Generation of tests used in simulating an electronic circuit design

• US 7,458,043 B1
• Filed: 09/15/2005
• Issued: 11/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Inventors: Wise, Ashley K., Cischke, Christopher M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Whitmore; Stacy A
• Application Number:
  US11/227,548
• Time in Patent Office: 1,167 Days
• Field of Search: 716/1, 716/3, 716/18, 716/19, 703/22, 717/104, 717/106, 717/122, 717/124, 717/135, 717/136
• US Class Current: 716/106
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318357 Simulation computer simulation of digital circuits G06F30/3308
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/261 by simulating additional hardware, e.g. fault simulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/263 Generation of test inputs, e.g. test vectors, patterns or sequences ; with adaptation of the tested hardware for testability with external testers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/33 Design verification, e.g. functional simulation or model checking

Abstract

Various approaches for generating input data for simulating a circuit design are disclosed. In one approach, a test generator program is generated from a main program that uses a test generator class library. The test generator class library includes a software driver class corresponding to the hardware driver, and the software driver class includes a storage class corresponding to each memory within the hardware driver, a first set including at least one method for writing function codes to a first object of the storage class, and a second set including at least one method for writing data to a second object of the storage class. Function codes are written to the first object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the first set. Data of a first type is written to the second object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the second set, wherein the data of the first type is data to be provided by the driver as input to the simulated circuit design.

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method for generating input data to a hardware driver that drives inputs of a simulated electronic circuit design, comprising:

generating a test generator program from a main program that uses a test generator class library, wherein the test generator class library includes a software driver class corresponding to the hardware driver, and the software driver class includes a storage class corresponding to each memory within the hardware driver, a first set including at least one method for writing function codes to a first object of the storage class, and a second set including at least one method for writing data to a second object of the storage class;

writing function codes to the first object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the first set, wherein a function code is decodable by the hardware driver and designates an operation for performance by the driver; and

writing data of a first type to the second object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the second set, wherein the data of the first type is data provided by the driver as input to the simulated circuit design.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising writing data of a second type to a third object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the second set, wherein data of the second type is mask data for masking data received by the hardware driver from the simulated electronic circuit design.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising writing data of a third type to a fourth object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the second set, wherein data of the third type is data for comparison to data received by the hardware driver from the simulated electronic circuit design.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising for each call to a method in the second set for writing data of the second type to the third object of the storage class, writing an index value in the fourth object of the storage class, wherein the index value references mask data in the third object of the storage class.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

writing a first set of data of a third type to a fourth object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the second set, wherein the first set of data of the third type is data for comparison provided to the hardware driver from a first component of the simulated electronic circuit design; and

writing a second set of data of the third type to a fifth object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the second set, wherein the second set of data of the third type is data for comparison provided to the hardware driver from a second component of the simulated electronic circuit design.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising writing data of the third type to a fourth object of the storage class in response to a call by the test generator program to a method in the second set, wherein data of the third type is data for comparison to data received by the hardware driver from the simulated electronic circuit design.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising for each call to a method in the second set for writing data of the second type to the third object of the storage class, writing an index value in the fourth object of the storage class, wherein the index value references mask data in the third object of the storage class.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first object of the storage class is accessible by address, and the function codes include a jump function code that directs the hardware driver to read a function code at an address of the first object.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

adding to a first database a label name and associated address in the first object of the storage class, in response to a call by the test generator program to a label method of the software driver class, wherein the call to the label method specifies the label name; and

writing to the first object of the storage class a first jump function code in combination with an address associated with a first label name in the first database in response to a first call by the test generator program to a jump method of the software driver class, wherein the first call to the jump method specifies the first label name.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

in response to a second call by the test generator program to the jump method, wherein the second call to the jump method specifies a second label name that is not in the first database, adding to a second database the second label name and an associated address of a second jump function code in the first object of the storage class, and writing the second jump function code to the first object of the storage class; and

in response to a call by the test generator program that specifies the second label to the label method, writing an address of the second label in the first object of the storage class in combination with the second jump function code, to the first object of the storage class at the address associated with the second label name in the second database.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the data stored in the first and second objects of the storage class are integers of arbitrary length.

12. A system for generating input data to a hardware driver that drives inputs of a simulated electronic circuit design, comprising:

means for translating a programmatic specification of functions for performance by the hardware driver into function codes input to the hardware driver;

means for translating a programmatic specification of input data for the hardware driver into a first format recognized by the hardware driver;

means for translating a programmatic specification of mask values into a second format recognized by the hardware driver;

means for storing the function codes;

means for storing the input data of the first format; and

means for storing the mask values in the second format.