Creating interfaces for importation of modules into a circuit design

• US 8,146,027 B1
• Filed: 05/07/2009
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xilinx, Inc. (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Xilinx, Inc. (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
• Inventors: Leishman, Scott, Sinclair, Martin, Lindop, Nathan A., Cotter, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Kik, Phallaka
• Application Number:
  US12/437,523
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 716/102, 716/103, 716/104, 716/132, 703/15
• US Class Current: 716/102
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2115/08 Intellectual property [IP] blocks or IP cores
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/30 Circuit design

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of incorporating a module within a circuit design can include, responsive to identifying the module to be imported into the circuit design, automatically identifying each port of the module, displaying a list of the ports of the module, and receiving a user input selecting a plurality of ports of the module for inclusion in an interface through which the module communicates with the circuit design. Responsive to a user input specifying an interface type, the interface type can be associated with the plurality of ports. The interface type can be associated with a port list including standardized ports. Individual ones of the plurality of ports can be automatically matched with standardized ports from the port list. A programmatic interface description specifying the interface for the module can be output.

Claims

1. A method of incorporating a module within a circuit design, the method comprising:

responsive to identifying the module to be imported into the circuit design, automatically identifying each port of the module and displaying a list of the ports of the module;

receiving a user input selecting a plurality of ports of the module for inclusion in an interface through which the module communicates with the circuit design;

responsive to a user input specifying an interface type, associating the interface type with the plurality of ports, wherein the interface type is associated with a port list comprising standardized ports;

automatically matching individual ones of the plurality of ports with standardized ports from the port list using a processor;

distinguishing between mandatory standardized ports and optional standardized ports on the port list;

determining whether each mandatory standardized port of the port list is matched with a port from the plurality of ports; and

indicating whether any mandatory standardized port is not matched with a port from the plurality of ports.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to a user input specifying an interface standard, associating the interface standard with the plurality of ports, wherein the port list is also selected according to the interface standard, wherein the programmatic interface description comprises the interface standard.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically matching comprises matching strings found within names of ports of the plurality of ports with strings found within names of the standardized ports of the port list.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically matching comprises matching ports of the plurality of ports to standardized ports of the port list according to bit width.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically matching comprises matching ports of the plurality of ports to standardized ports of the port list according to directionality.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically matching comprises matching ports of the plurality of ports to standardized ports of the port list according to latency.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting a programmatic interface description specifying the interface for the module, wherein the programmatic interface description comprises the interface type and a mapping of the plurality of ports with standardized ports from the port list.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a logical association of the interface of the module with a complementary interface of the circuit design.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ports selected by the user input are a subset of the ports on the list of ports of the module displayed.

10. A method of incorporating a module within a circuit design, the method comprising:

responsive to identifying the module to be imported into the circuit design, automatically identifying each port of a plurality of ports of the module;

identifying at least one property of each port of the module;

automatically assigning ports of the module, according to the at least one property of each port, into at least one group, wherein each group represents an interface, wherein each group is a subset of the plurality of ports of the module;

for each group, automatically matching ports with standardized ports according to the at least one property of each port using a processor;

distinguishing between mandatory standardized ports and optional standardized ports on a port list of standardized ports; and

determining whether each mandatory standardized port of the port list is matched with a port from the plurality of ports.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein automatically matching comprises matching strings found within names of the ports of the module with strings found within names of the standardized ports.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein automatically matching comprises matching ports of the module to standardized ports according to bit width.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein automatically matching comprises matching ports of the module to standardized ports according to directionality.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein each standardized port is associated with at least one of an interface type or an interface standard, the method comprising, for each group corresponding to an interface, automatically determining an interface type or an interface standard for the group according to the interface type or the interface standard of each standardized port matched with a port of the group.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

indicating whether any mandatory standardized port from the port list is not matched with a port of the at least one group.

16. A computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-usable medium comprising computer-usable program code that, when executed by a computer, incorporates a module within a circuit design, the computer-usable medium comprising;

computer-usable program code that responsive to identifying the module to be imported into the circuit design, automatically identifies each port of the module and displays a list of the ports of the module;

computer-usable program code that receives a user input selecting a plurality of ports of the module defining an interface through which the module communicates with the circuit design;

computer-usable program code that, responsive to a user input specifying an interface type, associates the interface type with the interface, wherein the interface type is associated with a port list comprising standardized ports;

computer-usable program code that automatically matches individual ones of the plurality of ports of the interface with standardized ports from the port list;

computer-usable program code that distinguishes between mandatory standardized ports and optional standardized ports on the port list;

computer-usable program code that determines whether each mandatory standardized port of the port list is matched with a port from the plurality of ports; and

computer-usable program code that indicates whether any mandatory standardized port is not matched with a port from the plurality of ports.

17. The computer-program product of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable medium further comprises computer-usable program code that, responsive to a user input specifying an interface standard, associates the interface standard with the plurality of ports, wherein the port list is also selected according to the interface standard, wherein the programmatic interface description comprises the interface standard.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer-usable program code that automatically matches comprises computer-usable program code that matches strings found within names of ports of the plurality of ports with strings found within names of the standardized ports of the port list.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer-usable program code that automatically matches comprises computer-usable program code that matches ports of the plurality of ports to standardized ports of the port list according to at least one of bit width or directionality.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer-usable medium further comprises:

computer-usable program code that outputs an interface description specifying the interface for the module, wherein the interface description comprises the interface type and a mapping of the plurality of ports of the interface with standardized ports from the port list.