History of EDIF and experiences of CAD 031

EDIF is an ASCII text format with a Lisp-like syntax (i.e. the required data structures are built out of nested lists). It supports a hierarchical description of design information, which is common in most CAD systems. EDIF also allows different `views´ of the design to be expressed e.g. electrical connectivity. The Alvey UK EDIF support project is committed to improving the methods of interchange of VLSI design data with EDIF. The project consists of two phases; phase 1 is concerned with EDIF V110 and phase 2, with EDIF V200. The author focuses on the second phase