Difference between icfb and virtuoso

[Sharifhn]

Hi there,

Can somebody help me to understand what is the precise difference between icfb and virtuoso? I don't think it is just a version.

Here is a link which gives some info. But not the complete clarity. https://www.designers-guide.org/Forum/YaBB.pl?num=1253912220/7#7

Thanks in advance..
Sharif

 

[erikl]

I think Andrew Beckett in his post already gave the right - but somewhat hidden - answer:

... in IC61X we moved to a new executable name "virtuoso". We also provided "icfb" which printed a warning (saying that icfb was going away, but then proceeded to launch virtuoso). In IC614, this compatibility script has finally been removed.

Probably Cādence marketing people shoved through this better sounding and more memorable name virtuoso for icfb, but - if I remember well - IC6.1.1 didn't provide more functionality than IC5.1.41 - perhaps with some exceptions like icca integration and (partly) better tool integration compatibility - same as any new main update as, e.g., from IC4 to IC5 (oh, I know: Cādence people would protest! ;-) ).

 

[Dominik Przyborowski]

Probably Cādence marketing people shoved through this better sounding and more memorable name virtuoso for icfb, but - if I remember well - IC6.1.1 didn't provide more functionality than IC5.1.41 - perhaps with some exceptions like icca integration and (partly) better tool integration compatibility - same as any new main update as, e.g., from IC4 to IC5 (oh, I know: Cādence people would protest! ;-) ).

You're sounds like a competitive company employee

 

[erikl]

You're sounds like a competitive company employee

Not at all, Dominik. Most of my IC design life I worked with Cādence tools, often with embedded software tools from Synopsys (Design Compiler) or Mentor (Calibre), of course.

 

[Sharifhn]

I think Andrew Beckett in his post already gave the right - but somewhat hidden - answer:


Probably Cādence marketing people shoved through this better sounding and more memorable name virtuoso for icfb, but - if I remember well - IC6.1.1 didn't provide more functionality than IC5.1.41 - perhaps with some exceptions like icca integration and (partly) better tool integration compatibility - same as any new main update as, e.g., from IC4 to IC5 (oh, I know: Cādence people would protest! ;-) ).

So, there is no much of difference between icfb and virtuoso, right? And it's only a name difference.

 

[dick_freebird]

Newer is fancier but the UI and point tools are pretty much
the same. Although I like IC6 ("virtuoso &") less than IC5
("icfb &").

In "icfb" Virtuoso only referred to the layout tool. I guess
that brand name appealed most of them all, to the
corporate sense of grandeur.

 

[Rahul Sharma]

icfb is IC5 version and its older version for schematic capture.

virtuoso is IC6 and is newer version for schematic capture with some new features added.



-Rahul
"Take a step forward and things will start to happen"