Cell Name Mapping

Releases of Xic prior to 3.0.5 allowed white space in cell names. However, some Xic features, such as selection of cell names in the Cells Listing panel will not work with cell names containing white space, and there are probably many other examples. Most basic operations will work, though the cell name containing white space will have to be quoted when given in the prompt area and elsewhere. The use of white space in cell names can lead to trouble and is discouraged.

In the present release, by default, white space is not permitted in cell names. When reading archive files, the cell name alias mechanism (described below) is used to convert white space characters found in cell names to underscore characters. Attempts to open a new cell with a name containing white space will fail. However, white space is allowed, as in older Xic releases, if the NoStrictCellnames variable is set.

There is provision for modifying cell names as archive files are read, written, or format converted. The Import Control, Export Control, and Format Conversion panels available from the Convert Menu each contain a cell name mapping module for controlling modification of cell names during their respective operations. This module contains the following controls:

Auto-Rename
This is a choice in the Default when new cells conflict menu in the Setup page of the Import Control panel. Selecting this item sets the state of the AutoRename variable. When set, cell names that clash with the name of a cell in memory encountered when an archive file is being read into memory will be changed to avoid a clash.

This will apply to files read with the 102208 command and equivalent, in addition to files opened from the panels and through script functions.

Prefix and Suffix text entries
Text entered into these text areas will be added as a prefix or suffix to cells encountered when reading an archive file. A limited text substitution mechanism is available. In the Format Conversion and Import Control panels, these text areas track the InCellNamePrefix and InCellNameSuffix variables. In the Export Control panel, these text areas track the OutCellNamePrefix and OutCellNameSuffix variables.

This will apply to files read with the panels and through script functions only.

To Lower and To Upper check boxes
If set, To Lower will convert upper case cell names to lower case, and To Upper will convert lower case cell names to upper. Mixed case cell names are not affected. Case conversion is performed before any applied prefix/suffix. In the Import Control and Format Conversion panels, these buttons track the state of the InToLower and InToUpper variables. In the Export Control panel, these buttons track the state of the OutToLower and OutToUpper variables.

This will apply to files read with the panels and through script functions only.

Read Alias and Write Alias check boxes
These buttons control whether an alias file (see next section) is read before a file is processed, and updated after processing is complete. In the Import Control and Format Conversion panels, the buttons track the InUseAlias variable, and in the Export Control panel, the buttons track the OutUseAlias variable. Aliasing from the alias file is applied before any other name change.

This will apply to files read with the panels and through script functions only.

GDSII conformance
When writing GDSII files, cell names will be forced to conform to the GDSII specification. For format level 3, this limits the cell name length to 32 characters. The character set is limited to alpha-numerics plus `?', `_', and `$'. This action is automatic when writing GDSII files and can not be disabled.

Device Library name clashes
When reading any of the archive formats into memory, if a cell name is encountered which clashes with a library device name, that cell name is modified. A warning message is added to the conversion log file indicating the change.