Altera SDC and TimeQuest API - Manual (Page 21)

Chapter 2: SDC and TimeQuest API Package and Commands 2–11
sdc
© December 2009 Altera Corporation SDC and TimeQuest API Reference Manual
get_cells
Usage
get_cells [-compatibility_mode] [-hierarchical] [-no_duplicates] [-nocase] [-nowarn]
<filter>
Options
-compatibility_mode: Use simple Tcl matching (Classic Timing Analyzer style)
-hierarchical: Specifies use of a hierarchical searching method
-no_duplicates: Do not match duplicated cell names
-nocase: Specifies case insensitive node name matching
-nowarn: Do not issue warnings messages about unmatched patterns
<filter>: Valid destinations (string patterns are matched using Tcl string matching)
Description
Returns a collection of cells in the design. All cell names in the collection match the specified pattern.
Wildcards can be used to select multiple cells at once.
There are three Tcl string matching schemes available with this command: the default method, the
-hierarchical option, and the -compatibility_mode option.
When you use the default matching scheme, use pipe characters to separate one hierarchy level from the
next. They are treated as special characters and are taken into account when string matching with
wildcards is performed. When this matching scheme is enabled, the specified pattern is matched against
absolute cell names: the names that include the entire hierarchical path. A full cell name can contain
multiple pipe characters in it to reflect the hierarchy. All hierarchy levels in the pattern are matched level
by level. Any included wildcards refer to only one hierarchical level. For example, "*" and "*|*" produce
different collections since they refer to the highest hierarchical level and second highest hierarchical level
respectively.
When using the -hierarchical matching scheme, pipe characters are treated as special characters and are
taken into account when string matching with wildcards is performed. This matching scheme forces the
search to proceed recursively down the hierarchy. The specified pattern is matched against the relative cell
names: the immediate names that do not include any of the hierarchy information. Note that a short cell
name cannot contain pipe characters in it. Any included wildcards are expanded to match the relative pin
names.
The -compatibility_mode matching scheme mimics the string matching behavior of the Classic Timing
Analyzer. The simple Tcl string matching on full, absolute cell names is used. Pipe characters are not
treated as special characters when used with wildcards.
The default matching scheme returns cells whose names match the specified filter and also cells
automatically generated by the Quartus II software from these cells). Use -no_duplicates option to not
include duplicated cells.
The filter for the collection is a Tcl list of wildcards, and must follow standard Tcl or TimeQuest-extension
substitution rules. See help for the use_timequest_style_escaping command for details.
Example
# Find a cell called "reg" using case insensitive search
get_cells -nocase reg
# Create a collection of all cells whose names start with "reg"
get_cells reg*
# Create a collection of all cells on the highest hierarachical level