François
516149cdae
- Command renamed from `set-type` to `set-connector-type` for clarity (the previous name was ambiguous — "type" of what?). No legacy alias kept; old scripts that still used `set-type` must be migrated. `test/system.essim` and all user/design docs updated. - Help panel (RenderHelpPanel) now wraps in borderRounded with a centred bold title, so it is visually distinct from the main content on every screen. Width bumped from 30 to 32 to include the border. - Analyze screen's Types tab gains a sibling "type glossary" panel (also borderRounded, only visible when the Types tab is focused) that explains Power / Suspect Power / Hard floor / Gnd in plain language using `paragraph()` for clean word-wrap. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 <noreply@anthropic.com>
104 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
104 lines
4.1 KiB
Markdown
# essim — user guide
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A short, task-oriented introduction to using essim. For an exhaustive
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reference of every command, see [`commands.md`](commands.md) (auto-
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generated from the binary). For scripting and `$variable` expansion,
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see [`scripting.md`](scripting.md).
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## What essim is
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A digital twin for the inter-card connections inside a system. You
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**load** modules (cards/boards) from netlist or pinout files, **tag**
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their connectors with a `connector_type`, **connect** them across
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modules, and **verify** that the signal types match the connector role
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expectations. You can save a snapshot, restore it later, or replay a
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session as a script.
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```
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┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
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│ Module A │ │ Module B │
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│ Part J1 │◀──▶│ Part P1 │ <— a Connection (built by `connect`)
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│ pins │ │ pins │
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└──────────┘ └──────────┘
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```
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## First session
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After launching `./build/essim`, the prompt accepts a sequence of
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commands. The most common bring-up looks like this:
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```text
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> new
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> load backplane /path/to/netlists/backplane.NET altium
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> load payload1 /path/to/netlists/payload.qcv mentor
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> set-connector-type backplane J20 vpx-3u-bkp-p0
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> set-connector-type payload1 P0 vpx-3u-payload-p0
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> connect backplane J20 payload1 P0
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> verify
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> save my-system.essim
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```
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Things to try at any time:
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| Action | How |
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|---|---|
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| List every command | `help` |
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| Help on one command | `help <name>` |
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| Scroll back through output | `PageUp` / `PageDown`, `Home`, `End` |
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| Re-run a previous command | ↑ / ↓ (also `history` is on disk) |
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| Tab-complete a command name | `set‹Tab›` → `set-connector-type` etc. |
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| Cancel a multi-step prompt | `Esc` |
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| Leave essim | `quit` (or `exit`) |
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## Interactive screens
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Some commands open a dedicated full-screen layout when invoked with no
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arguments (the help listing tags these `[interactive]`). They all
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share the same conventions:
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- A title bar `essim → <name> — <short description>` is shown at the
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top.
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- `Tab` cycles focus between fields; the active field's label flips to
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reverse video so it's obvious where the next keystroke goes.
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- `Esc` leaves the screen and returns to the main prompt.
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- The screens are user-facing only — they are **never** allowed inside
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a sourced script. A sourced script must use the inline form of these
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commands instead.
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Today's interactive screens: `connect`, `search`, `set-connector-type`,
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`explore`, `net`. See [`commands.md`](commands.md) for each.
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## Saving, restoring, replaying
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Three orthogonal mechanisms persist your work:
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- `save <file>` writes a **binary-tab-delimited snapshot** of the whole
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system (modules, parts, signals, connector types, signal-type
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overrides, connections, pin maps). `restore <file>` replaces the
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current system with the snapshot.
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- `script-save <file>` writes a **replay-ready text script** of every
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command issued since the last `new`. The interactive bits and the
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noisy commands (`clear`, `help`, …) are filtered out automatically.
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- `source <file>` reads a script line by line. Comments start with
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`#`, blank lines are skipped, leading `~/` in paths is expanded, and
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while a script is running a centred "Computing…" modal shows the
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progress (one line per ~30 ms tick).
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A typical workflow: experiment in the shell, `script-save` the part
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that works, hand-edit the script to introduce `$variables` (see
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[`scripting.md`](scripting.md)), then `source` it whenever you start
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fresh.
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## Where to look next
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- [`commands.md`](commands.md) — exhaustive command reference,
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regenerated from the binary on every `cmake --build build --target doc`.
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- [`analysis.md`](analysis.md) — how essim classifies signals
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(Power / Gnd / Other), how it detects buses and diff pairs, what
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the `analyze` screen actually reports and why.
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- [`scripting.md`](scripting.md) — `set` / `$var` / `${var}`, `source`
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semantics, the script-save denylist.
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- [`DESIGN.md`](../../DESIGN.md) — implementation notes, useful if
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you want to add a command or a screen.
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- [`../api/`](../api/) — auto-generated C++ API reference.
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