RE: [vhdl-200x] Requirements to do verification

Steve,

Correct me if I am wrong, but the UVM method is based on a library written
in SystemVerolog. UVM is a product of 5 or more years of practical use.
It is a collaboration of several methodologies implemented with an OOP,
SystemVerolog. I would expect someone to create a C++ or SystemC version
of UVM eventually.

But the way VHDL is today, there is not much chance of making a
verification environment that looks and feels like a UVM SystemVerolog
environment. Not in an employers eyes anyway, I personally can derive
similarities, but it is not OOP.

The extensions being considered to VHDL, like those defined in White paper
by Peter Ashenden, I would hope would enable a library to be created that
could be based on UVM. Though this may be some time in the future, and
UVM may change, the language extensions should be made so that VHDL can
continue provide the facilities users need or think they need. Is it the
purpose of specifying new language enhancements to sway usage? What is
considered the future of VHDL as a language? Is that determined by user
base, the tool vendors or the standards community?

I think there is an advantage to building on market success, and SV has
been successful. VHDL seems to be lagging other languages when it comes
to OOP. I can understand this as, thankfully, as VHDL is a strongly typed
language. Waiting to put OOP capabilities into VHDL will not benefit
anyone. The implementation of OOP in languages is not new, so after a
standard is created, it should not be a huge unknown effort to implement
in tools. VHDL has a huge user base, I am sure OOP additions would be
adopted and used as soon as they became available. I would think that
users would create the UVM library for VHDL, there are many that like
VHDL.

I have looked over the UVM Class Reference Manual 1.0 and really do not
see why things have to be so complicated. There must be some reason for
it all or it would not be so successful.

So I guess what I am suggesting is that VHDL be specified to enable what
ever the methodology of the day is, whether that be common or special, to
be implemented using modern techniques.

I hope that answered your questions.

Ken
> Ken,
>
> Sounds like you have identified what the (job) market needs.
>
> What's the smart thing to do? Create a product that the market needs?
>
> Or convince the market that it doesn't need what it thinks it needs,
> instead it needs something else? If so, what does that something else
> offer that gives it significantly more value than what the market knows it
> requires?
>
> And, consider market windows. Will your superior offering gain market
> acceptance if it is delivered 5 years from now? Will the inertial
> barriers to entry be too great by then or will the creator of that
> speculative product go bankrupt first?
>
> -Steve Bailey
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-vhdl-200x@eda.org [mailto:owner-vhdl-200x@eda.org] On Behalf
> Of Ken Campbell
> Sent: Friday, April 22, 2011 12:37 PM
> To: vhdl-200x@eda.org
> Subject: Re: [vhdl-200x] Requirements to do verification
>
> Hello everyone,
> As an answer to the question.
> I think the additions to VHDL should enable the implementation of a "look
> and feel" of UVM. Initially the target should be the objects that provide
> the most value to a verification environment. Like some kind of subset of
> UVM that would enable the most important verification tasks to be
> automated, basic building blocks and interfacing...
>
> The reason I say this is because there is a wave of SV usage. I currently
> can not get employed because I do not have experience with any SV methods,
> but have been doing verification for 15 years now. I got left behind
> using a VHDL test bench system I published on OpenCores. Now after 3
> months, at least 10 ASIC/FPGA verification jobs have gone by because of my
> lack of specific verification tool methods / language.
>
> So, to improve the chances of cross employment and standardization for the
> future of verification people, I recommend a UVM methods implementation as
> a target for VHDL language enhancements.
>
> As Jim said, VHDL is very capable and very much alive. I have recently
> started a blog describing how to best use the VHDL test bench package I
> published. This has increased the downloads from 1-3 per day to 4-7. The
> blog is getting more attention than I thought it would and for me that is
> evidence that VHDL is very much alive.
>
> Is this the kind of input you were looking for?
>
> Regards,
> Ken Campbell
>
>
>> All,
>> If we are to make VHDL a viable verification language,
>> what features do we require?
>>
>> I am thinking the main ones are functional coverage,
>> randomization, data structures (ie: scoreboards,
>> memories, fifos, ...) and interfaces.
>>
>> While I realize some have expressed concern about a language's
>> ability to be suited for both design (RTL and above) and
>> verification, I am not sure I agree. I think a frugal
>> implementation of all of the above is possible.
>>
>> The more I work with VHDL the more I am impressed by the
>> capability.
>>
>> Best,
>> Jim
>> --
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Jim Lewis
>> Director of Training mailto:Jim@SynthWorks.com
>> SynthWorks Design Inc. http://www.SynthWorks.com
>> 1-503-590-4787
>>
>> Expert VHDL Training for Hardware Design and Verification
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
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>
>
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