Customer Profile
GenRad
www.genrad.com

Our Solution
The GenCAD Verification tool is implemented as 3 components, of which 2 components (Reader, Analyzer) and a GUI component, which is an EXE.

The GUI component activates the Reader component through an interface provided by the Reader component and provides data to the analyzer component which actually does the job of consistency checking.

Tools and Technologies

• Microsoft Visual C++ 5.0 Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft COM technologies
• Rational Rose 98

Methodology
We extensively used object-oriented methodologies to implement the project. We used UML to depict the system architecture and Rational Rose for designing the same.

We developed the system using incremental development methodologies.

Benefits
This product allows the client to expand their client base by supporting verification of CAD data before using it in their other CAD data based tools.

Introduction
The CAD Verification tool is intended to take a CAD file in GenCAD 1.4, GenCAM (IPC 2510) and Board/Panel Database formats and provide a report on any inconsistencies in the CAD file.

Situation
The purpose of the tool would be to validate the CAD file so that any inconsistencies are identified early on and are not propagated to later stages of the CAD process. Some of the inconsistencies are as follows:

1. problems with the original CAD design file
2. inadequacies of the translation tool used to convert the CAD file into GenCAD 1.4 or GenCAM format
3. some design aspects which are not errors but could lead to subsequent inconsistencies and therefore should be flagged as warnings

Features
The features of the tool are given below:

1. Load any one of the following formats (GenCAD 1.4, GenCAM or Board/Panel DB)
2. Give a category-wise breakup of the inconsistencies section-wise (sections corresponding to the standard sections of a GenCAD file)
3. Allow a user to browse through these inconsistencies section-wise
4. Allow the user to select any given inconsistency to see the corresponding part of the GenCAD file
5. Allow the user to select any given inconsistency to see the corresponding part of the circuit in the graphics editor
6. Provide a set of "goodness" metrics for the circuit under consideration

Our Process

• Definition of technology choices for the implementation.
• Thorough study of requirements was carried out leading to the preparation of Software Requirements specification (SRS) and User Interface Design (UID), High Level Design Document
• High Level and Detailed Design documents of the system are created using UML as the modeling language.
• All component interfaces & design done using Rational Rose
• Incremental and frequent builds are sent to the end-user according to the Project Schedule. This helps obtain regular feedback from the client for each module.
• Industry standard coding practices and Microsoft User interface guidelines practiced strictly throughout the project. Regular code reviews and walkthroughs are carried out by the Quality Analyst and senior members of the team.
• Unit, Integration and System testing are carried out by using test plans and test scripts

Conclusion
This software allows the user to verify/analyse data for their consistency. The CAD design could then be used with their tools such as CIMBridge. This product was therefore useful and necessary for them to expand their client base.