Re: [Xcircuit-dev] XSPICE output possible?

[R. T. E. <ti...@mu...>]

Dear M.,

> First off, I LOVE this program. I use it for just about everything I can 
> because of the seamless transition from design / simulation to 
> publication quality figure insertion.

I don't know how many published circuits I've seen containing drawing
errors.  Everyone knows that you always use the same source circuit
file to simulate and do LVS, but there's no such consensus that you
should always use the same source circuit file to simulate, do LVS,
AND publish.  It's like they treat it as clip art or something.

> I am currently trying to use XCircuit to do some 
> mixed-signal modeling and am having a difficult time generating the 
> proper XSPICE syntax from the 'spice' line.
>  
> For XSPICE, I have to deal with behavioral nodes which are vectorized 
> [nodes must be in brackets] as shown below:
>  
> XSPICE netlist -
> ainv1 [logic_input] [logic_output] xspice_inverter
> .model xspice_inverter inv1(blah blah blah)
>  
> I have tried every possible permutation imaginable on the %p pin 
> designation to get the brackets included in the output. If this is 
> possible, I would be very thankful if someone would show me how.

I take exception to your use of the phrase "every possible permutation",
since you missed the one that works.  Anyway, it is helpful to understand
that the "usual" syntax, e.g., %pin %pout, is really just a shorthand
notation that relies on there being expected whitespace after the pin
name in the output file.  In all other cases, the pin name should be
enclosed in quotes so that xcircuit knows, for example in your case,
that the pin name is "in" and not "in]".  So, the correct xcircuit line
is:

	spice:ainv%i [%p"in"] [%p"out"] xspice_inverter

I admit that's a bit subtle.

					Regards,
					Tim

+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Dr. R. Timothy Edwards (Tim)   | email: ti...@op...    |
| Open Circuit Design, Inc.	 | web:   http://opencircuitdesign.com |
| 22815 Timber Creek Lane        | phone: (301) 528-9364               |
| Clarksburg, MD 20871-4001      | cell:  (240) 401-0616               |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+