Graphical Depiction of the Partitioning Algorithm

Initial state: All nets are unprocessed.

Net A is selected from the unprocessed nets.

A halo is grown around net A with the specified coupling distance.

The neighborhood of net A is determined. Nets in the neighborhood of A are marked nonvalid (blue).

Net A is marked valid (yellow) because it is now completely surrounded by other nets within the specified coupling distance.

From the set of nonvalid nets, net B is selected (purple).

A halo is grown around net B. Nets in the neighborhood of B are added to the active neighborhood.

Net B is now surrounded by other nets within the specified coupling distance, so it is also marked valid.

The preferred net grouping size for this partition has now been reached. The net in the middle is also marked valid (yellow) because all of the nets in its neighborhood lie within the active neighborhood. Several nonvalid nets (blue) surround the group of valid nets to model their environment. These nonvalid nets appear later as valid nets within a different partition.