working directory where PC-LINK will access the input files. If it is not present, PC-LINK looks for the files in the current directory. If a directory is specified in one entry, it is used for all subsequent entries until another DIR keyword is used.
path specifies the alternate directories where
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PC-LINK will look for hierarchical component netlist files. Directories must be separated by a plus sign (+). If a path is not present, PC-LINK
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looks for the files in the current directory only. If a path is specified in one entry, it is used for all subsequent entries until another PATH keyword is used.
outfile specifies the name of the output file. If it is not present, PC-LINK takes the name of the first file specified with the LINK keyword and adds a .XNL extension.
infiles specifies the netlist files to link. For a hierarchical design, only the top level file must be specified. For a multisheet design, all the sheets must be included. Filenames must be separated by a plus sign (+). If a file is not in the working directory, include a drive designator or directory path.
Information for a keyword can take up one or more lines. A line can contain up to 80 characters.
You can add comments anywhere in the file. Comments begin with a percent sign (%). PC-LINK will ignore all text from the % to the end of the line.
Figure 2-6 shows a sample batch control file containing two entries.
PC-LINK User's Manual 2-16
% current directory, \PCAD\TEST, or \PCAD\NEWLIB.
% The output filename will default to TESTFILE.XNL.
extension, PC-LINK assumes the default .BCF extension.
PC-LINK expands the netlists according to the
instructions in the batch control file. When processing is complete, the program returns you to DOS.
If PC-LINK encounters any errors in expanding the netlists, it displays the same message displayed in interactive mode. If errors occur, use the instructions in the section "Interactive Mode" to view the error message file.
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