I am confused about the definition of macro, together with some other concepts (i.e inst and hinst)
To my understanding, macro corresponds to std cells with dimension and coordinate information.
But Cadence seems to merge "macro", "inst" and "hinst" together.
It seems to me, an "inst" and "hinst" can be a macro, but it is not always the case.
Could anyone provide me with some guidance on that?
the terminology is fuzzy, but in general macro is to be read as 'hard macro', ie, some analog or memory IP.
inst/hinst are just ways to instantiate things in a design hierarchy that makes sense. it doesn't say anything about what the inst actually is. could be a module, a standard cell, an IP, a pad, anything.