Ruby-VPI

Version 16.0.0 released

Wed, 02 May 2007 00:00:00 PDT

Version 16.0.0 (2007-05-02)

This release adds support for the Cadence NC-Sim / NC-Verilog simulator, improves the project website and documentation, simplifies interaction with VPI, and comes with a more permissive license.

Caution

The Integer.ensure_min and Integer.ensure_max methods have been removed from the ruby-vpi/integer.rb library because Ruby already has idioms for these operations:
```
>> 5.ensure_min 10
=> 10
>> [5, 10].max
=> 10

>> 5.ensure_max 10
=> 5
>> [5, 10].min
=> 5
```

Ruby-VPI is now developed under a more permissive license that better reflects my ethical beliefs than the previous license.

New features

The Cadence NC-Sim / NC-Verilog (ncsim) simulator is now supported.

VPI structures (whose names begin with “S_”) now allow initialization of their members through their constructor, in the style of Ruby on Rails. For example, the expression time = S_vpi_time.new :type => VpiSuppressTime is equivalent to:
```
time      = S_vpi_time.new
time.type = VpiSuppressTime
```

Added the Vpi::Handle.cbValueChange method which simplifies the registration of a value-change callback for a particular VPI handle. For instance, the user manual’s example of setting up a value-change callback can now be written as follows:
```
Counter.count.cbValueChange do |s_cb_data|
  puts "hello from callback! time=#{s_cb_data.time.to_i} count=#{s_cb_data.obj.intVal}" 
end
```

Details

Revised the project website according to the Producing OSS guidelines.

Added instructions for checking out source code and generating documentation.

Version 15.0.2 released

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 00:00:00 PST

Version 15.0.2 (2007-01-22)

This release fixes problems with linking of the C extension and installation of the gem.

Details

Added checks for POSIX threads & Ruby libraries before creating makefile. Otherwise the .so files were not being linked to those libraries on the MASC machine!

The make program on the MASC machine does not like an empty Makefile. It was causing gem installation to fail.

Version 15.0.1 released

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 00:00:00 PST

Version 15.0.1 (2007-01-15)

This release fixes another problem with compilation of the C extension and improves the user documentation’s appearance.

Thanks

Derek Graham reported the problem with compilation of the C extension.

Details

Restored the monkey patch, which was removed in release 14.0.0, for the SWIG va_list problem.

Made table of contents in-line with the content in user documentation.

Added printer-friendly stylesheet for user documentation.

Version 15.0.0 released

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 00:00:00 PST

Version 15.0.0 (2007-01-13)

This release fixes a problem with compilation of the C extension, and makes clock generation code correctly affect Ruby prototypes.

Thanks

Derek Graham reported the problem with compilation of the C extension.

Caution

The Vpi::advance_time method (instead of the Vpi::simulate method) now invokes the design’s simulate! method when prototyping is enabled.
This makes clock generation code (passed to the RubyVpi::init_bench method) affect Ruby prototypes, just as it affects a real Verilog design.

As a result, Ruby prototypes may need to check for edge-triggering through the new Vpi::Handle.posedge? and Vpi::Handle.negedge? methods. For example, see the new implementation of the Counter prototype.

New features

Added Vpi::Handle.posedge? and Vpi::Handle.negedge? methods which check if a handle’s logic value is currently at a positive or negative edge, respectively.

Added Vpi::S_vpi_time.integer and Vpi::S_vpi_time.integer= methods which access the high and low integer fields as a single 64-bit integer.

Added utility methods for accessing the value field in the Vpi::S_vpi_value structure.

Details

Fixed problem with incorrect Ruby library flag in ext/extconf.rb. It happens that the mkmf library determines the correct library flag all by itself!

Added new prototyping section to user manual.

Fixed some broken URLs in user documentation.

Version 14.0.0 released

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 14.0.0 (2006-12-30)

This release adds support for simulation callbacks, renders Verilog benches fully simplified, and revises the user manual to reflect major changes.

Caution

The Vpi::relay_verilog method has been replaced by Vpi::simulate.
Please update you tests accordingly, because invoking the Vpi::relay_verilog method directly will cause your tests to freeze/hang.

Verilog benches no longer contain any clock generation code. They are now mere skeletons, whose only purpose is to instantiate the design under test.
The clock generation code is now contained in the Ruby bench.

New features

The RubyVpi::init_bench method now gives you complete control over performing a clock/operation/whatever cycle for your design. This feature allows you to work with multi-clocked designs.

Callbacks are now supported through the Vpi::vpi_register_cb method. See the callbacks section in the user manual for details.

Added the Vpi::advance_time method, which makes the Verilog simulator simulate a given number of time steps.

Added the Vpi::simulation_time method, which gives you the current simulation time as a 64-bit integer.

Details

Removed the monkey patch for the SWIG va_list problem—it no longer occurs.

Cleansed the appearance of the user documentation.
- Added indices to section headings, just like LaTeX.
- Admonition boxes no longer interfere with surrounding text, and they don’t have big gap above them.
- Navigation menu is now elastic (fluid layout).

Revised the user manual and added new content.
- Moved “VPI utility layer” section from background chapter into usage chapter in user manual.
- Added a nice introduction to entire manual with links to reference documentation.

Version 13.0.0 released

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 13.0.0 (2006-12-27)

This release fixes a major instability bug, simplifies generated Verilog benches, and purifies the API reference documentation.

Caution

The $ruby_init and $ruby_relay system task/functions have been removed. Generated Verilog benches no longer use them.
- To pass your own command-line options to Ruby, set the RUBYOPT environment variable before running a test.

New features

You can now choose when Vpi::relay_verilog is triggered: upon positive/negative edge of the clock signal, or any other criteria. This is done by passing a block to the RubyVpi::init_bench method (see the API reference documentation for details).

Details

Fixed a major instability bug that was randomly causing segmentation faults and pthread assertion failures.
The problem was that the $ruby_init system task/function was mischeviously unlocking a pthread mutex. From then onward, all code assumed that the mutex was still locked—but in reality, the mutex was already unlocked.

Replaced the $ruby_init and $ruby_relay system task/functions with callbacks.

Excluded internal stuff from the API reference documentation for Ruby.

Removed system-dependent path /usr/bin/ruby from the tools.

Version 12.1.0 released

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 12.1.0 (2006-12-22)

This release adds interactive debugging support, adds new sections to the user manual, and cleanses some internals.

Caution

The lib/ruby-vpi/rspec.rb and lib/ruby-vpi/xx.rb files have been removed because they are no longer necessary.

rSpec 0.7.0 or newer is now required because the sample tests utilize the should == syntax.

New features

Test runners now support the DEBUG environment variable, which enables the interactive debugger (ruby-debug) in post-mortem debugging mode.
- The debugger command can also be used when the DEBUG environment variable is not activated.

Status messages, which are shown during initialization of a Ruby bench, now appear in your simulator’s log files.

Details

ruby-debug is now a gem dependency for Ruby-VPI.

Added documentation about test runners and the interactive debugger in the user manual.

Added a README file with hint about where to find the user manual.

Removed code that wasn’t being used, according to code coverage analysis, from the pipelined ALU sample.

Version 12.0.2 released

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 12.0.2 (2006-12-18)

This release fixes a problem in the 12.0.1 gem, where the generate_test.rb and header_to_ruby.rb tools were not being installed properly.

Version 12.0.1 released

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 12.0.1 (2006-12-18)

This release fixes a problem in code coverage analysis.

Thanks

Mauricio Fernandez helped me solve the problem with code coverage analysis.

Details

Previously, code coverage reports were not providing any useful information because they were being generated before the test had a chance to run. This problem has been fixed—code coverage reports are now generated after the test has finished running.

This problem occurred because I had forgotten that Kernel.at_exit invokes the blocks passed to it in reverse order. So, the coverage report was being generated before Test::Unit had a chance to run (it also uses Kernel.at_exit).

Version 12.0.0 released

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 12.0.0 (2006-12-07)

This release adds support for the test/spec library, fixes some bugs, and improves the user manual and generated tests.

Caution

Icarus Verilog 0.8 has been demoted to a mostly acceptable status.

Generated Verilog benches no longer supply the -w option to the $ruby_init task.

The ruby-vpi/runner_proxy library now invokes test runners
- just before exiting. Thus, you can invoke tasks in the main Rakefile before the test runners are invoked.
- located within any directory that is a descendant of the current working directory.

The SIMULATOR_ARGS parameter of generated runners has been renamed to SIMULATOR_ARGUMENTS for clarity.

The automated test generator
- no longer displays the backup status indicator.
- now supplies a third argument to the MERGER command.
- no longer replaces existing files with newly generated content during the update action. Instead, it now writes the newly generated output to a .new file and then invokes the MERGER command.

Details

The Vpi::Handle class has two new methods: x! and z!, which set the handle’s logic value to unknown and high impedance respectively.

The tests for the simple up-counter example were randomly failing because the specifications were not asserting the design’s reset signal long enough. So the design was getting into weird states and behaving in a non-deterministic way. This problem has been fixed.

The user manual has been revised and some minor issues have been fixed.

Test generation

The automated test generator accepts new command-line options:
- --test-unit
- --test-spec
- --tspec

The automated test generator was crashing when parsing module parameters of an input file which did not have any module parameters. This has been fixed.

Generated Verilog benches now contain simpler clock generation code.

Generated runners now contain
- a :setup task which is invoked before the simulator runs. It can be used to make preprations, such as converting Verilog header files into Ruby, for the simulation.
- better explanations to accomodate new users.

Specifications generated in the generic format no longer contain a class that is instantiated in the generated Ruby bench.

Version 11.1.1 released

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 11.1.1 (2006-11-15)

This release fixes a bug in the automated test generator, unifies the user manual and the website into a single documentation system, and adds support for rSpec 0.7.2.

Thanks

John Burr found the bug in the automated test generator.

Caution

The user manual is now available only in HTML format. If you still wish to have a plain-text version, you can use a text-based browser, such as lynx, to perform the necessary conversion.

Details

The automated test generator no longer crashes when parsing a Verilog module declaration that contains multiple module parameters.

The user manual and the website are now written using a custom documentation system based on RedCloth and ERB instead of DocBook-XML. This makes it easier to edit the user manual and reuse its content in other areas of the website.

Version 11.1.0 released

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 11.1.0 (2006-11-08)

This release fixes a bug in generated benches, improves the the Vpi::Handle class, and improves performance by roughly 20%.

Thanks

Matt Fischler found the bug in generated benches (see below).

Caution

A bug in generated Verilog and Ruby benches, which caused the
```
ruby: no such file to load -- ruby-vpi (LoadError)
```
error, has been fixed. Please regenerate your tests to apply this bug fix to your tests.

Details

The class SWIG::TYPE_p_unsigned_int has been aliased as Vpi::Handle for easier access.

Vpi::Handle.to_s and Vpi::Handle.inspect now produce more informative output. For example, what used to appear as
```
#<SWIG::TYPE_p_unsigned_int:0x2aaab6574fa0>
```
now appears as
```
#<Vpi::Handle vpiModule fullName=counter_rspec_bench, size=-1, file=counter_rspec_bench.v, lineNo=2>
```
in this release.
- You can also provide a list of VPI properties, as names or integer constants, to those methods to see additional information in the output.

Vpi::Handle now implements all methods from Enumerable, such as map, each, select, and so on. However, unlike their counterparts in Enumerable, these methods also accept a list of VPI properties, as names or integer constants. Thus, you are now able to write handle.select(:reg, :net) {|h| h.size > 5} to obtain a list of child handles to registers and nets whose capacity is greater than 5 bits.

The Vpi::Handle.[], Vpi::Handle.get_value, and Vpi::Handle.put_value methods now accept names of VPI properties as well as their integer constants. Thus, you are now able to write handle[:reg, :net] to obtain a list of handles to all child registers and nets.

Vpi::Handle.method_missing has been refactored to cache queries. There is now, approximately, 20% improvement in performance.

Vpi::Handle.method_missing has been fixed to accept operations with multiple underscores. For example, before this release, you could not write handle.find_all_reg {|r| r.name =~ /foo/} because the “find_all_reg” method would be interpreted as the operation “find” and the VPI property “all_reg”.

Vpi::Handle.method_missing no longer requires that the first letter of a method be lower case. For example, now you can now write handle.IntVal in addition to handle.intVal.

The IntegerGenerator class, in the pipelined ALU example, has been fixed so that multiple instances do not interfere with the generation of each other’s prime integers.

Due to a bug in the Rakefile, the reference documentation was not included in the previous few releases. This has been fixed.

Version 11.0.0 released

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 11.0.0 (2006-11-05)

This release shortens generated Ruby benches and uses the less confusing notation for defining singleton methods in generated designs and prototypes.

Caution

The arguments for the RubyVPI.init_bench method have changed.

generate_test.rb no longer emits undocumented status indicators: name and format.

The source code is no longer distributed as a zip package, because it seems to be quite underutilized in comparison to the tgz and gem packages.

Details

Generated Ruby benches have been shortened to just one line of code!

The less confusing notation of

def some_object.a_singleton_method
  do_stuff
end

is now used instead of the

class << some_object
  def a_singleton_method
    do_stuff
  end
end

notation.

The tutorial and examples have been updated accordingly.

The pipelined ALU example now has an updated IntegerGenerator class.

Version 10.0.0 released

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 10.0.0 (2006-11-05)

This release adds the ability to access a handle’s children and reduces the amount of code produced by the automated test generator.

Thanks

Matt Fischler found the problem of misdirected compilation errors in Verilog benches.

Caution

The way in which Ruby-VPI and generated tests interact has changed: the design is now a VPI handle object and the design.rb and proto.rb files define singleton methods for that object.
- I suggest that you regenerate your existing tests (just run generate_test.rb again) whilst employing the service of a text merging tool (see the user manual).

You can now access a handle’s children by simply calling methods on it. In the event that a child handle has the same name as a VPI property, the child is given priority. However, you can always access VPI properties explicitly via the get_value and put_value methods.

generate_test.rb no longer accepts the
```
-s
```
and
```
-u
```
options. Use their longer counterparts
```
--rspec
```
and
```
--xunit
```
instead.

Details

Automated test generator

Generated Verilog benches no longer divert compilation errors from Verilog design files. That is, if the Verilog simulator finds compilation errors in a Verilog design file, it will report that the Verilog design file is at fault (instead of reporting that the generated Verilog bench is at fault).

The user is now notified when a backup of an existing file is made.

Generated tests have been greatly simplified to reduce the amount of work for the user.
- The design is now just a handle to the module in the Verilog bench.
- include Vpi and @design are no longer generated.
- The tutorial and examples have been updated accordingly.

User manual

Revised the stylesheet to make disjoint sections readily distinguishable from each other, through generous spacing and minor coloring.

Added tips about ruby-vpi/runner_proxy,
```
rake -T
```
, and using kdiff3 with generate_test.rb.

Moved installation information into a new “setup” chapter.

Version 9.0.0 released

Sat, 28 Oct 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 9.0.0 (2006-10-28)

This release improves the automated test generator and adds new content to the user manual.

Thanks

Matt Fischler helped test and debug the installation of Ruby-VPI on Windows.

Caution

The command-line options for generate_test.rb have changed. Run the command
```
generate_test.rb --help
```
for details.

Details

Test runners now attempt to resolve paths in SIMULATOR_SOURCES by searching for them within the directories specified in SIMULATOR_INCLUDES.

Synopsys VCS is now used in a better way (via the
```
-load
```
option).
- The old PLI table file (synopsys_vcs.tab) has been removed.
- The C extension has been revised accordingly.

The C extension now compiles without errors in Cygwin.

The automated test generator now:
- Only creates output files when necessary.
- Updates existing output files using text merging tools if possible. (Refer to MERGER in the help information of generate_test.rb.)
- Emits progress information similar to Ruby on Rails.

The user manual now:
- Includes instructions for installing on Windows (via Cygwin).
- Has a recommended software section, with links to text merging tools.
- Uses the term xUnit instead of “unit test”.
- Correctly spells “rSpec”.

Version 8.2.0 released

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 8.2.0 (2006-10-24)

This release simplifies configuration of generated tests.

Thanks

Students in the CMPE-126 class for their comments and criticisms.

Caution

Generated runners now have a SIMULATOR_INCLUDES array, whose entries specify places where Verilog source files, needed by the Verilog design, reside.

Details

Generated Verilog benches now inherit all `include and `define directives from the Verilog design in a simpler manner.
A generated test no longer requires its Verilog design to reside in the same directory.
The sample tests have been updated accordingly.

Version 8.1.0 released

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 8.1.0 (2006-10-21)

This release adds an integer library and renames the vpi_util library.

Caution

The vpi_util library has been renamed to vpi. This change should not affect your code unless you explicitly imported this library via require 'ruby-vpi/vpi_util'. In which case, you should update your code to use require 'ruby-vpi/vpi' accordingly.

Details

An integer library has been added to simplify common tasks related to hardware and the binary number system. You can import this library for use via require 'ruby-vpi/integer'.

Version 8.0.0 released

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 8.0.0 (2006-10-13)

This release renames some identifiers for consistency, updates the documentation, and improves integration with RubyGems.

Caution

The RubyVPI module has been renamed to RubyVpi.

The PROTO environment variable has been renamed to PROTOTYPE.
- In addition to using unset, you can now disable simulation of the prototype by assigning an empty value to this variable.

Details

We now use Darcs for revision control, instead of Subversion. The source repository can now be accessed at http://ruby-vpi.rubyforge.org/src/ruby-vpi.

The source code is now distributed in tar.gz and zip form, in addition to gem.

Some identifiers have been renamed for better consistency.

The user manual now resides directly within the doc/ directory.
- The integration of documentation in gem_server has been improved.

The glossary and tutorial in the user manual have been revised.

Version 7.3.0 released

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 7.3.0 (2006-09-30)

This release fixes a bug in generated Verilog benches, includes parsed constants in generated tests, and adds new methods to handles.

Caution

Handles now have two new methods:
- handle.x? checks if the logic value is “don’t care”
- handle.z? checks if the logic value is high impedance

Details

Module instantiation code in generated Verilog benches has been fixed. Whitespace between the module type and instance variable was missing.

The test generator tool now provides parsed Verilog constants and include-directives in generated Verilog benches; and parsed Verilog constants in generated Ruby designs.
- The pipelined ALU example has been revised accordingly.

A library for parsing Verilog source code has been added as lib/ruby-vpi/verilog_parser.rb.

Version 7.2.0 released

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 7.2.0 (2006-09-15)

This release adds initial support for code coverage analysis via the rcov library.

Thanks

Mauricio Fernandez helped me use rcov without its runner.

Details

Added initial support (full capabilites of the rcov library, such as its various analysis modes, are not yet utilized) for code coverage analysis, which can be enabled by setting the COVERAGE environment variable to a non-empty value before running a test.
- For example, you can run a test with the GPL Cver simulator while enabling the generation of code coverage reports as follows:
```
export COVERAGE=1; rake cver
```

Coverage reports are generated in text and HTML formats.

Version 7.1.0 released

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 7.1.0 (2006-08-29)

This release simplifies running of multiple tests, restores compatibility with Synopsys VCS, and better integrates with RubyGems.

Details

Added lib/ruby-vpi/runner_proxy.rb library which, when embedded into a Rakefile, runs all generated tests in the working directory with any specified arguments. For example, have a look at the samp/counter/Rakefile file.

Fixed a bug that prevented one from running tests with Synopsys VCS.

Ruby-VPI documentation is now available through RubyGems’ gem_server web interface.

The user manual now discusses how to determine the location of a Ruby-VPI installation.

The tpl/ directory has been removed.

Version 7.0.0 released

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 7.0.0 (2006-08-29)

This release distributes Ruby-VPI as a gem, improves portability of generated tests, and fixes a bug.

Caution

put_value() now accomodates register value overflows when verifying the value it has written.

The test generator’s templates and the examples have been updated as follows:
- Test runners no longer have to specify the path to Ruby-VPI installation directory. Instead, they simply require 'ruby-vpi/runner'. Thus, you can run your tests on any machine with Ruby-VPI without having to know where it is installed.
- Ruby benches now invoke RubyVPI.init_bench instead of require 'bench'; setup_bench to become initialized.

All Ruby libraries in the lib/ directory have been moved into lib/ruby-vpi/ to prevent load-path clashes with other gems. You should access these libraries by prefixing their path with “ruby-vpi”. For example, require 'vpi_util' should now be written as require 'ruby-vpi/vpi_util'.

The src/ directory has been renamed to ext/ to follow RubyGems convention.

Details

Ruby-VPI is now distributed only as a source gem. You can decompress the gem without installing it onto your system by running the command
```
gem install -i output_directory ruby-vpi-7.0.0.gem
```
. In addition, you can still obtain the source code directly from the Subversion repository.

The tools in bin/ become available in your system’s bin/ directory when the gem is installed.
- Usage and help information has been added to the header_to_ruby.rb tool.

Incorrect spelling of GPL Cver (v should be uncapitalized) has been fixed.

Incorrect link to GPL Cver website has been fixed.

The user manual has been updated according to all of the above changes.

Version 6.3.0 released

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 6.3.0 (2006-08-27)

This release adds support for the GPL Cver simulator, provides both binary and source packages, and explicitly defines the version numbering system.

Caution

Ruby-VPI now only needs to be built once.
- You can run tests with different Verilog simulators without having to re-compile Ruby-VPI.

Details

The GPL Cver simulator is now supported.

Release packages are now available in both source and binary form.

The RSpec based specifications for the counter example now use the should_equal instead of the should_be assertion, because the latter ensures strict equivalence. For instance, it will fail when a Fixnum is compared to a Bignum.

We now follow the RubyGems project’s rational versioning policy. The version numbers of previous releases have been revised accordingly:

Release date	Original version number	New version number
1999-10-31	0.0	0.0.0
2006-02-26	0.1	1.0.0
2006-04-17	0.2	2.0.0
2006-04-23	0.3	3.0.0
2006-04-28	0.4	3.1.0
2006-05-13	0.5	3.2.0
2006-05-25	0.6	4.0.0
2006-07-22	0.7	5.0.0
2006-07-29	0.8	5.1.0
2006-08-04	0.8.1	5.1.1
2006-08-07	0.9	6.0.0
2006-08-09	0.9.1	6.1.0
2006-08-26	0.9.2	6.2.0

Version 6.2.0 released

Sat, 26 Aug 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 6.2.0 (2006-08-26)

This release beautifies generated tests, adds checks to find signal width bugs, and includes a new tool.

Caution

put_value() now returns the value it puts. Therefore, it is easier to chain together a series of assignments: foo.intVal = bar.intVal = baz.intVal = 10

put_value() now verifies that the value it puts was written correctly. This helps to find bugs regarding invalid assumptions about the number of bits supported by a signal.

Details

The test generator now uses ERB templates which ensures nice indentation of generated output.

The test generator now decouples Ruby-VPI paths from Verilog benches via the RUBYLIB environment variable.

A tool which converts Verilog headers into Ruby has been added.

The source code is now indented with two spaces instead of one tab character.

Version 6.1.0 released

Wed, 09 Aug 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 6.1.0 (2006-08-09)

This release simplifies generated tests and fixes a bug.

Details

The test generator now produces simpler Ruby benches and specifications.
- A template used by generated specifications has been added.
- The counter example and tutorial have also been simplified accordingly.

Boolean VPI property values are now correctly converted into Ruby truth values.

Version 6.0.0 released

Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 6.0.0 (2006-08-07)

This release adds support and documentation for rapid prototyping of Verilog designs in Ruby.

Caution

The directory structure has been reorganized as follows:
- ext → src
- tools → bin
- examples → samp

All template files have been moved into the tpl directory.

Details

Support for prototyping designs in Ruby, before they are implemented in Verilog, has been added.
- The same specification can be used to verify both prototype and design! :-)
- The tutorial in the user manual has been updated to discuss prototyping.
  - Prototypes have been added to the counter example.

The user manual has been revised for consistency.

Version 5.1.1 released

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 5.1.1 (2006-08-04)

This release fixes unreadable syntax coloring in the user manual.

Thanks

Todd Nagengast and Matt Fischler notified me about unreadable text in the user manual.

Details

Source code comments in the user manual are now readable.

The README and HISTORY files have been converted to textile format.

Version 5.1.0 released

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 5.1.0 (2006-07-29)

This release adds a tutorial to the user manual, and improves the tools and examples.

Thanks

Phil Tomson corrected the URL of the RHDL website in the user manual.

Details

User manual

A tutorial, based on the counter example, has been added to the user manual.

The user manual’s appearance has been dramatically improved with syntax coloring for source code, and graphics for admonitions and navigation.

Examples

A specification, expressed in unit test format, has been added to the counter example.

The
```
--name
```
and
```
-n
```
options, which lets you specify an identifier for a generated test, have been added to the generate_test.rb tool.

Running
```
rake clobber
```
in an example directory no longer destroys documentation in the Ruby-VPI directory.

The examples’ Rakefiles now invoke all tests present in the directory via the launcher_template.rake template.

The Rake template for test runners (generated by tools/generate_test.rb) has moved from examples/template.rake to examples/runner_template.rake.

VPI utility layer

The value of a handle’s boolean VPI property is treated as false if it is zero, because zero is false in the C language.

Version 5.0.0 released

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 5.0.0 (2006-07-22)

This release enhances the VPI utility layer and adds new content to the user manual.

Thanks

Jan Decaluwe corrected the description of MyHDL in the user manual.

Caution

SWIG is no longer required for users because its output is included in the release package.

The handle.value and handle.value= methods have been removed.

Details

The VPI utility layer provides access to VPI properties of handles in a simpler, more powerful way.

All VPI properties, except delay values, are now accessible from a handle.

The user manual has been revised and new content in the organization and usage sections has been added.

This release was tested and developed using:
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Icarus Verilog 0.8 on i686 GNU/Linux
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Mentor Modelsim 6.1d on x86_64 GNU/Linux

Version 4.0.0 released

Thu, 25 May 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 4.0.0 (2006-05-25)

This release adds a comprehensive user manual, upgrades from make to Rake, and improves the test generation tool.

Thanks

Jose Renau solved the problem of strange delays that occurred whenever a design was reset.

Caution

Rake has replaced the role of make. All makefiles have been converted accordingly.

The test generation tool now generates multiple files (runner, bench, design, spec) and makes backups of existing files. See its help information for details.

Details

A comprehensive user manual, written in DocBook-XML, has been added.

Support for RSpec 0.5.4 has been added.
- The counter example now makes use of RSpec.

This release was tested and developed using:
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Icarus Verilog 0.8 on i686 GNU/Linux
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Mentor Modelsim 6.1d on x86_64 GNU/Linux

Version 3.2.0 released

Sat, 13 May 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 3.2.0 (2006-05-13)

This release adds a tool which generates test benches, and adds support for Behavior Driven Development via the RSpec library.

Thanks

Scott L Holmes helped me use the RSpec library without its runner program.

Details

A tool, which generates most of a Ruby-VPI test bench from a Verilog 2001 module declaration, has been added.

Ability to use RSpec in a test bench has been added.

Ability to specify arbitrary command-line arguments to Verilog simulators has been added in the examples’ makefile template.

This release was tested and developed using:
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Icarus Verilog 0.8 on i686 GNU/Linux
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Mentor Modelsim 6.1d on x86_64 GNU/Linux

Version 3.1.0 released

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 3.1.0 (2006-04-28)

This release adds simple ways of reading and writing values to VPI handles, adds documentation for the VPI utility layer, and fixes the pipelined ALU example.

Caution

The msim Makefile target for Mentor Modelsim has been renamed back to vsim.

Details

Simple, consistent ways of reading and writing values to handles have been added to the VPI utility layer. These ways are described in the SWIG::TYPE_p_unsigned_int class’ documentation.

The makefiles now use the rbconfig library to determine the default compiler and linker flags for Ruby.

A race condition in the pipelined ALU example has been fixed. This example should now run successfully in all Verilog simulators.

The project wiki has been abandoned in favor of RDoc.

The project website is now generated by RDoc.

This release was tested and developed using:
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Icarus Verilog 0.8 on i686 GNU/Linux
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Mentor Modelsim 6.1d on x86_64 GNU/Linux

Version 3.0.0 released

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 3.0.0 (2006-04-23)

This release adds support for the entire IEEE Std. 1364-2005 VPI interface, and updates the examples into unit tests.

Thanks

The SWIG developers made this project much easier! ;-)

Caution

The vsim Makefile target for Mentor Modelsim has been renamed to msim.

Details

The Ruby interface to VPI is now generated by SWIG.
- The main VPI module has been renamed to Vpi.
- The VPI::Handle class has been removed.
- The VPI::stop, VPI::finish, and VPI::reset methods have been removed.

The final ballot version of the vpi_user.h header file is now packaged along with and used by Ruby-VPI.

The VPI module, its sub-classes, and its functionality have been replaced by the VPI utility layer (see src/vpi_util.rb).

The examples now make use of the test/unit unit testing framework.

The makefiles for the examples have been simplified through the use of a common template.

This release was tested and developed using:
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Icarus Verilog 0.8 on i686 GNU/Linux
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Mentor Modelsim 6.1d on x86_64 GNU/Linux

Version 2.0.0 released

Mon, 17 Apr 2006 00:00:00 PDT

Version 2.0.0 (2006-04-17)

This release fixes major bugs, adds support for Mentor Modelsim, and removes the $ruby_task callback.

Thanks

Nobu Nakada explained the cross-thread violation on rb_gc() error.

Caution

Removed $ruby_task callback and ability to dynamically register system tasks from Ruby because inter-process communication is complicated at present.

Details

The “cross-thread violation on rb_gc()” error has been fixed.
- The “stack level too deep (SystemStackError)” error has been fixed.
- The test/unit library can be used in Ruby test bench.
- Mentor Modelsim Verilog simulator works with Ruby-VPI.

Added piplelined ALU example.

This release was tested and developed using:
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Icarus Verilog 0.8 on i686 GNU/Linux
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Modelsim 6.1d on x86_64 GNU/Linux
- Ruby 1.8.4 and Synopsys VCS-MX X-2005.06-SP1 on SPARC4 SunOS 5.10

Version 1.0.0 released

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 00:00:00 PST

Version 1.0.0 (2006-02-26)

This release adds enough Verilog VPI functionality to make Ruby-VPI usable for simple test benches:

access Verilog objects through VPI handles
read and change VPI handle values
stop, finish, restart the simulation

Thanks

Jose Renau helped me debug how Synopsys VCS works with Verilog VPI. The problem was that VCS required calltf signatures to be void (*)(void), whereas the Verilog standard defines a calltf signature as PLI_INT32 (*)(PLI_BYTE8*).

Ross Bamford, Eric Hodel, and Yukihiro Matsumoto helped me discover why the SystemStackError was happening.

Details

Implemented some Verilog VPI functionality:
- VPI::handle_by_name(string, VPI::Handle) → VPI::Handle
- VPI::handle_by_name(string) → VPI::Handle
- VPI::Handle.put_value(integer)
- VPI::Handle.value = integer
- VPI::Handle.get_value → integer
- VPI::Handle.value → integer
- VPI::stop
- VPI::finish
- VPI::reset

Implemented some additional functionality:
- VPI::register_task(string, &proc)

Added ability to pass arbitrary command-line arguments to the Ruby interpreter (using $ruby_init). Now you can invoke any Ruby script you want, instead of pli_init.rb.

Added ability to dynamically register system tasks from Ruby, using VPI::register_task("task name"), and call them from Verilog, using $ruby_task("task name").

Added VPI::Handle class which encapsulates a vpiHandle VPI object.

This release was tested and developed using:
- Ruby 1.8.2 and Icarus Verilog 0.8 on i686 GNU/Linux
- Ruby 1.8.4, Synopsys VCS X-2005.06, and Mentor Modelsim 6.1b on i686 GNU/Linux

Version 0.0.0 released

Sun, 31 Oct 1999 00:00:00 PDT

Version 0.0.0 (1999-10-31)

This is Kazuhiro HIWADA’s initial testing release of Ruby-VPI. See its original announcement and source code.

Details

Added ability to relay control from Verilog test bench to Ruby (using $ruby_callback) and vice versa (using PLI::relay_Verilog).

Tested and developed using Ruby 1.4 and Verilog-XL from Cadence systems, on a SPARC machine running Solaris 2.6.