International Business Machines Corporation

Gabor Bobok

Derek E Williams

Wolfgang Roesner

Gabor Drasny

Ali S El-Zein

Jason Raymond Baumgartner

Mark A Williams

Fadi A Zaraket

Paul Joseph Roessler

Ziv Nevo

Gil Eliezer Shurek

Shiri Moran

Matyas A Sustik

Shlomit Koyfman

Richard L H Carbone

Hussein Sharafeddin

A computer-implemented method, apparatus and computer program product for testing a design, the method comprising receiving a design; receiving a description of a scenario, wherein the scenario relates to execution of the design, wherein the scenario is used for verifying the design; translating the scenario to an input for a verification engine, wherein the verification engine is selected from the group consisting of a simulation engine and a formal analysis engine; activating the engine and providing the input to the engine, whereby the engine outputting a result; and displaying the result.

Method and apparatus for testing

Preprocessing parallel sequences of 'wait' statements and synthesizing these multiple 'wait' statements to construct support for RTL tools. This is accomplished by preprocessing a VHDL process with multiple wait statements (referred to as BehFSM) into an equivalent register transfer.

Synthesizing VHDL multiple wait FSMS into RT level FSMS by preprocessing

Synthesizing VHDL multiple wait behavioral FSMs into RT level FSMs by preprocessing

A technique for verification of a retimed logic design using liveness checking includes assigning a liveness gate to a liveness property for an original netlist and assigning a fairness gate to a fairness constraint for the original netlist. In this case, the fairness gate is associated with the liveness gate and is asserted for at least one time-step during any valid behavioral loop associated with the liveness gate. The original netlist is retimed, using a retiming engine, to provide a retimed netlist. The liveness and fairness gates of the retimed netlist are retimed such that a lag of the fairness gate is no greater than a lag of the liveness gate. Verification analysis is then performed on the retimed netlist. Finally, when the verification analysis yields a valid counter-example trace for the retimed netlist, a liveness violation for the original netlist is returned.

Logic design verification techniques for liveness checking with retiming

Method, system, and program product for processing hardware design language code to facilitate reuse of compiled code units including options and option values in compiled code units. The method includes the steps of grouping options and option values to determine if code controlled by them will be reused; and determining options and option values that would permit and prevent reuse of compiled code units.

Compiler option consistency checking during incremental hardware design language compilation

In response to receiving HDL file(s) that specify a plurality of hierarchically arranged design entities defining a design to be simulated and that specify an instrumentation entity for monitoring simulated operation of the design, an instrumented simulation executable model of the design is built. Building the model includes compiling the HDL file(s) specifying the plurality of hierarchically arranged design entities defining the design and instantiating at least one instance of each of the plurality of hierarchically arranged design entities, and further includes instantiating an instance of the instrumentation entity within an instance of a particular design entity among the plurality of design entities and, based upon a reference in an instrumentation statement in the one or more HDL files, logically attaching an input of the instance of the instrumentation entity to an input source within the design that is outside the scope of the particular design entity.

Selective compilation of a simulation model in view of unavailable higher level signals

According to a method of simulation processing, an instrumented simulation executable model of a design is built by compiling one or more hardware description language (HDL) files specifying one or more design entities within the design and one or more instrumentation entities and instantiating instances of the one or more instrumentation entities within instances of the one or more design entities. Operation of the design is then simulated utilizing the instrumented simulation executable model. Simulating operation includes each of multiple instantiations of the one or more instrumentation entities generating a respective external phase signal representing an occurrence of a particular phase of operation and instrumentation combining logic generating from external phase signals of the multiple instantiations of the one or more instrumentation entities an aggregate phase signal representing an occurrence of the particular phase.

Phase events in a simulation model of a digital system

According to a method of simulation processing, one or more HDL source files describing a digital design including a plurality of hierarchically arranged design entities are received. The one or more HDL source files include one or more statements instantiating a plurality of print events within the plurality of hierarchically arranged design entities, where each print event has an associated message and at least one associated signal in the digital design. The one or more HDL source files are processed to obtain a simulation executable model including a data structure describing the plurality of print events defined for the simulation executable model and associating each of the plurality of print events with its respective associated signal.

Print events in the simulation of a digital system

Unrolling the 'generate' statement of a hardware description language ('HDL') and displaying the unrolled HDL. For a conditional generate the condition is evaluated. If the statement is true the enclosed HDL code will be displayed. For an iterative generate, the enclosing HDL will be displayed as many times as specified by the bounds of the iteration scheme. This allows, for example, simulation value annotations for signals declared inside the generate statement, semantic navigation inside the generate statements, and allows the user to visualize what is included in the target design.

Unrolling hardware design generate statements in a source window debugger

According to a method of data processing, a data set including at least one entry specifying a signal group by a predetermined signal group name is received by a data processing system. In response to receipt of the data set, the entry in the data set is processed to identify the signal group name. Signal group information associated with an event trace file containing simulation results is accessed to determine signal names of multiple signals that are members of the signal group. Simulation results from the event trace file that are associated with instances of the multiple signals are then included within a presentation of simulation results.

Signals for simulation result viewing

Program product supporting specification of signals for simulation result viewing

According to a method of simulation processing, a simulation model is received that includes a plurality of design entity instances modeling a digital system and one or more instrumentation entity instances, separate from the plurality of design entity instances, that generate instances of instrumentation events for testing purposes during simulation. In response to receiving an exclusion list identifying at least one instance of one or more instrumentation events to be removed from the simulation model, at least one instance of the one or more instrumentation events and associated logic elements are removed from the one or more instrumentation entity instances of the simulation model prior to simulation, such that a more compact simulation model is obtained.

Method, system and program product for selectively removing instrumentation logic from a simulation model

A method includes pre-compilation operations on HDL source code files, creating a 'make it' file, on demand processing of the HDL source code in an HDL source browser, and resolving overloaded function and operator calls in an HDL source code browser debugger. Construct a list of all HDL files a list of HDL files to be processed. Send an HDL file in the list for compiling. If compilation is successful, branch to add the HDL file to an end of target file and that HDL file is removed from the list. The list is tested for remaining files and then a next file in the list is sent for compiling. After all files in the list have been processed, the HDL files which have been processed are checked for failures to compile and if any of said HDL files to be processed have failed to compile the method branches back to repeating the process until all runs are successful.

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Niskayuna, NY, United States of America

Gabor Bobok