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Getting Started with Cadence


First you must register for Cadence to set up the correct environment variables. Type register cadence at the owlnet prompt. You must log out and log in again for this to take effect.

Before starting Cadence, the computer must be running in eight-bit color mode.
At the login prompt, select Command Line Login under Options.
You should eventually get a screen that looks like this

***********************************************************
*
* Suspending Desktop Login ...
*
* If currently logged out, press [ENTER] for a console login prompt.
*
* Desktop will resume shortly after you exit console session
*
***********************************************************

Press Enter and log in with your owlnet user name and password.

Type startx8 at the prompt to bring up the eight bit color compliant version of your window manager.

Create a working directory for Cadence in your home directory.
(If you don't know how to do that, check out these basic unix commands.

Always start cadence in your working directory!

There are several ways to start Cadence:

  • layoutPlus -> Physical Design Environment
  • icfb -> Front to Back Design Environment
  • icca -> Chip Assembly Environment
  • icde -> Design Entry Environment
  • icds -> Digital Design Environment
  • icms -> Mixed Signal Design Environment
  • msfb -> Mixed Signal Front to Back Design Environment


  • icfb is a good set of tools to begin with but other configurations might be more more appropriate for different projects.
    To start Cadence cd to your project directory any type icfb. This brings up the Command Interpreter Window (CIW).




    To exit Cadence, select File and Exit from the CIW pulldown menu.


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