IntermediateQuestion 6 of 10Source page 12

A view exists in the database but isn't active for setup or hold. What does that actually mean for signoff?

From PDVerse MMMC Interview Masterclass · pdVerse Mentor Series

Direct answer

It means that view is contributing nothing to the current timing results, no matter how correctly it was built. If your signoff plan requires that condition to be checked, and the view sits inactive, that requirement is currently unmet — even though nothing looks broken in any report.

Mentor explanation

This is one of the quieter and more dangerous gaps in MMMC methodology, because it produces no error message. Every report can look clean, every active view can show positive slack, and the run can finish without a single complaint — while an entire required condition is silently sitting on the shelf, unchecked. The only way to catch this is to compare the list of active views against the list of views your signoff plan actually requires, not against the list of views that merely exist.

Interview trap

"Created" is treated as equivalent to "analyzed." It never is.

Tool check

Cadence or equivalent scenario flowreport_analysis_views (or scenario-status report)

Inspect active views rather than only created objects.

Key takeaways

  • It means that view is contributing nothing to the current timing results, no matter how correctly it was built.
  • If your signoff plan requires that condition to be checked, and the view sits inactive, that requirement is currently unmet — even though nothing looks broken in any report.
Visual explanationMMMC context: A view exists in the database but isn't active for setup or…
MMMC context: A view exists in the database but isn't active for setup or…A three-step concept map summarizes the focus, core answer, and practical verification for A view exists in the database but isn't active for setup or hold. What does that actually mean for signoff?Question focusA view exists in thedatabase but isn'tactive for setup or…Core answerIt means that view iscontributing nothing tothe current timingresults,…Verify in practiceInspect active viewsrather than only createdobjects.Understand → explain the mechanism → verify the assumptions
Self-check: can you answer this aloud?

Try a 45-second answer using this structure:

  1. State the direct answer.
  2. Explain the timing or physical reason.
  3. Name one caveat.
  4. Say how you would verify it in a real flow.

Continue learning free

Get a practical low-power chapter

Receive the existing “Low Power and Multivoltage Fundamentals” PDF chapter and its download link by email.