Method and apparatus for automatically cross-referencing graphical objects and HDL statements

• US 6,289,489 B1
• Filed: 02/23/1999
• Issued: 09/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mentor Graphics Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Mentor Graphics Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Stewart, James, Reynolds, Michael J., Dane, Mark W. P., Bold, Stephen L., Paraskeva, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, TRONG Q
• Application Number:
  US09/256,329
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 716/1, 716/18, 716/19
• US Class Current: 716/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/30 Circuit design

Abstract

The present invention beneficially provides a method and apparatus for cross-referencing graphical objects and hardware description language (HDL) statements. According to one aspect of the present invention, a cross-referencing record is automatically generated to map graphical objects to corresponding HDL statements. According to a second aspect of the invention, a request is received to cross-reference a HDL statement and a graphical object. Based on the request, the cross-referencing record is accessed to identify a target of the request.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a hardware description language (HDL) graphics view of a first design unit, said HDL graphics view comprising a plurality of graphical objects; and

automatically generating a cross-referencing record to map the plurality of graphical objects to a corresponding plurality of HDL statements, said plurality of HDL statements comprising a HDL text view of the first design unit.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically generating the cross-referencing record comprises:

creating a cross-referencing file, said cross-referencing file to cross reference the plurality of graphical objects and the plurality of HDL statements; and

accessing a library mapping file to map the HDL graphics view to the HDL text view.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the cross-referencing file comprises a plurality of entries comprising a unique identifier for a particular graphical object within the HDL graphics view and a set of at least one line number for HDL statements, corresponding to the particular graphical object, within the HDL text view.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically generating the cross-referencing record is performed while the HDL text view is generated based on the HDL graphics view.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the HDL graphics view comprises:

receiving a library name, a design unit name, and a view name for the HDL graphics view;

accessing the HDL graphics view based on the library name, design unit name, and view name; and

retrieving a unique identifier for each of the plurality of graphical objects.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein automatically generating the cross-referencing record comprises:

identifying a set of at least one line number of HDL statements generated based on each of the plurality of graphical objects; and

recording entries for each unique identifier and corresponding set of at least one line number.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically generating the cross-referencing record is performed while the HDL graphics view is generated based on the HDL text view.

8. A method comprising:

receiving a request to cross reference a hardware description language (HDL) statement in a HDL text view of a first design unit and a graphical object in a HDL graphics view of the first design unit;

accessing a cross-referencing record based on the request; and

identifying a target of the request based on the accessing.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the request comprises one of:

a pathname for the HDL text view and a line number for the HDL statement; and

a library, design unit, and view name for the HDL graphics view and a unique identifier for the graphical object.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the request is based on one of a selection of the HDL statement in a text editor, a selection of the graphical object in a graphics editor, and a message received from one of a HDL generator, a synthesis unit, a simulation unit, and a co-verification unit.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein accessing the cross-referencing record comprises:

accessing a library mapping file;

locating a cross-referencing file for the HDL graphics view and the HDL text view using at least one of the library mapping file and a pathname for the HDL text view or a library, design unit, and view name for the HDL graphics view indicated by the request; and

scanning the cross-referencing file for an entry containing a unique identifier of the graphical object or a line number of the HDL statement indicated by the request.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein identifying the target of the request comprises:

retrieving from the entry a target line number or a target unique identifier corresponding to the unique identifier or the line number indicated by the request; and

retrieving a target pathname or a target library, design unit, and view based on the library mapping file.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

activating an appropriate editor;

displaying the identified target in the appropriate editor; and

designating the identified target in the appropriate editor.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein designating the identified target comprises at least one of:

highlighting the identified target;

centering the identified target; and

zooming in on the identified target.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a storage unit to store a hardware description language (HDL) graphics view of a first design unit, said HDL graphics view comprising a plurality of graphical objects; and

a generation unit, to receive the HDL graphics view and generate a cross-referencing record to map the plurality of graphical objects to a corresponding plurality of HDL statements, said plurality of HDL statements comprising a HDL text view of the first design unit.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 the cross-referencing record comprises:

a cross-referencing file to cross reference the plurality of graphical object and the plurality of HDL statements; and

a library mapping file to map the HDL graphical view to the HDL text view.

17. A cross-referencing apparatus comprising:

first circuitry to receive a request to cross reference a hardware description language (HDL) statement in a HDL text view of a first design unit and a graphical object in a HDL graphics view of the first design unit;

second circuitry to access a cross-referencing record based on the request; and

third circuitry to identify a target of the request based on the cross-referencing record.

18. The cross-referencing apparatus of claim 17 further comprising:

fourth circuitry to activate an appropriate editor;

fifth circuitry to display the identified target in the appropriate editor; and

sixth circuitry to designate the identified target in the appropriate editor.

19. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon machine executable instruction, execution of said machine executable instructions to implement a method comprising:

receiving a hardware description language (HDL) graphics view of a first design unit, said HDL graphics view comprising a plurality of graphical objects; and

automatically generating a cross-referencing record to map the plurality of graphical objects to a corresponding plurality of HDL statements, said plurality of HDL statements comprising a HDL text view of the first design unit.

20. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon machine executable instruction, execution of said machine executable instructions to implement a method comprising:

receiving a request to cross reference a hardware description language (HDL) statement in a HDL text view of a first design unit and a graphical object in a HDL graphics view of the first design unit;

accessing a cross-referencing record based on the request; and

identifying a target of the request based on the accessing.