frontend and backend tools

can any one explain what is frontend tool and backend tool?
what we do in frontend tool and backend tool to manufacturing a chip?

Fronted for design, is all related to simulation and test, verification on rtl or high level code.
Backend for design, it is all related to transform this code to gds2.
Frontend and backend phases are also used during manufacturing, chipping....

rca said:

Fronted for design, is all related to simulation and test, verification on rtl or high level code.
Backend for design, it is all related to transform this code to gds2.
Frontend and backend phases are also used during manufacturing, chipping....

Click to expand...

u mean that
is design,verification,dft and physical design comes under frontend?

frontend tools deals with top level:
eg. your verilog/vhdl codes.

backend tools deals with lower level, i.e. physical design level.
which is ic layout related.

front-end: rtl design, functional verification, lint analysis
back-end: logic synthesis (basic, dft, bsd), ATPG, formal verification, STA, physical synthesis (floorplan, CTS, P&R, parasite extraction), physical verification

In digital design, front-end tools deal only with the functional aspects (creation or analysis) of your design. Physical aspects like placement and routing are only approximated, if at all. Back-end tools deal with the physical aspects (creation or analysis) of your design and only care about preserving the functional behavior. The reason for this distinction is that are very different disciplines and require people with very different skills, especially on larger designs. So different in fact that people think of tossing their design over a large brick wall when moving between the front-end to back end phases of design. Logic synthesis is somewhere in the middle. The transformation of RTL to gates is a front-end process, but the optimization has become more integrated with the physical characteristics.