A bi-directional EDA-browser bridge mechanism enables an EDA system and its related (external) tools to interact with a browser. The EDA-browser bridge uses a design markup language (DML) to communicate with the browser, using a document-based approach rather than a more traditional programming/API-based approach to extending (e.g., integrating tools) the EDA system. By using a markup language, extending the EDA system becomes more accessible to a wider community of developers (e.g., those with web development skills, as opposed to those with just EDA programming skills), and be able to leverage a wider variety of powerful third-party libraries, such as jQuery or D3. For example, developers are able to more easily generate interactive interfaces for viewing results related to the EDA system.