From the ASHES the next stage of EDA

摘要

HE EDA INDUSTRY is a service industry. Its manner of growth depends on the directions and strengths of the industries it serves. The semiconductor industry has always been and will always be the primary motivator of EDA growth. Consumer applications have replaced IT (information technology) as the second most influential determinant of the type of products EDA companies develop. Both drivers have generated major changes in the requirements for EDA tools, and, as a result, the EDA industry is on the verge of a major change in the types of tools it will need to address new markets and additional requirements. Attendees at next month's 41st annual DAC (Design Automation Conference) in San Diego will be able to see the tools that are pioneering this design-paradigm shift. Princeton University professor Sharad Malik, general chairman of this year's conference, introduces many of the causes for this shift at this year's conference (see sidebar "What's on the horizon in EDA?").