Incorporating design flow management in a framework based CAD system

An attempt to realize an integrated design environment with a maximum of functionality and an absolute minimum impact on existing design tools is discussed. Addressed are the interface between the design tools and the framework, the architecture of the framework including the interrelations among the different components, and the internal operation of the flow management components. These issues are combined to arrive at an overall solution that yields a running design flow management system implemented in the NELSIS CAD framework. The net result is a CAD system that makes the graphical representation of the design tasks the basis for all design actions. The system provides generic mechanisms applicable to many application domains, and thus new tools can be easily incorporated.<<ETX>>