BERKELEY PLA TOOLS

General Distribution Program

The Berkeley PLA Tools are a set of tools designed for performing logical and topological optimization as well as test pattern generation for programmable logic arrays (PLAs). The tools form a system encompassing the design of PLAs from the specification of algebraic equations, through logic minimization and folding, to final physical layout and test pattern generation. These tools also support the optimization of a finite state machine (FSM) when the machine is implemented as a programmable logic array. Only the espresso program is included on the OctTools tape; some of them are also included on the 1986 VLSI Tools tape.

The programs are described here in the order that the designer would normally use them.

Eqntott

is a program that accepts as input an algebraic description of Boolean equations and produces a two-level (flattened) representation of these equations. Eqntott allows the specification of both the care set and the don't-care set.

Simple

is truly a simple program for simulation of a PLA. It accepts binary vectors as input and computes the PLA's response to the input patterns.

Espresso

performs logical optimization of a PLA (i.e., two-level Boolean logic minimization). It accepts as input a two-level representation of a Boolean function (e.g., the output of Eqntott) and produces a minimal, logically equivalent representation.

Pleasure2

performs topological optimization of a PLA, i.e., simple and multiple folding of rows and columns to minimize the area occupied by the PLA. Pleasure supports constrained row and column folding.

Panda/Tpack

is a program that maps the simple or multiply folded output of Pleasure into its actual implementation. The output of Panda is a CIF-format mask description of the PLA. Panda is parameterized by a cell library and hence can be adapted to many different design technologies and styles. Currently, only a precharged 3 CMOS cell library exists. Panda is built on top of the Tpack tiling program.

Platypus

performs a test pattern generation and fault simulation of a PLA. It accepts as input the personality matrix of a PLA (e.g., the output of Espresso) and generates a test set covering all the testable faults in a PLA. Both crosspoint and stuck-at fault models are supported.

Documentation Included with the Program:

1. User's Manual. Available separately for $5.00
2. R. K. Brayton, G. D. Hachtel, C. T. McMullen, and A. L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, Logic Minimization Algorithms for VLSI Synthesis, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, MA, 1984 (hardcover book). Available separately for $66.00
3. G. DeMicheli and A. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, PLEASURE: A Computer Program for Simple/Multiple Constrained/Unconstrained Folding of Programmable Logic Arrays (UCB/ERL M82/57, August 1982). Available separately for $7.50
4. G. DeMicheli, Computer-Aided Synthesis of PLA-Based Systems (UCB/ERL M84/31, April 1984). Available separately for $15.00
5. G. H. Mah, PANDA: A PLA Generator for Multiple Folded PLAs (UCB/ERL M84/95, April 1984). Available separately for $10.00
6. R. S. Wei and A. L. Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, "PLATYPUS: A PLA Test Pattern Generation Tool," Proc. 22nd Design Automation Conf., Las Vegas, NV, June 1985. Available separately for $2.50
7. R. Rudell, Multiple Valued Logic Minimization (UCB/ERL M86/65, June 1986). Available separately for $15.00

Foreign Distribution: Yes