Click here to browse the on-line Xic manual.
Click here for information about Xic.

XicII  is a version of the Xic graphical editor restricted in functionality to physical layout editing. This provides a low-cost alternative for users that do not require the full functionality of Xic. In particular, XicII is a full-featured layout editor for less than the cost of some GDSII viewing programs.

In order to streamline support and maintenance, the documentation tree, i.e., the manual, help database, and release notes, is shared between the two programs. This of course is a slight disadvantage to XicII users, as the documentation contains descriptions of unavailable features, which may lead to confusion. However, this greatly simplifies maintaining the documentation which translates into lower cost to the customer, and also provides information to XicII users about the potential functionality available by upgrading to Xic.

Since the Xic and XicII programs share a common source code base, enhancements to Xic physical mode features will also apply to XicII.

This document will describe the differences between XicII and Xic. Features not explicitly discussed below are identical in both programs.

1. Licensing

   Like Xic, the XicII program requires license authentication to run. This can be provided by a network license server, or by local authentication. By default, XicII is configured for local authentication, whereas Xic expects to find a server. This slightly simplifies setup of most XicII installations.

2. Technology File

   The technology file used by Xic and XicII has exactly the same format, and the example technology files supplied with the two programs are identical. Parts of the technology file that relate to features that are not available in XicII are ignored.

3. Symbol Files

   Native symbol files, and the other file formats, are completely compatible between the two programs. Information in these files that is not applicable to XicII, such as electrical data, will be ignored, but returned to the file untouched when the file is saved in XicII.

4. No Design Rule Checking

   XicII does not have DRC support, consequently the material in the manual and elsewhere describing DRC is superfluous. There is no DRC Menu in XicII. There was extensive internal debate as to whether to include DRC in XicII. The final decision was to reduce cost as much as possible, assuming that many potential XicII users would not need the DRC capability. It is possible that DRC will be enabled as an add-on in future XicII versions. If you have a strong opinion' on this, please let us know.

5. No Electrical Mode

   XicII is a physical layout tool only. There is no schematic entry, and no SPICE capability. The material in the documentation pertaining to electrical mode should be ignored. There is no Electrical or Physical button in the View Menu.

6. No Extraction

   XicII has no extraction capability and no Extract Menu. The material in the documentation pertaining to extraction and LVS should be ignored.

7. No User Menu

   The scripting capability is present in XicII, however there is no User menu for user scripts and no script debugger. Template cells and executable labels, which may be present in designs done with Xic, will behave properly in XicII. These constructs can be developed with XicII, as can regular scripts. Regular scripts can be executed with the !exec command from the prompt line.

8. No Server Mode

   The daemon capability is not available in XicII.

9. '!' Commands

   The '!' commands in XicII is a subset of those in Xic, which apply to the feature set available in XicII.