Glossary

ASIC

An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) is a custom-designed IC (Integrated Circuit) targeted for a specific application.

Architecture

When applied to microprocessors the term architecture refers the specific physical structure and design of a particular family of processors. When writing programs to run on a microprocessor-based system, the embedded software compilers used to develop the program must be designed to work with the specific architecture of the processor being used.

Autorouter

A tool that automatically routes (maps and places) the connections between components that make up the circuit on physical printed circuit boards.

Autorouting

The process of automatically placing tracks on the PCB to connect the various components that form the circuit.

Chip

See Integrated Circuit (IC)

Circuit Simulation

Computer modelling of a circuit that enables the designer to verify the operation of the circuit prior to laying out the Printed Circuit Board. This process is used to detect any errors in the circuit design, and “fine tune” the circuit's performance.

Compiler

A software application which converts higher level programming languages into a form that can be executed by a microprocessor.

Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) tools

Computer Aided Manufacturing tools are software tools that enable PCB designers to prepare their design data and produce the files necessary for the manufacture and assembly of the printed circuit boards.

Design Explorer / DXP

DXP (Design Explorer) is Altium’s proprietary software integration platform which enables the seamless integration of tools and technologies. It will be used as the platform for most Altium products in the future.

Design Entry

The process of using a computer to create a new design of any type – chip, board, module, or system – using textual (such as hardware description languages) and/or graphical tools (such as schematic capture tools ). Also referred to as design capture.

DSP

A DSP (Digital Signal Processor) is a specific type of microprocessor or electronic system designed to be very fast at processing continuous signals such as sound and video. DSPs are widely used in products such as sound cards, fax machines, modems, cellular phones, hard disks, and digital TVs.

Embedded software

Software that is embedded into and controls an electronic system based on a microprocessor or microcontroller.

Embedded system

An embedded system is a self-contained microprocessor-based electronic system that is designed into a product. They form the electronic heart of products such as VCRs, mobile phones, automotive systems, home and office appliances, handheld units of all kinds, as well as machines as sophisticated as space satellites.

Electronic Design Automation (EDA)

The use of computers to enhance and aid in the design and development of complex electronic systems.

Electronic Design Automation (EDA) industry

The industry which is involved in developing and supplying highly specialised software and hardware-based tools for the automated design of electronic products of all kinds. EDA products are essential for the design of electronic products that enable many other high-tech sections of the economy, such as computers, communications, consumer, industrial, military/aerospace, semiconductors, and transportation.

FPGA

A Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is an Integrated Circuit (IC) containing a large number of logic cells or gates that can be programmed or configured after the IC has been manufactured. Some can only be configured once (fuse-programmed FPGAs) while others can be erased and configured many times (EPROM-based FPGAs). They are often used for the initial design of specialized ICs (ASICs) that will later be produced in large quantities as hard-wired ICs.

Hardware/software co-design

The simultaneous development of the hardware and software for a product. This design approach is more difficult than a serial design that first develops the hardware and then the software that will run on the hardware, but the benefit is a reduced time to market.

HDL

A Hardware Description Language (HDL) is the generic term for a text based programming language that can be used to describe digital electronic circuits. These are used commonly in the design of FPGAs. The most common HDLs used in the electronics industry are VHDL and Verilog.

Integrated Circuit (IC)

An electronic circuit that is constructed on a small, thin piece (chip) of semiconducting material such as silicon. Electronic components and the connections between them are made by a process that involves etching the silicon and/or depositing other materials onto the silicon. The completed semiconductor circuit is usually encased in a plastic or ceramic package with metal legs that allow the IC to be mounted on a printed circuit board. ICs are also known as chips or microchips.

Microcontroller

A microcontroller or microcontroller unit (MCU) is essentially a computer on a chip. It is a single chip that incorporates a microprocessor, memory, and peripheral circuits. In many embedded systems, the microcontroller may well be the only chip in the design. Hundreds of millions of microcontrollers are used each year for myriad electronic devices and applications from automobiles to children's toys.

Microprocessor

A microprocessor is an integrated circuit that is designed to process digital numbers under the direction of a specifically written program or software. Microprocessors form the heart of desktop computers and embedded computer systems and perform all the necessary processing tasks of the system. Since the introduction of the first generation microprocessors (such as Intel's 8080, Zilog's Z80, Motorola's 6800 and Rockwell's 6502) the number of transistors on a microprocessor chip has grown from a couple of thousand to tens of millions as the standard today.

Operating System

An operating system (OS) is the program that, after being initially loaded into the computer by a boot program, manages all the other programs in a computer.

PCB

A Printed Circuit Board is a flat board that holds chips and other electronic components. The board is made of alternating layers (typically 2 to 10) of copper and plastic (usually impregnated with glass fibres for strength). The copper layers are etched to provide pads and tracks that interconnect the electronic components mounted on the board. The main printed circuit board in a system is called a “system board” or “motherboard”, while smaller ones that plug into the slots in the main board are called “daughter boards” or “cards”.

PCB design

Most electronic products are based on PCBs. The design involves “capturing” a circuit in a diagram, transferring component and connectivity information to a design program, laying out and routing the board, then providing the files necessary for manufacture and assembly.

PLD

Programmable Logic Device – the generic term for all programmable chips including FPGAs. PLDs enable designers to integrate onto a single programmed chip the functions that would usually require the interaction of many discrete components.

Point tool

Market-speak for an EDA tool that only performs one function.

Schematic capture

The process of taking an idea or concept for an electronic circuit then using computer-based diagrammatical tools to document the design.

Signal integrity analysis

Methods to check the integrity of the electrical signals on the board, highlighting for investigation potential problems prior to manufacture.

VHDL

An industry standard hardware description language (HDL) used to design digital electronic systems at the component, board and system level. VHDL allows models to be developed at a very high level of abstraction.