[sv-champions] Meeting minutes of August 15

From: Neil Korpusik <Neil.Korpusik_at_.....>
Date: Sat Aug 18 2007 - 19:17:47 PDT
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Champions meeting minutes of August 15, 2007
9am - 11am PST

1. A  Dave Rich
2. A  Neil Korpusik
3. A  Surrendra Dudani
4. A  Brad Pierce
5. A  Shalom Bresticker
6. A  Francoise Martinolle 
7. A  Stu Sutherland
8. A  Karen Pieper


1. Review IEEE patent policy
   http://standards.ieee.org/board/pat/pat-slideset.ppt

      Move: Dave - assume that the patent policy was read
    Second: Brad

2. Mantis items

From sv-ec 

1789  Clarification of string behavior
      Passed unanimously by email vote June 22, 2007

      [Feedback from Shalom]
      Minor comments on 1789, Clarification of string behavior: 

      "1. Change this sentence (on page 128)": in Draft 3a, this is page 126.

      In 2, "   bit [10:0] a = "\x41";       // assigns to a `b000_0100_0001":
      the back-tic in the comment preceding 'b' should be an apostrophe.

      In 4, "one of them can be a string literal which is implicitly converted
      to a string type data object for the comparison": this appears twice,
      there should be a comma before the word 'which'.

        Move: Stu - approve the proposal for mantis 1789, with the 
		    friendly amendments from Shalom.
      Second: Shalom
      Passed unanimously


1787  LRM needs to discuss transition bins of length 1
      Approved on April 30, 2007 unanimously.

      [Feedback from Shalom]
      1787 should also refer to 18.5.1 instead of 18.4.1.

      Brad - The mantis "Additional info" section refers to sv-178702.html
      Neil - We think it is a typo.
	     The mantis history doesn't show it
      Stu  - Do the minutes mention it?
    Shalom - There was an approved friendly amendment ("shall be illegal")
	   - That update is not in the current proposal.

        Move: Stu - send mantis 1787 back to the svec for updates
      Second: shalom
      Passed unanimously


1777  Clarification of 1800-2005 section 18.4.1
      Approved on April 30, 2007 unanimously.

      [Feedback from Shalom]
      The proposal for 1777 is not updated to Draft 3a.
      It refers to 18.4.1 in 1800-2005, which is apparently 18.5.1 in Draft 3a.

      The struck-out text starts with "The goto repetition with nonconsecutive
      occurrence", but I don't see the word "goto" in the original.
      I don't know if there are other differences.

      The capitalization of 'goto' in the proposal is inconsistent.
      In Draft 3a, it seems to be consistently uncapitalized.

      [Feedback from Brad]
      Also, the intransitive "will increment" is inconsistent with the rest of
      the paragraph that says bins are "incremented".

      And, it's a little odd that it says "Next, ..." regarding what happens
      on the 15th-18th samples, and only after that talks about what happens
      on the 12th-13th samples.

      Brad - We are editing proposals 
    Shalom - Make sure that they are updated with respect to draft 3a
	   - The Champions shouldn't be doing this

1736  Example in 12.4.2 has dynamic array packed.
      Approved on April/24/2007 unanimously by email vote.

      [From Shalom]
      Proposal is OK. Would be nice to change xref in Mantis summary line to 
      13.5.2.

1723  Size method for associative arrays
      Approved on June/11/2007 with 2 No votes:
	 Cliff - doesn't think of size as being the number of elements,
	     thinks of it as the address spanned,
	     encompassed by elements already allocated.
	 Stu - no change needed

      [Feedback from Shalom]
      The reference should be to 7.10.1 instead of 17.10.1.
      Grammar: 
      "The syntax for the num() and size()methods are as follows:" should be
      "The syntax for the num() and size()methods is as follows:"

1680  "literal string" should be "string literal"
      Approved on April/24/2007 unanimously by email vote.

      [Feedback from Shalom]
      1680 was not updated to Draft 3a.
      There are text as well as section number issues.

1655  Coverage Calculation Corner Case Crumminess
      Approved on April 30, 2007 unanimously.

      Shalom had a lot of feedback. 8/13/07

      1. The title line of the proposal says 18.10, but it should be 18.11 (or
      18.6 and 18.11).

      2. Similarly, the line "ADD the specified blue text 18.5 as follows:"
      should refer to 18.6.

      3. "intersect cross-products specified" should not be hyphenated, for
      consistency with LRM. 

      4. In "since the explicitly declared bins covers all cases for which i
      == 0",
      "bins" should be "bin".

      5. "ADD the specified blue text to 18.5.1 as follows:" should refer to
      18.6.1.

      6. In "Additionally, the cross retains those automatically-generated
      bins that represent cross-products not intersecting any of the
      user-defined bins. There are 6 of these: <b1,a3>, <b1,a4>, <b3,a3>,
      <b3,a4>, <b4,a3>, and <b4,a4>,"

      "cross-product" should not be hyphenated, and the cross products should
      be specified with a before b, e.g., <a3,b1> instead of <b1,a3>.

      7. "MODIFY 18.6 as follows:" should be 18.7.

      8. "In Table 18-29, the alignment of the cell bodies in the top three
      rows is not consistent with the rest of the table. The six inconsistent
      cells should be modified to match the rest of the table" looks already
      fixed in Draft 3a.

      9. "MODIFY 18.10 as follows:" should be 18.11.

      10. "d) If get_coverage or get_inst_coverage are called with two
      arguments, zero is assigned to both arguments; the numerator and
      denominator." should be "is called".
      Yes, I know the mistake is in the existing text.

      11. "In consistency with the above behavior, $get_coverage shall return
      a value of 100.0 if called on a design that has no constructed
      covergroups, or if called  on a design in which all covergroups have a
      weight of 0."

      "In consistency with" sounds strange. "Consistent with" sounds better.

      "$get_coverage" should be "get_coverage()"?

      What is a "constructed covergroup"? The term does not seem to appear in
      the LRM. Is there a non-constructed covergroup? If not, why not just
      'covergroup'?

      12. "MODIFY 18.10.1 as follows:" should ne 8.11.1.

      13. "ADD the following text at the very end of 18.10.2:" should be
      8.11.2.

      14. "In case the denominator of the cross coverage calculation formula
      has a value of zero:" - Better is "If the denominator ..."

      15. "d) If get_coverage or get_inst_coverage are called with two
      arguments, zero is assigned to both arguments-the numerator and
      denominator." - should be "is called".

1615  can processes spawned by functions execute blocking statements?
      Approved on October/23/2006 unanimously.

      This proposal wanted to add 11.6.1 (in 1800-2005) after 11.6. The text 
      from 11.6 is now in 9.3.2. I don't like 4th level subclauses (9.3.2.1), 
      so I am not sure where and how to place this.

      The following sentence seems hard to understand:

      "Calling a function that executes a fork..join_none block shall be illegal 
       in any context in which a side effect is disallowed or any context other 
       than procedural code originating in an initial block."

      I think the following would be simpler:

      "Calling a function that executes a fork..join_none block shall be legal 
       only in procedural code originating in an initial block and illegal in 
       any context in which a side effect is disallowed."

      (Is there a difference between "originating in an initial block" and "in 
      an initial block"? If so, are readers going to understand the difference?)

      Is the following sentence needed: "Implementations shall issue an error 
      either at compile time or run time when they have determined the illegal 
      condition.?"

      The function declaration is called start_check, but the function calls 
      start_checks.

1612  Timeunits decls don't make sense in class decls (BNF)
      Approved on May 2,2007 unanimously by email vote.

      [Shalom]
      reference to Syntax 7-1 should be 8-1. Footnote 17 should be footnote 16.

1609  import statements should not be allowed in class scopes
      Approved on June/25/2007 unanimously.

      Shalom - 25.2 should be 25.3.

1605  Clarification of mailbox/semaphore constructor
      Approved on October/23/2006 unanimously.

      Shalom - The references should be 15.3.1 and 15.4.1.

1580  Access to interface objects via virtual interface
      Approved on May 2, 2007 unanimously by email vote.

      [From Shalom]
      20.9 should be 24.10.
      "Access to all objects declared in an interface is always available by 
      hierarchical reference, regardless of whether the interface is accessed 
      through a port, through a virtual interface, or if there are modports to 
      restrict those access mechanisms."

      I think "if" should also be "whether".

      "When an interface is connected with a modport in either the module header 
       or port connection, access through a port or through a virtual interface 
       is limited to only objects listed in the modport, for only types of 
       objects legal to be listed in a modport (nets, variables, tasks, 
       functions, and clocking blocks). All other objects may be referenced."

      I find this wording very unclear. It is unclear what "all other objects"
      refers to, and it is unclear how they may be referenced.

      The original text had, "All objects are still visible by hierarchical 
      reference." This seemed to repeat the first sentence, "Access to all 
      objects declared in an interface is always available by hierarchical 
      reference," and if so, to be redundant. Does this proposal intend to 
      change the meaning of the last sentence?

      I also find the difference between "module header" and "port connection" 
      unclear, since I think of port connections as part of the module header.

1556  in-line static variable initialization - require keyword static?
      Approved on June/11/2007 unanimously.
1545  13.12.1: $urandom example error
      Approved on October/9/2006 unanimously.
1480  method_call_root BNF should use primary, not expression
      Approved on October/9/2006 unanimously.
1459  Mailbox 'new' method should never return null
      Approved on September/11/2006 unanimously.
1427  dynamic_array_new
      Approved on April 30, 2007 unanimously.
1371  Semantic of program block $exit
      Approved on June/25/2007 unanimously.
1336  Rules for allowed statements in a function
      Approved on Jan/22/2007. unanimously.
888   foreach identifiers are too restrictive
      Approved on October/23/2006 unanimously.
594   15.8 special syntax for accessing interfaces through clocking block
      Approved on October/9/2006 unanimously.


        Move: Stu - send all of these back to svec and Neil put them in the
		    Feedback state and the svec update them to draft 3a.
                    (Mantis items 1787 through 594 in this list)
      Second: Shalom
      Passed unanimously


From sv-cc

Mantis items with proposals that have been approved:

   1741  1800-2005 Section 27.50 Issues with foreach diagram	 
         The SV-CC approved this proposed change on 06/06/2007 (unanimous).

      [email from Brad]
      Regarding http://www.eda-stds.org/svdb/view.php?id=1741 , not
      necessarily an objection, but  ...

	   "An unnamed begin or unnamed fork shall be a scope if and only if
      it contains local variable declarations."

      Yet it's still true, isn't it, that the unnamed begin below is not a
      scope and that a hierarchical reference to BLK.v from outside the
      unnamed begin would be legal?

	  begin
	    begin : BLK
	      var v = 1'b1;  // This decl is not contained in the unnamed begin?
	    end
	  end

      [email response from Shalom] I think that this is consistent. 

       Brad - ok, as long as that example is ok (can refer to var v with a
	      hierarchical reference).
	      He thought that this example may have pointed out a problem.
	    - The proposal says it shall be a scope if it contains local 
	      variable declarations. Today the unnamed block is not a scope.
        Fm  - In the example it contains a named block.
	      Why is it just a local variable declaration that would make it a 
	      scope?
        Stu - Does it make the unnamed block a scope?
       Dave - Thought that there would be a hidden scope if an unnamed block 
	      had a variable declaration.
        Fm  - There could be a type declaration as well.
	      Item d) of the proposal says an unnamed block will have tool
	      dependent names.
	Stu - This is also a question for the sv-bc 
	      Also ask about a named block without a local variable.

        Move: Stu - reject the proposal for mantis 1741 and send it back to 
		    svcc for clarification on type declarations and parameters.
		    The sv-cc also needs to contact the svbc.
      Second: ????
      Passed unanimously


   1751  Clarify vpiParent for part selects	                         
	 This was PASSED by the SV-CC on 3/14/2007 (unanimous).
         Dave Rich -  Needs update for P1800/D3

	 Dave - Not sure where this one goes within the LRM.

        Move: Stu - send the proposal for mantis 1751 back to the svcc.
		    Seems to be 36.50, but we aren't sure.
		    Also do they still want to use the reg data type
		    (logic is used in most places today in the LRM)
      Second: Dave
      Passed unanimously


   1766  VPI Nets object model shows 1-to-many for vpiLeftRange	      
         This was PASSED by the SV-CC on 3/28/2007 (unanimous).

         Dave Rich -  Now 36.15
	 Stu  - ok

        Move: Stu - approve the proposal for mantis 1766
      Second: Shalom
      Passed unanimously

   1859  Redundant DPI imports/exports section	                  
         This was PASSED by the SV-CC on 06/20/2007 (unanimous).

	dave - looks ok
	Stu  - The editor flagged two sections of the LRM that seemed to be the
	       same, this mantis item removes the redundant section. 

        Move: Stu - accept the proposal for mantis 1859
      Second: Dave
      Passed unanimously


Mantis items that have been determined to be duplicates of others

   793   29.4.3 vpiAssertVacuousSuccessCovered in include file      see 1599
         (unanimous)

	 Dave - not in the relationship section

        Move: Dave - approve next 4 as duplicates
      Second: Stu
      Passed unanimously


   1579  was resubmitted as 1603 due to a mantis problem with 1579  see 1603
         (unanimous)
   1628  No file or line number for vpiClassObj                     see 741
         declared to be a duplicate of Item 0741 on 06/06/2007 (unanimous). 
   1654  vpiConstraintItem not defined by sv_vpi_user.h             see 754
         declared to be a duplicate of Item 0754 on 06/06/2007 (unanimous)

Mantis items that won't be fixed or don't require a change

   1613  Should a[0:0] be considered a vector or scalar?     no change required
         Moved to declare as NOT A BUG on 10/11/2006 (unanimous)

        Move: Francoise - approve mantis 1613 and 1834 as no change required
      Second: Shalom
      Passed unanimously


   1834  JEITA: PLI  tf_ and acc_ routines in an appendix    won't fix
         06/06/2007 moved to declare this Item to be "not a bug" (unanimous).

From sv-ac

1729   Introduce immediate assume and cover statements
       Resolved by e-mail ballot on 2007-04-30, 9y/0n/0a
       Updated for draft 3a July 19

	 Brad - The paragraph after syntax 16-1 was updated this morning.
		It didn't take into account assume or cover

       The following set of changes need to be made to this proposal:
          - 16-1 syntax was changed since this mantis item was updated
		 action_block ::= 
		       else <--- is now null
	  - The () in the syntax box should be in red
          - On bottom of page 2 - example - assume and cover need bolding
	  - Add a note to the editor in the proposal to not change the 
	    action_block syntax. 
	  - Syntax A.6.10
	    immediate_assert_statement ::=    <--- use a different name here
	    - Should be more generic since it has 3 choices
	      Dave suggests immediate_assertion_statement.
	 	 immediate_assert --> immediate_assert_statement
		 immediate_assume --> immediate_assume_statement
		 immediate_cover --> immediate_cover_statement
	      Compare this to the syntax in A.2.10
	  - Syntax box on page 2 - has different set of blue items vs. A.6.10
          - 16.3 , 2nd paragraph is new -- needs to be blue
		 , 4th paragraph assert should be bold
          - Paragraph after 16-1 - should be bold for assert. 2nd paragraph
	    Stu thinks this sentence might be ok.
          - make bolding consistent for this whole section
	  - there seem to be some grammar errors as well.

        Move: Stu  - send the proposal for mantis 1729 back to the svac 
		     for updates
      Second: Shalom
      Passed unanimously

1730   Allow literal sequence and property actual arguments
       Resolved by ballot, 2007-04-30, 7y, 0n, 2a
       Updated for draft 3a July 24

      Brad - The proposal was updated to draft 3a this morning
      stu  - ok
      Brad - there is a note at the top about syntax ambiguity
      Sur  - has to do with substitution
      Brad - like a macro for this situation
	   - he doesn't quite follow it, but will take the committees word on it
	   - are there any examples on this?

        Move: Surrendra - approve the proposal for mantis 1730
      Second: Brad
      Passed unanimously


1734   Incomplete fix to Annex F in 0805.
       Resolved by e-mail ballot on 2007-04-30, 7y/0n/2a
       Updated for draft 3a July 19

       Neil - the fonts aren't coming up properly 
       Stu  - looks ok in word, ok from editor point of view
       Dave - uploaded a pdf version of the proposal
       Sur  - disable only allowed at front, text was updated but not the 
	      formal writeup. This updates the formal.

        Move: Surrendra - move to approve proposal for 1734
      Second: Brad
     Abstain: Brad - not qualified to review this proposal
	      Francoise - same reason
      Passed with two abstains


1735   Incomplete fixes from 0928
       Resolved by email ballot, 2007-03-14, 9 yes, 0 no
       Updated for draft 3a July 21

       stu - ok

        Move: Brad- approve the proposal for mantis 1735
      Second: Surrendra
      Passed unanimously

1361   need a way to control execution of action blocks
       Passed by e-mail ballot on 2007-07-31, 7y/0n/1a
       Friendly amendment added during e-mail ballot was confirmed by voice 
       vote on 2007-08-07, 8y/0n/0a.

       Dave - was the friendly amendment in bug note added?
       Neil - we think so.
       Dave - now that there is an action block for assume and cover 
	      applies to them as well?
       Sur  - thinks so. just for concurrent assertions
       Brad - the other one doesn't apply to immediate.
	    - contingent on 1768
       Stu  - seems ok with it - can ask committee for guidance if necessary
     Shalom - 1768 deletes some sentences. 
       Stu  - 1768 adds new constructs

        Move: Stu - approve the proposal for mantis 1361
      Second: Surrendra
      Passed unanimously

1601   new keyword for untyped formal arguments
       Passed by e-mail vote on 2007-07-31, 8y/0n/0a
       <see champions minutes of 7/26>
       
1681   Introduce global clocking
       Passed by e-mail vote on 2007-07-31, 8y/0n/0a.

       Dave - doesn't discuss what global clock is with respect to 
	      compilation units 
	    - there is no concept of globals in SystemVerilog
     Shalom - time precision is similar
      Dave  - all precisions are taken into account
	    - specifying a global in this mantis item
	    - it should be a tool option
     Shalom - the idea of a global clock - can sample any signals
	      Intuitively understands the need for it
      Neil  - used for formal tools 
      FM    - strange that it is global and needs to be in a module,
	      it should be in compilation unit space
      Stu   - not sure it fits in with the general usage of the language.
	      The lrm is based on event based simulation
      Dave  - his issues were brought to the attention of the committee
	    - how does synthesis handle clocks?
      Brad  - they are inferred, or use pragmas
     Shalom - if in a package would need to be imported
     Neil   - just for formal tools
     Sur    - yes, but also want the same semantics for simulation
	      Today there is a  sim, fv mismatch due to no global clock
       FM   - not sure why need this global thing, we already have clocking 
	      blocks.
      Sur   - the issue comes when there are multiple clocks
      Stu   - The proposal says that global clock is for the design.
	      Can the testbench use the global clock? (proposal seems to not say)
            - proposal shouldn't use the term design if it isn't clear

AI/Neil - take off the agenda and discuss next time.
          need more people to discuss it off-line


1722   there exists bind inconsistencies between the BNF and the text
       Passed by e-mail vote on 2007-07-31, 8y/0n/0a

         Dave - ok
       Shalom - doesn't look controversial
	      - now applies to more than just assertions
	      - spelling error - 22.10 (auxiliary has only 1 l)
		more than one occurrence (at the end)
		Item 1) if the... capitalize the if
                 identifier is spelled wrong (3 times)
       Stu    - frame spell check should flag it

        Move: Stu - approve the proposal for mantis 1722, 
		    correct spelling and capitalization problems
      Second: Shalom
      Passed unanimously


1768   need to define how to interpret whether the argument to cover is a 
       property or sequence
       Passed by e-mail vote on 2007-07-31, 8y/0n/0a.
       Voice vote on 2007-08-07 to confirm friendly amendment suggested during 
       e-mail ballot, 8y/0n/0a.

       Shalom - missing a friendly amendment?
       Dave   - ok
       Stu    - has changes dependent on 1599

        Move: Stu - send mantis item 1768 back to the svac so that they can 
		    add the missing friendly amendment
      Second: Shalom
      Passed unanimously

   [Discussion after the vote - some people dropped off the line already]
   Shalom - it looks like the amendment is actually there.
   Stu    - needs to do them together


From sv-bc

        Move: Dave - approve 1200 through 1831
      Second: Brad
     Abstain - stu (changed to approve later in the meeting)
      Passed unanimously

       Stu - has not reviewed all of them
      Dave - the editor has a way to send back any mantis items with issues
     Karen - we can pass contingent on Stu review between now and P1800.

V-1364
-------
0001200
0001257
0001388
    Shalom - the proposal should be deleted as no longer relevant 
	     resolution is to close as already fixed.
	     doesn't need to go to the editor
0001499
0001505
0001644
    Shalom - the proposal should be deleted as no longer relevant 
0001746
0001748
0001783

SV-BC
-------
0001400
0001497
0001561
0001562
0001589
0001597
0001606
0001620
0001660
0001666
0001673
0001724
0001749
0001762
0001788
0001807
0001821
0001825
0001831

3. Meetings 

   Sept 5  9-11PST  <---- next meeting (note the change in date)



List of action items from this meeting
--------------------------------------
1. Neil - email to committees on schedule and recommend not hold off until 
	  the end
2. Neil - move mantis items with friendly amendments to the feedback state
3. Neil - send feedback to the svec on which mantis items have changes that
	  need to be made.  
4. Neil - send feedback to the svec on which mantis items were sent back 
	  from the champions without being reviewed in detail.
5. Neil - check svec minutes to see if there is a problem with 1787
6. Neil - send 1741, 1751  back to the sv-cc for clarifications
7. Neil - send 1729 back to the sv-ac for updates
8. Neil - send feedback to svac - add an example for the situation in 1730
9. Neil - add 1681 to the next meeting agenda. The Champions wanted time to 
	  discuss this with others before voting. 
10. Neil - have the sv-ac fix the spelling and capitalization errors in 1722
11. Neil - email vote on 1768, if the friendly amendment is there...
Received on Sat, 18 Aug 2007 19:17:47 -0700

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