System and method for rapid prototyping of asic systems

A computer program for designing a computational device or circuit having one or more desired characteristics, preferably input and/or output characteristics, the computer program having code or instructions for implementing inner and outer iterative searches,

• the inner search involving selecting one of a population of computational circuits or devices having known or calculable input(s) and/or output(s) characteristics;
• selecting a point in the selected circuit or device;
• characterising that point in terms of the circuit or device input(s) and/or output(s);
• modifying a parameter or characteristic associated with the selected point;
• re-characterising the selected, modified point in terms of the input(s) and/or output(s);
• repeating the steps of modifying, and characterising;
• identifying which of the selected or modified circuits has characteristics closest to the desired characteristics, and adding the identified circuit to the population of circuits, repeating this for another one of the population, and
• the outer search involving iteratively searching the population to determine the circuits or devices having characteristics that are closest to the desired characteristics.

A design tool for designing a computational device or circuit having one or more desired characteristics, preferably input and/or output characteristics, the tool comprising:

• means for implementing an inner, iterative search that involves selecting one of a population of computational circuits or devices having known or calculable input(s) and/or output(s) characteristics;
• selecting a point in the selected circuit or device;
• characterising that point in terms of the circuit or device input(s) and/or output(s);
• modifying a parameter or characteristic associated with the selected point;
• re-characterising the selected, modified point in terms of the input(s) and/or output(s);
• repeating the steps of modifying, and characterising;
• identifying which of the selected or modified circuits has characteristics closest to the desired characteristics, and adding the identified circuit to the population of circuits, and repeating all steps of the inner search for another one of the population, and
• means for implementing an outer search that involves iteratively searching the population to determine the circuits or devices having characteristics that are closest to the desired characteristics.

A method for designing a computational device or circuit having one or more desired characteristics, preferably input and/or output characteristic, the method involving selecting a point in a computational circuit or device having known or calculable input and/or output characteristics;

• characterising that point in terms of the circuit or device input(s) and/or output(s);
• modifying a parameter or characteristic associated with the selected point;
• re-characterising the selected, modified point in terms of the input(s) and output(s);
• repeating the steps of modifying, and characterising, and identifying which of the selected or modified circuits has characteristics closest to the desired characteristics.

A method for designing a computational device or circuit having one or more desired characteristics, preferably input and/or output characteristic comprising:

• using an inner search to:
• select one of a population of initial computational circuits or devices having known or calculable input(s) and/or output(s) characteristics;
• modify the selected circuit using a heuristic operator;
• determine one or more characteristics of the modified circuit;
• in the event that an improved circuit is found, add that improved version of the circuit to the population of circuits;
• and iteratively repeat the steps of selecting, modifying, determining and adding, and
• using an outer search:
• iteratively searching the population to determine the circuits or devices having characteristics that are closest to the desired characteristics.

A design tool for designing a computational device or circuit having one or more desired characteristics, preferably input and/or output characteristic, the tool comprising:

• means for implementing an inner search that involves selecting one of a population of initial computational circuits or devices having known or calculable input and/or output characteristics;
• modifying the selected circuit using a heuristic operator;
• determining one or more characteristics of the modified circuit;
• adding the improved version of the circuit to the population of circuits, in the event that an improved circuit is found;
• and iteratively repeating the steps of selecting, modifying, determining and adding, and
• means for implementing an outer search that involves iteratively searching the population to determine the circuits or devices having characteristics that are closest to the desired characteristics.

A method for designing circuits, the method comprising maintaining a plurality of user selectable representations of electronic components or devices;

• receiving from a user terminal a user selection of one of the components or devices;
• sending a signal to the user terminal for causing a symbol representative of the selected device to be generated;
• receiving a symbol based design from the user terminal;
• using the symbols to identify the selected components or devices and creating a circuit representing the symbol based design.