Pin assignment
Beginner
Deciding where on a block’s edge each wire comes in or goes out.
Novice
Choosing exactly where on the edge of a chip or block each signal enters or leaves, and on which metal layer. The usual aim is to put each pin close to the logic that uses it.
Expert
Pins go on the routing-track grid with minimum spacing and keep-outs near corners, often under constraints that tie groups of pins to an edge, part of an edge, or an order. In a design split into blocks, block pins are assigned from the top-level view so neighboring blocks agree.
Explained in Floorplanning (Design Flow).
See also: Hierarchical design (partitioning).