A Correct-by-Decision Solution for Simultaneous Place and Route

To reduce a problem, provided in a human language, to constraint solving, one normally maps it to a set of constraints, written in the language of a suitable logic. This paper highlights a different paradigm, in which the original problem is converted into a set of constraints and a decision strategy, where the decision strategy is essential for guaranteeing the correctness of the modeling. We name such a paradigm Correct-byDecision. Furthermore, we propose a Correct-by-Decision-based solution within a SAT solving framework for a critical industrial problem that shows up in the physical design stage of the CAD process: simultaneous place and route under arbitrary constraints (design rules). We demonstrate the usefulness of our approach experimentally on industrial and crafted instances.