Command Reference 3. Attributes and Variables system_variables
NAME
system_variables
Variables that affect Synopsys commands.
SYNTAX
Boolean auto_link_disable = "false"
string auto_link_options = "-all"
Boolean change_names_update_inst_tree = "false"
string command_log_file = "./command.log"
string company = ""
string compatibility_version = ""
string current_design = "<<undefined>>"
string current_instance = "<<undefined>>"
(any type) dc_shell_status = 1
string designer = ""
Boolean echo_include_commands = "true"
Boolean enable_page_mode = "true"
Boolean find_converts_name_lists = "false"
string link_force_case = "check_reference"
list link_library = {your_library.db}
list search_path = {. synopsys_root + "/libraries"}
list suppress_errors = {}
list synthetic_library = {}
list target_library = {your_library.db}
string uniquify_naming_style = "%s_%d"
Boolean verbose_messages = "false"
DESCRIPTION
These variables directly affect Synopsys design and
test compiler commands. Defaults, where applicable,
are shown above, under Syntax.
For a list of these variables and their current values,
type list -variables system. To view this manual page
online, type help system_variables. To view an
individual variable description, type help var, where
var is the variable name.
auto_link_disable
when true, disables automatic linking of
the design. Several design and test
compiler commands (including
create_schematic, and compile) issue the
link command automatically. During
execution of scripts containing
thousands of set_load and set_resistance
commands the overhead of automatic
linking can be significant. This
variable can be used in this situation
V3.1 Synopsys Inc. 1988-1994. All rights reserved. 3-1
system_variables 3. Attributes and Variables Command Reference
to speed up the execution of such
scripts. The default is false.
auto_link_options
Names the link command options to use
when a design is linked. Several design
and test compiler commands, including
create_schematic and compile, issue the
link command automatically. The default
is -all.
3-2 Synopsys Inc. 1988-1994. All rights reserved. V3.1
Command Reference 3. Attributes and Variables system_variables
change_names_update_inst_tree
When true, enables the change_names
command to update the instance tree(s)
for all designs in dc_shell whenever
names change, so that objects'
instance-specific attributes are not
lost. The default is false.
command_log_file
Names the file to which a log of the
initial values of variables and commands
executed is to be written. If the value
is an empty string, a command log file
is not created.
company Names the company where Synopsys
software is installed. The company name
is displayed on the schematics.
compatibility_version
The name of the Synopsys software
version to which the default behavior of
the system should be set. This provides
compatibility for script command files
written in previous software versions.
The scripts actually are run on the
current version of the software, so
results are usually better. However,
the script performs the same default
actions as it did on the specified
software version.
current_design The name of the design to be worked on.
This variable is used by most of the
Synopsys commands. Until a design is
read into the system as the
current_design, the value of
current_design is "<<undefined>>". When
one or more designs are read into the
system, any of them can be made current
by assigning the design name to this
variable.
current_instance
The name of the instance to be worked
on. Until a design is read into the
system as the current_design, the value
V3.1 Synopsys Inc. 1988-1994. All rights reserved. 3-3
system_variables 3. Attributes and Variables Command Reference
of the current_instance is
"<<undefined>>". When a design is read
into the system at the top hierarchical
level, the value of current_instance is
the top design name followed by a slash.
dc_shell_status
Contains the return value of the
previously executed command. Therefore,
the variable can be of any type. Most
commands return the integer 0 to
indicate failure or 1 to indicate
successful execution. This variable is
most often used as the conditional
expression of an if or while command.
designer The name of the current user. This name
is displayed on the schematics.
3-4 Synopsys Inc. 1988-1994. All rights reserved. V3.1
Command Reference 3. Attributes and Variables system_variables
echo_include_commands
When true (the default value), the
include command prints the contents of
files it executes. When false, contents
are not printed.
enable_page_mode
When true (the default value), long
reports are displayed one page at a time
(similar to the UNIX more command).
Commands affected by this variable
include the list, help, and report
commands.
find_converts_name_lists
When true, directs the find command to
convert the name_list string to a list
of strings before searching for design
objects. In addition, when this
variable is true, all commands that use
the implicit find will convert
appropriate strings to lists of strings
before searching for objects. When the
variable is false (the default value),
strings are not converted to lists of
strings.
link_force_case
Controls the case-sensitive or case-
insensitive behaviour of the link
command. Values are case_sensitive,
case_insensitive, or check_reference.
The default is check_reference, which
causes link to check and enforce the
case sensitivity of the input format
that created the reference.
link_library Specifies the list of design files and
libraries used during linking. The link
command looks at those files and tries
to resolve references in the order of
specified files. If file names do not
include directory names, files are
searched for in the directories in
search_path. The default is
{your_library.db}. You should change
this to reflect your library name.
V3.1 Synopsys Inc. 1988-1994. All rights reserved. 3-5
system_variables 3. Attributes and Variables Command Reference
search_path Specifies directories searched by the
design and test compilers for files
specified without directory names. This
includes looking for technology and
symbol libraries, design files, etc.
This variable is a list of directory
names and is usually set to a central
library directory.
suppress_errors
Specifies a list of error codes for
which messages are to be suppressed
during the current Design
Analyzer/dc_shell session. The default
is set to no error message being
suppressed.
synthetic_library
Specifies a list of synthetic libraries
to use when compiling. The default is
{}.
target_library Specifies the list of technology
libraries of components used when
compiling a design. The default is
{your_library.db}. You should change
this to reflect your library name.
3-6 Synopsys Inc. 1988-1994. All rights reserved. V3.1
Command Reference 3. Attributes and Variables system_variables
uniquify_naming_style
Specifies the naming convention used by
uniquify. The variable string must
contain only one %s (percent s) and %d
(percent d) character sequence. To use
a percent sign in the design name, two
are needed in the string (%%).
verbose_messages
When true, causes more explicit system
messages to be displayed during the
current Design Analyzer/dc_shell
session. The default is false.
SEE ALSO
dc_shell(1), change_names(2), compile(2),
create_schematic(2), current_instance(2),
current_design(2), find(2), help(2), if(2), include(2),
link(2), list(2), report(2), uniquify(2), while(2).
V3.1 Synopsys Inc. 1988-1994. All rights reserved. 3-7