What is CAD

The problem of complexity in electronics design can only really be solved with the help of computers. There are two roles which the computer plays in making complex problems tractable: as a tireless slave, performing simple repetitive operations to generate or simulate designs, and as an information source and communication link between designers, providing quick access to design data. Some jobs, especially in integrated circuit (IC) design, would be so time consuming aids. The computer’s role as a communications link becomes important when a complex system is design by a team, rather by one person. The philosophy of complexity control is ‘divide and conquer’. The application of this maxim to the designof large-scale electronic components has resulted in the idea of a design team, made up of members of several professional groups, eg systems analysts, systems designers, electronics designers, layout designers, etc. Each of these professional groups has different concerns and uses a different sort of CAD tool (see Chapter 3).