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14 The PCB Design Magazine • March 2014 The Evolution of EDA Tools In the CAD revolution of the 1980s, soft- ware-based EDA tools facilitated the migration from light tables and drafting boards to rooms full of hardware and software from best in class EDA tool providers. When one component of the EDA tool set was deemed inefficient, it was replaced with a more efficient tool from a litany of niche EDA tool providers. Howev - er, there was an inherent inefficiency in the interoperability of tools from different EDA tool providers. Integration was rudimentary at best, and often managed by the end-user. Poor tool integration was a key factor during the EDA provider consolidation in the 1990s as mergers and acquisitions forever changed the EDA landscape. The number of tool providers shrank dramatically, and the multi-provider EDA tool set slowly morphed into a sole-ven - dor EDA tool set. With the rapid adoption of a sole-vendor EDA tool methodology, new challenges arose. Being the largest EDA tool provider did not necessarily equate to being the best provider. Technological advancements and engineering process improvement goals often required tools not available from the core EDA vendor. In some cases, vendor offerings were just not suit- able for the users' needs. Replacing inefficient or unsuitable components of a single-vendor EDA tool set imposed a significant challenge. Any new component must integrate seamlessly feature MITIGATING THE HIGH COST OF PCB DOCuMENTATION continues Figure 1.