ACCURATE LAYOUT MODELING FOR CENTERLINE-BASED DETAIL ROUTING

Some embodiments of the invention include a computerize method of modeling a layout for a circuit design comprising receiving a plurality of circuit elements and receiving a plurality of design rules for a layout comprising the plurality of circuit elements. The computerized method further includes generating a layout model through computer automated operations wherein one or more constraints corresponding to the design rules effective at each point in a search space of the layout model are indicated by a color associated with the point.