Techniques for automatically generating tests for programmable circuits

A method for generating tests for a programmable integrated circuit, the method comprising:

• accessing from a database a representation of the programmable integrated circuit that comprises nodes connected together, wherein each of the nodes represents a programmable resource on the programmable integrated circuit;
• and
• generating a test pattern that comprises routes across the programmable integrated circuit, each of the routes comprising a subset of the nodes, the test pattern being generated by automatically selecting each of the nodes in the routes from the representation and automatically connecting the selected nodes together to form the routes;
• wherein generating the test pattern further comprises:
• selecting each of the routes using a router;
• grouping sets of the routes together into configuration patterns;
• and
• selecting program bits that are used to program the nodes that connect the routes, wherein the routes in each configuration pattern are tested in a single test cycle.

A computer system that generates tests for a programmable circuit, the computer system comprising a computer program product embedded in a computer-readable medium, said computer program product comprising:

• code for providing a representation of the programmable circuit comprising interconnected nodes, wherein the nodes represent programmable circuit elements on the programmable circuit;
• code for automatically generating routes that connect together subsets of the nodes between control points and observation points on the programmable circuit;
• and
• code for grouping subsets of the routes into configuration files that can be connected on the programmable circuit and tested in a single test cycle.