Method and system for chip design using remotely located resources

A method of designing a circuit using resources from a plurality of users, comprising the steps of:

• storing a plurality of component data files on a first database connected to a first user system;
• connecting, on a demand basis, a second user system to said first user system over a distributed electronic network, said first user system comprising a first application server interconnected with the first database, said second user system comprising a second application server interconnected with a second database;
• receiving requests from said second user system for access to any of a plurality of component data files stored on the first database;
• searching the plurality of component data files stored on the first database by said second user system;
• receiving, from said first user system over said distributed electronic network, a component selection of one of said available electronic components;
• selecting by said second user system at least one of a plurality of component data files stored on the first database;
• retrieving further information regarding the selected electronic component;
• transmitting at least one component data file via the distributed electronic network from the first user system to the second user system;
• integrating a first component represented by a first transmitted data file within a circuit design;
• interconnecting the first component to elements existing on the circuit design;
• generating a netlist source code of the circuit design using the at least one component data file;
• verifying a function of the first component using the transmitted component data files;
• and
• generating a verification source code of the integrated and connected components of the circuit design from the transmitted component data files.

A system for designing a circuit using resources from a plurality of users, comprising:

• a first database for storing a plurality of component data files, said first database connected to a first user system;
• a network manager for connecting, on a demand basis, said first user system to a second user system over a distributed electronic network, said first user system comprising a first application server interconnected with the first database, said second user system comprising a second application server interconnected with a second database;
• a network interface for receiving requests from said second user system for access to any of a plurality of component data files stored on the first database and for transmitting at least one component data file via the distributed electronic network from the first user system to the second user system;
• a search engine for searching the plurality of component data files stored on the first database by said second user system;
• means for selecting by said second user system at least one of the plurality of component data files stored on the first database;
• a circuit integrator for integrating a first component represented by a first transmitted data file within a circuit design;
• a circuit component connector for interconnecting the first component to elements existing on the circuit design;
• a netlist source code generator for generating a netlist source code of the circuit design using the at least one component data file;
• a component function verifier for verifying a function of the first component using the transmitted component data files;
• and
• a circuit verification file generator for generating source code files compiled and executed by a plurality of logic simulators.

A computer-readable medium on which is embodied a set of programmed instructions that cause one or more processors to perform a sequence of steps, said steps comprising:

• storing a plurality of component data files on a first database connected to a first user system;
• connecting, on a demand basis, a second user system to said first user system over a distributed electronic network, said first user system comprising a first application server interconnected with the first database, said second user system comprising a second application server interconnected with a second database;
• receiving requests from said second user system for access to any of a plurality of component data files stored on the first database;
• searching the plurality of component data files stored on the first database by said second user system;
• receiving, from said first user system over said distributed electronic network, a component selection of one of said available electronic components;
• selecting by said second user system at least one of the plurality of component data files stored on the first database;
• retrieving further information regarding the selected electronic component;
• transmitting at least one component data file via the distributed electronic network from the first user system to the second user system;
• integrating a first component represented by a first transmitted data file within a circuit design;
• interconnecting the first component to elements existing on the circuit design;
• generating a netlist source code of the circuit design using the at least one component data file;
• verifying a function of the first component using the transmitted component data files;
• and
• generating a verification source code of the integrated and connected components of the circuit design from the transmitted component data files.

A system for designing a circuit chip, comprising:

• a computer system comprising a catalog database, said computer system accessible over a distributed electronic network, said catalog database storing component data for use in different stages of a design process;
• an application server run on said computer system, said application server connected to said catalog database, said application server further comprising:
• a circuit design platform;
• and
• a network interface managed by said computer system for making and receiving requests to access said component data on other computer systems over said distributed electronic network.

A method of designing a circuit using resources from a plurality of users, comprising the steps of:

• storing a plurality of component data files on a first database connected to a first user system;
• connecting, on a demand basis, a second user system to said first user system over a distributed electronic network, said first user system comprising a first application server interconnected with the first database, said second user system comprising a second application server interconnected with a second database;
• receiving requests from said second user system for access to any of the plurality of component data files stored on the first database;
• searching the plurality of component data files stored on the first database by said second user system;
• receiving, from said first user system over said distributed electronic network, a component selection of one of said available electronic components;
• selecting by said second user system at least one of a plurality of component data files stored on the first database;
• retrieving further information regarding the selected electronic components;
• transmitting at least one component data file via the distributed electronic network from the first user system to the second user system;
• and
• generating an overall circuit design and accompanying overall circuit support files using the transmitted component data files.

A method of circuit design using remote IP component resources comprising the steps of:

• importing source code files of previously designed IP components from remote databases linked through a distributed electronic network;
• assembling the imported source code files of previously designed IP components in a single circuit design;
• and
• generating source code and support files representing the single circuit design.