SimVision User Guide

Product Version 8.2 November 2008 June 2009

 20062008 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Portions Regents of the University of California, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Scriptics Corporation. Used by permission. Printed in the United States of America. Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (Cadence), 2655 Seely Ave., San Jose, CA 95134, USA. Product SimVision contains technology licensed from, and copyrighted by: Regents of the University of California, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Scriptics Corporation, and other parties and is 1989-1994 Regents of the University of California, 1984, the Australian National University, 1990-1999 Scriptics Corporation, and other parties. All rights reserved. Open SystemC, Open SystemC Initiative, OSCI, SystemC, and SystemC Initiative are trademarks or registered trademarks of Open SystemC Initiative, Inc. in the United States and other countries and are used with permission. STC, copyright 1994 Hewlett-Packard Company. ZLIB, copyright 1998-2002 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler. Trademarks: Trademarks and service marks of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. contained in this document are attributed to Cadence with the appropriate symbol. For queries regarding Cadences trademarks, contact the corporate legal department at the address shown above or call 800.862.4522. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Restricted Permission: This publication is protected by copyright law and international treaties and contains trade secrets and proprietary information owned by Cadence. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this publication, or any portion of it, may result in civil and criminal penalties. Except as specied in this permission statement, this publication may not be copied, reproduced, modied, published, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way, without prior written permission from Cadence. Unless otherwise agreed to by Cadence in writing, this statement grants Cadence customers permission to print one (1) hard copy of this publication subject to the following conditions: 1. The publication may be used only in accordance with a written agreement between Cadence and its customer. 2. The publication may not be modied in any way. 3. Any authorized copy of the publication or portion thereof must include all original copyright, trademark, and other proprietary notices and this permission statement. 4. The information contained in this document cannot be used in the development of like products or software, whether for internal or external use, and shall not be used for the benet of any other party, whether or not for consideration. Patents: Cadence products described in this document, are protected by U.S. Patents 5,095,454; 5,418,931; 5,606,698; 6,487,704; 7,039,887; 7,055,116; 5,838,949; 6,263,301; 6,163,763; and 6,301,578. Disclaimer: Information in this publication is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Cadence. Except as may be explicitly set forth in such agreement, Cadence does not make, and expressly disclaims, any representations or warranties as to the completeness, accuracy or usefulness of the information contained in this document. Cadence does not warrant that use of such information will not infringe any third party rights, nor does Cadence assume any liability for damages or costs of any kind that may result from use of such information. Restricted Rights: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in FAR52.227-14 and DFAR252.227-7013 et seq. or its successor.

SimVision User Guide

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Related Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 About Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Using SimVision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opening and Closing Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iconifying and Activating Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tiling Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renaming Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Console Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Sidebar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Time in the SimVision Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Simulation Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting and Deselecting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Pop-Up Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Objects to a Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Keyboard Shortcuts and Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the SimVision Command Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aborting a SimVision Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 23 23 24 25 25 25 27 28 30 31 32 32 33 33 34 34 34

2 Invoking SimVision

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Preparing Your Design for Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Invoking the Simulator with SimVision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

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Disconnecting and Terminating the Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disconnecting from a Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terminating and Disconnecting from a Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terminating and Post-Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Invoking SimVision Separately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecting to a Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opening a Simulation Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Invoking SimVision in Post-Processing Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Making Simulation Processes Secure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

42 42 43 43 44 47 48 50 51

3 Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment . . . . . . . . . 53

The Simulator and SimVision Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Automatic Save and Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saving and Restoring a Command Script for Simulator Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saving and Restoring a Command Script for Post-Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Examining the Contents of a Command Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Simulator Command Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The SimVision Command Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Executing SimVision Commands at Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 54 56 57 59 60 60 61

4 Accessing the Design Source Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Opening a Source Browser Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Navigating the Design Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opening a File in the Source Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting Text in the Source Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Searching a Source File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accessing Design Objects and Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying dene Macros in the Source Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Performing Functions on Design Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Breakpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Running the Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing the Call Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Finding the Cause of a Signal Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Using Bookmarks in the Source Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Editing a Source File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

5 Accessing Design Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Using the Design Browser Sidebar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting a Design Hierarchy to View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the Root of the Scope View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Expanding and Collapsing a Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Locking and Unlocking a Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Filtering the Scope View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Searching for Scopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting Scopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying Objects in Selected Scopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Scope View Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Signal List Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Design Search Sidebar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Searching for Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying the Search Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 85 86 86 87 87 88 89 89 90 91 92 93 95

6 Monitoring Signal Values

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Opening a Design Browser Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Displaying Signals and Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Sorting the Signal List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Choosing the Format of Signal Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Choosing the Radix for Signal Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Justifying the Signal Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Filtering Signals in the Signal List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Viewing Aggregate Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Expanding and Collapsing Aggregates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Splitting a Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Creating a Scrollable Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Making the Design Browser Window Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
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Using Bookmarks in the Design Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Setting Design Browser Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

7 Managing Simulation Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Creating an SST2 Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Database with the Incisive simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Database with Verilog-XL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opening an SST2 Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Converting a Database to SST2 Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exporting a Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Batch Database Translation Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . simvisdbutil Command Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Generating a Database That Contains a Range of Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Generating a Database for a Specic Set of Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reloading a Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renaming a Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying Information about Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying Information about Databases Created during Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying Information about Databases Loaded into SimVision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Closing a Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 111 112 113 113 115 117 117 120 120 121 121 121 121 122 123

8 Creating and Managing Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Setting a Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Probe with the Incisive Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Probe with Verilog-XL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Probes in the Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 125 126 127

9 Setting and Managing Breakpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Setting a Time Breakpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Setting a Time Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Setting a Time Breakpoint with Verilog-XL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

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Setting a Line Breakpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Line Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Line Breakpoint with Verilog-XL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Signal Breakpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Signal Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Signal Breakpoint with Verilog-XL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Condition Breakpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Process Breakpoint for VHDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting a Subprogram Breakpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Breakpoint Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Breakpoints in the Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

132 133 133 133 134 134 135 136 136 137 138

10 Changing and Monitoring the Value of an Object during Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Forcing and Releasing a Signal Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Depositing a Signal Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating, Replacing, and Deleting a VHDL Run-Time Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring Signal Value Changes in Verilog-XL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 141 143 143

11 Controlling the Simulation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 145 147 147 148 148 149 149 150 150

Running the Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Resetting the Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reinvoking the Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saving and Restarting a Simulation Checkpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saving a Simulation Checkpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Restarting during the Same Simulation Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Restarting from a New Simulator Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating and Deleting an Alias in the Incisive Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Variables in the Incisive Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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12 Debugging at the Delta Cycle Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

How a Delta Cycle Executes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opening the Simulation Cycle Debugger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Running the Simulation at the Delta Cycle Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing the Source Code for an Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Printing and Saving the Simulation Cycle Debugger Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 155 157 157 157

13 Debugging API Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Preparing to Debug an API Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Native-Mode GDB Debugger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting GDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing Source Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Breakpoints in the API Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Watchpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Passing Control between the Simulator and GDB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing the SystemC/C++/C Call Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing API Function Parameters and Local Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Handling Signals When Debugging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 160 161 162 162 164 164 165 166 167

14 Viewing a Design Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Opening a Schematic Tracer Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Objects to the Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Details of a Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting Objects in the Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Removing Scopes from the Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Color in the Schematic Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying Signal Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying Signal Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the Radix of Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zooming the Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Panner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 170 170 171 172 172 172 173 174 174 175

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Searching for Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing Paths with the Schematic Tracer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing Paths from Point to Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing the Path between Two Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing a Path between a Pin and a Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing the Path between a Pin and a Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Bookmarks in the Schematic Tracer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Printing and Saving the Schematic Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

175 176 177 178 178 179 180 181

15 Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements . . . . . . . . 183

Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SystemVerilog Interfaces and Modports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abstracted RTL Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gate Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Cell Map File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Format of a Cell Map File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Cell Map Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Translating a Liberty File into Cell Map File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing Mapped Cells in the Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Handling Errors in the Cell Map File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Updating a Cell Map File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 184 185 186 188 188 189 189 192 193 194 195 196

16 Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Accessing the Trace Signals Sidebar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing the Loading Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing the Driving Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing Active Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing X Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing an X Value with the Trace Signal Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracing an X Value with the Trace X Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shifting Time in the Trace Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Sending Signals to the Containing Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Using the Trace Signals Sidebar with the Schematic Tracer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 Performing Functions on Objects in the Sidebar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

17 Displaying Waveforms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Opening a Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Signal List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Waveform Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maximizing the Waveform Viewing Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Default Waveform Shapes and Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Signals to the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Probing Signals in the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Contributing Signals to the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying Aggregate Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Expanding and Collapsing Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Splitting a Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Scrollable Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting the Format of Signal Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing a Signal Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the Radix of Signal Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Mnemonic Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Mnemonic Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applying a Mnemonic Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using a Mnemonic Map to Display Booleans as Logic Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Comments to the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rearranging Objects in the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Removing Objects from the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zooming the Waveform Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zooming with the Scroll Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zooming with the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zooming with Toolbar Buttons and View Menu Choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Searching the Signal List and Waveform Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time-Shifting Waveform Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dening and Displaying a Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 210 211 211 212 213 213 214 214 215 215 216 216 217 218 218 219 220 220 221 222 223 223 223 224 225 226 228 228

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Turning the Grid On and Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Dening the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 Saving and Printing Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

18 Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Working with Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Group in the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Group in the Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating Copies and Instances of Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Splitting and Deleting a Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Performing Other Operations on Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Bus from Selected Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Bus from an Array Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Naming a Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Splitting a Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Moving a Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deleting a Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Working with Conditions and Virtual Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding an Expression to the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Searching for an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editing an Expression in the Expression Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accessing an Expression in the Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Comparing Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 231 232 233 234 234 235 235 235 236 236 237 237 237 238 240 240 241 241 242

19 Managing Time in the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Using Cursors and the Baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Synchronizing the Primary Cursor with the Simulation or Database . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing a Cursor Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 245 246 246

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Choosing a Primary Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the Location of a Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tracking Signal Changes with the Primary Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finding a Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Linking a Waveform Window to a Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Name of a Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Location of a Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Color of a Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finding a Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Linking a Waveform Window to a Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Locking and Unlocking a Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Measuring Time in the Cursor Delta Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Time Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saving a Time Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Linking Waveform Windows to a Time Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Time Ranges in the Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing Events in Sequence Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

246 246 247 248 248 249 249 249 250 250 251 251 251 252 253 253 254 254 255

20 Debugging Memories

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 260 261 262 262 263 263 263 264 264 264 265 265 265

Opening a Memory Viewer Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Memories to the Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Color Coding Memory Value Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing a Range of Memory Cells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Order of Memory Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Radix of Addresses and Cell Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Number of Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Searching for a Value in Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Going to a Memory Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing a Memory during Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Probing Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Breakpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the Value of a Memory Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Saving and Restoring a Memory State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Printing a Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

21 Viewing Analog Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Displaying Analog Signals in the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying Real Values with Full Precision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying wrealXState and wrealZState Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating an Overlay Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Bus with Analog Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Colors of Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Format of the Waveform Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Displaying a Y-Axis Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Reference Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 272 272 273 274 275 275 276 277 277

22 Viewing Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Viewing Transaction Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finding Streams using the Design Search Sidebar Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finding Streams in the Design Browser Signal List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing Transaction Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing Error Information in the Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing Overlapping Transactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Stacking Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Filtering Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing Transactions with a Given Attribute or Attribute Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Expanding Streams by Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Filtering a Stream Based on a Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The streamoverlay Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The format, match, and rematch Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Transaction Explorer Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 280 280 281 282 283 284 284 286 286 287 288 290 290 293

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23 Creating Custom Views of Simulation Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Opening a Register Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Register Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Target Icon in Register Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding Objects to a Register Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display Format of Signals and Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Radix of a Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shifting a Signal in Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Annotating Register Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the Appearance of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Grouping and Ungrouping Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Navigating through Simulation Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Printing and Saving Register Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 296 297 297 298 298 298 299 300 301 301 302

24 Measuring Signal Values

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 303 304 305 305 306 306

Opening a Measurement Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the Location of the Cursors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Moving Rows and Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sorting the Contents of the Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting Rise/Fall Time Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saving Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 Setting Preferences

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 308 309 310 310 311 311 312 313

General Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Signal Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VHDL Signal Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Verilog Signal Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Verilog AMS Signal Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Toolnet Cross-Probing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simulation Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Waveform Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Waveform Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analog Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Waveform Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Design Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scope View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Signal List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Browser Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Browser Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Measurement Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schematic Tracer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schematic Tracer Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Memory Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Memory Viewer Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Simulation Cycle Debug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transaction Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

313 315 315 316 316 317 318 318 319 320 320 321 322 323 323 324 324

26 Customizing Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Adding and Removing Toolbars and Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating a Custom Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding a Custom Toolbar to Other Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Writing a Window-Independent Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modifying Custom Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 326 329 329 330

Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

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Preface
The SimVision analysis environment provides debugging features for simulation and formal analysis. It provides graphical control of the Incisive Unied Simulator, Verilog-XL, and Incisive Formal Verier. SimVision includes the following components:
s s s s s s s s s s s s s s

Properties window Design Browser Waveform window Source Browser Schematic Tracer Register window Expression Calculator Measurement window Assertion Browser Memory Viewer Simulation Cycle Debugger API Debugger Console window SimCompare Manager window

The SimVision analysis environment also includes these associated tools:

s

SimCompare, for strobed or ltered comparison between two simulation waveform databases. NCLaunch, for compiling designs and specifying simulation invocation options.
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s

NCBrowse, for sorting and ltering messages from the simulator tools.

Related Documents
For more information about SimVision:
s

Incisive Simulator Tutorial with SimVision This document describes how to use the NC Launch and SimVision to simulate and debug a mixed-language design.

SimVision Command Reference This document describes how to use SimVision command language to perform SimVision functions in Tcl scripts and plug-in applications.

Whats New in Incisive Simulator This document describes the features of all Incisive simulator products, including SimVision.

SimVision Known Problems and Solutions This document describes any problems with SimVision that were known at the time the product was released, and any workarounds or solutions to those problems.

For information about the Cadence simulators:

s

NC-Verilog Simulator Help, NC-VHDL Simulator Help, NC-SC Simulator User Guide, NC-SC Simulator Reference, SystemVerilog Reference, SystemVerilog in Simuation, and Verilog-XL User Guide

About Videos
Throughout this book, you will nd links to videos that demonstrate the features described in the document. Click on the link to run the video. To run these videos, you need an Adobe Flash player, which you can download for free from http://www.adobe.com/downloads/.

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1
Introduction
SimVision is a unied graphical debugging environment for Cadence simulators. You can use SimVision to debug digital, analog, or mixed-signal designs written in Verilog, SystemVerilog, VHDL, SystemC, or a combination of those languages. SimVision is made up of several tools. The following tools are available as toolbar buttons and as choices on menus: The Properties window lets you manage the cursors, markers, expressions, and other debugging objects that you have created during the SimVision session. The Design Browser window lets you monitor the signals and variables in the design. The Waveform window plots simulation data along an X and a Y axis. Data is usually shown as signal values versus time, but it can be any recorded data. The Source Browser gives you access to the design source code. The Schematic Tracer displays a design as a schematic diagram and lets you trace a signal through the design. The Memory Viewer lets you observe changes in the internal state of memory locations. During simulation, it also lets you set breakpoints, and force and deposit values to memory locations. The Register window lets you use a free-form graphics editor to dene any number of register pages, each containing a custom view of the simulation data. The Expression Calculator lets you dene expressions, which combine signals to form buses, conditions, and virtual signals.

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SimVision User Guide Introduction Other buttons might appear in your SimVision windows, depending on the tools that you have installed on your system. The following tools are available only as choices on the Windows menu: New Measurement New Assertion Browser The Measurement window lets you display analog measurements, such as the peak-to-peak ratio or root square mean value of selected signals. The Assertion Browser lets you access any assertions that are present in your design. An icon for this window appears whenever assertions are compiled into the design. For information on assertions, see the Simulation-Based Assertion Checking Guide . The Simulation Cycle Debugger lets you step through a simulation cycle, stopping at each time point, delta cycle, simulation phase, or scheduled process. It is not available in Verilog-XL or AMS Designer. The Console window lets you enter simulator commands, SimVision commands, or Tcl commands. The SimCompare Manager window lets you perform complex comparisons of signal transitions in simulation databases. This window, plus the Comparisons sidebar, are the graphical user interface to the SimCompare Tool. For more information on SimCompare, see the SimCompare User Manual and Reference . Other tools may appear in your menus, depending on the tools that you have installed on your system. A Properties window lets you create and manage the following types of objects: Markers Cursors Flags that you can position at any point in simulation time. A cursor is like a marker, but you can use it to sample signal values, and you can use it together with a baseline to measure simulation times. Simulation data saved in SST2 format. Although data accessed by SimVision is in SST2 format, you can supply databases in the following formats: VCD, HSPICE list, HSPICE transient output, Nutmeg, Epic, and Qsim.
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Tools Simulation Cycle Debug

Tools Console Tools SimCompare Manager

Databases

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Groups Expressions Mnemonic Maps Time Ranges

Sets of objects that you want to treat as a unit. Expressions, which perform arithmetic or logical operations on one or more objects. User-dened strings, attributes, and icons for displaying simulation values. Ranges of time that you can view in the Waveform window. You can name and save time ranges, and link multiple Waveform windows to view the same time ranges. A saved state of a Source Browser, Design Browser, or Schematic Tracer window. SimVision saves the bookmarks that you create, so that you can return to the saved state at any time. Breakpoints, probes, databases, variables, aliases, and forces associated with a running simulation.

Bookmarks

Simulator

To access these objects in the Properties window:

Click Properties ,

, or choose a property type from the Windows Tools menu.

Using SimVision
There are several ways to simulate your design and debug it using SimVision:
s

Invoke the simulator with SimVision. Using this method, you control the simulation with the full set of debugging tools. For example, you can set breakpoints, force and release signals, and view waveforms as they are generated during the simulation.

Simulator and SimVision

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s

Invoke SimVision and connect to a simulation that is running on the same system or over the network. Using this method, you have the same debugging features that you would have if you invoked the simulator with SimVision.

Simulator SimVision

Run the simulator with SimVision and probe signals to a database, then terminate the simulator connection and debug the design data in the SimVision post-processing mode. Using this method, you have access to all of the SimVision tools, but you have no simulation control. For example, you can view waveforms but you cannot set breakpoints or force and release signals.

Simulator and SimVision

Simulation database

SimVision

Post-processing mode lets you analyze digital simulation results stored in a database. You cannot use post-processing mode to analyze mixed-signal results.
s

Invoke SimVision in post-processing mode and open an existing simulation database. If you need to use the Source Browser, Simulation Cycle Debugger, or Schematic Tracer, SimVision loads the snapshot associated with the database. This gives you access to the design connectivity, but you do not have simulation control. That is, you cannot run the simulation or set breakpoints and probes.

Simulation database SimVision Snapshot

See Chapter 2, Invoking SimVision for more information.

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Managing Windows
SimVision lets you create multiple instances of some windows, such as the Waveform window and Register window. You can create a new (empty) window, which you populate with signals and variables, or you can create a replica (clone) of an existing window, which contains the same signals and variables as the original window. To create a window:

Choose Windows New or File New from the windows menu bar, then choose the type of window that you want to create.

To create a clone of a window:

Choose File New Clone from the menu bar.

When you have multiple instances of a window type, one window of that type is the target. The target window is the one to which any operation is applied. For example, if you select objects in one window, you can add those objects to the target window. To make the window the target:

In the bottom left corner of each window, enable the Target icon,

Opening and Closing Windows

You can access many SimVision windows with buttons on the Send To toolbar, shown in Figure 1-1 on page 23. Figure 1-1 Send To Toolbar Source Browser Design Browser Expression Calculator

Memory Viewer

Waveform Window

Register Window

Schematic Tracer
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SimVision User Guide Introduction The window buttons have drop-down menus to help you manage multiple windows. You see these menus by hovering the cursor over the button for a few seconds. The drop-down menu contains the following choices:
s

Send to target Adds any selected objects to the target window. If no window of that type exists, SimVision creates a new one. If no objects are selected, it either brings the current target window to the foreground or creates a target window of that type. Send to new Creates a window and adds the selected objects to that window. If no objects are selected, SimVision creates an empty window. Window name All of the windows that you create are listed in the menu, with the target window in bold letters. Choose a window from the menu, and SimVision adds any selected objects to that window.

From any window, you can open any other SimVision window using the following menu choices:
s

Windows New and File New create a window of the type you choose. If you select objects before creating the window, those objects are added to the new window. Windows Tools lets you access the specied tab of the Properties window. The Properties window lets you manage your debugging environment, including markers, cursors, mnemonic maps, and simulation properties, such as breakpoints and probes. Window Name The menu lists all windows that are currently open and lets you select a window from the list to bring the window to the foreground and give it focus. Windows Windows opens the Windows form. This form lists the windows that are currently open. You can select one or more windows from the list, then activate, iconify, or close the window. This form also lets you lay out the windows, as described in Tiling Windows on page 25.

To close a window:

Choose File Close Window from the windows menu bar.

Iconifying and Activating Windows

To iconify an individual window:

Click the Iconify button in the windows title bar, or select the window in the Windows form and click Iconify.

When the Windows form is open, you can activate an individual window by selecting it in the list of windows and then clicking Activate .
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SimVision User Guide Introduction To iconify all SimVision windows into a single SimVision icon:

Choose Windows Iconify All from any SimVision window.

Tiling Windows
By default, SimVision windows are different sizes, and they appear in different parts of your terminal display. You can move windows around in any way you like. However, if you create many windows, you may nd it difcult to lay them out so that they are easy to nd. SimVision gives you the following layout options for your windows:
s

Windows Tile Horizontally lays out the windows so that each spans the terminal display horizontally. The windows are of equal height and ll the display from top to bottom. This option makes each window the same height and width. Windows Tile Vertically lays out the windows so that each spans the terminal display vertically. The windows are of equal width and ll the display from left to right. This option makes each window the same height and width. Windows Cascade lays each window on top of another, offset from the upper left corner of each window. This option does not change the size of the windows.

Renaming Windows
SimVision gives every window a default name, such as Waveform 1 or Design Browser 1 . To rename a window: 1. Choose File Rename Window from the menu bar of the window you want to rename. SimVision opens the Rename Window form. 2. Enter the name in the New Name eld and click OK.

Using the Console Window

The Console window gives you access to the command languages for SimVision and for any simulator you are running. Each tool is represented by a tab in the Console window. For example, if you run SimVision with the simulator, the Console window contains a SimVision tab and a simulator tab, as shown in Figure 1-2 on page 26. If you are debugging a SystemC or API application, the Console window also contains a tab for the GDB debugger.

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SimVision User Guide Introduction Figure 1-2 Console Window with the SimVision and Simulator Tabs

You can enter commands at the Console window prompt and monitor the messages returned by the tool. To search for a text string within the Console window:

Enter a search string in the Text Search eld, and click Search Up, Down , . The search string can include either of the following special characters: * ? Match any number of characters Match a single character

, or Search

Because SimVision keeps a history of the search strings that you enter, you can enter a partial string and press Tab. If the history contains one matching string, SimVision seeds the Search eld with that string. If the history contains more than one matching string, it displays a list of those strings, and you can choose one. If you need more exibility when searching for text strings or lines, use the Edit menu. To search for a text string from the Edit menu: 1. Choose Edit Text Search from the Console menu. SimVision opens the Text Search form. 2. Enter a search string in the Find what eld, including the special characters, * and ?.
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SimVision User Guide Introduction The Text Search form also lets you specify the following options:

Disable Regular Expression to specify the exact string you want to nd. When this button is disabled, special characters (* and ?) are treated like ordinary characters. Enable Match Case if you want the search to be case-sensitive. Enable Up or Down to control the direction of the search.

3. Click Find Next to nd each occurrence. 4. Press Close to end the search. If you want to select all of the text in the Console window, for example, to copy and paste the results of a debugging session into a text le, choose Edit Select All from the menu bar or choose Select All from the pop-up menu. For information about the commands that you can enter in the SimVision tab, see the SimVision Command Language Reference . For information about the commands that you can enter in the simulator tab, see the Help for your simulator.

Managing Toolbars
Many common menu functions are also available through buttons on toolbars. The toolbars that appear in a window differ from one window type to another. For example, the Design Browser window contains the following toolbars: Send to The Send To toolbar, which invokes the SimVision tools, such as the Waveform window, Souce Browser, and Schematic Tracer The standard toolbar, which performs functions such as opening a database, and cutting and pasting objects User-dened toolbars and buttons

Standard User Toolbar

The Waveform window contains those toolbars, plus the following toolbars: Cursor Control Signal List Search The cursor control toolbar, which lets you choose a primary cursor and specify its location The signal list search toolbar, which lets you search for signals and groups

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Search Times

The time search toolbar, which lets you search for values, rising edges, falling edges, expressions, markers, and assertion states The zoom toolbar buttons

Zoom

Because toolbars take up space that you might want to use for displaying data, you can choose which toolbars you want to display in a window and remove those toolbars that you do not use. To choose the toolbars that you want to display: 1. Choose View Toolbars or press the right mouse button over any blank area of a toolbar to display a menu of toolbars that are available in the window. 2. Enable the toolbars you want to display; disable the toolbars you want to remove from the window. You can move a toolbar to any position within the toolbar area, between the menu bar and the data area. To move a toolbar:

Place the mouse over the small grip on the left side of the toolbar, and drag the toolbar to its new location.

Changing the appearance of toolbars in one window does not change their appearance in any other windows that are already open. However, these settings are applied to any new windows that you open. SimVision also lets you add and remove buttons from the SimVision toolbars, and it lets you create your own toolbars and buttons. For more information, see Chapter 26, Customizing Toolbars.

Using the Sidebar

Many windows contain a sidebar, which you use to access objects in your design. The sidebar can contain the following tabs, depending on the window type and language in which the design is written: The Design Browser sidebar lets you access the scopes in the design hierarchy. For information on the Design Browser sidebar, see Using the Design Browser Sidebar on page 81.

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The Design Search sidebar lets you search for objects in all open simulations and databases, without regard to the design hierarchy. For information on the Design Search sidebar, see Using the Design Search Sidebar on page 92. The Trace Signals sidebar lets you trace a signal value either forward or backward through the design hierarchy. For information on the Trace Signals sidebar, see Chapter 16, Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar. The Call Stack sidebar displays a call stack for VHDL procedures, processes, and functions, API applications, and a thread manager for SystemC processes. This tab appears in the Source Browser sidebar. See Viewing the Call Stack on page 74 for more information about this tab when the design is written in VHDL. For information on how to use this tab for API debugging, see Chapter 13, Debugging API Applications. For information on how to use this tab with SystemC designs, see the NC-SC User Guide. The SystemC/C++/C Variables sidebar displays information about local variables and data members in SystemC and API applications. This tab appears in the Source Browser sidebar. For more information, see the NC-SC User Guide. The Bookmarks sidebar lets you manage bookmarks, which save the current state of a window, so that you can return to it at any time. The bookmarks tab appears in the Design Browser, Source Browser, and Schematic Tracer windows. For more information, see Using Bookmarks in the Source Browser on page 77, Using Bookmarks in the Design Browser on page 106, and Using Bookmarks in the Schematic Tracer on page 180. The Class Hierarchy sidebar displays information about SystemVerilog classes. For more information, see SystemVerilog in Simulation . The Power sidebar displays information about powered-up and power-down signals in the design. For more information, see the Low-Power Simulation Guide . The Comparison Results sidebar lets you access the mismatches found by SimCompare. For information on SimCompare, see the SimCompare User Guide and Reference . Use the following buttons and menu choices to control the sidebar:

To collapse the sidebar, click Collapse Sidebar, sidebar. To expand the sidebar, click Expand Sidebar, expand.

, in the upper right corner of the , or select the tab that you want to

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To hide the sidebar, disable the View Sidebar option or click Hide Sidebar, upper right corner of the sidebar. To show the sidebar, enable the View Sidebar option. To tear off the sidebar, click on the dotted line in the tab control button. Tip Because of SimVisions cross-selection capability, any object you select in the sidebar is also selected in all SimVision windows. Therefore, you can tear off a sidebar and close the sidebars in your other windows to maximize space in your SimVision windows.

, in the

Managing Time in the SimVision Windows

Most windows contain a time toolbar, shown in Figure 1-3 on page 30. Figure 1-3 Time Toolbar Lock/Unlock Cursor location Watch live data

Primary cursor

Time units

Number of windows that share this primary cursor This toolbar lets you control the simulation time associated with the window, as follows:
s

Click the Lock/Unlock button to lock and unlock the primary cursor in the window at a particular time. When simulation time is locked, the values displayed in the window remain at the locked time, even as simulation progresses. When you unlock the window, the primary cursor tracks simulation time. Note: Although the primary cusor and the values displayed in the window remain at the locked time, the simulation time in the simulation toolbar continues to update as

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s

The Number of windows icon shows you the number of windows that share the same primary cursor. When multiple windows share a primary cursor, the values displayed in those windows reect the same simulation time. The Primary Cursor eld lets you select the primary cursor for the window. A drop-down list contains the names of all cursors currently dened in all windows. You can choose a cursor from the list or choose New Cursor to create a cursor. The Cursor Location eld lets you place the primary cursor at a specic simulation time. As you enter simulation times in the eld, SimVision adds them to a drop-down list. You can quickly return to a time by selecting it from the list. The Time Units eld lets you select the time units used in the window. The Watch Live Data button indicates whether the primary cursor is synchronized with the simulator or database. This can affect performance, but it lets you track signal value changes during simulation. The button has a drop-down menu from which you can choose the simulator or database that you want to track. When synchronization is on, the Watch Live Data button shows a green arrow. The cursor location updates in the window as simulation time progresses. Other windows that share the primary cursor do not get updated until simulation pauses or stops. When synchronization is off, the Watch Live Data button shows a red X and the cursor location does not change. Simulation data is generated, but the view remains stationary.

s s

Important If you move the primary cursor when Watch Live Data is enabled, synchronization is turned off.

Managing Simulation Objects

The Edit menu lets you cut, copy, paste, and delete objects in the window. These functions are also available as buttons in the standard toolbar, shown in Figure 1-4 on page 32. Many operations that you perform in a window can be undone. If so, the Undo menu choice and button are activated. When you undo an operation, the Redo menu choice and button are activated.

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SimVision User Guide Introduction Figure 1-4 Standard Toolbar Undo Cut Paste

Redo

Copy

Delete

Note: The Undo and Redo functions are not available in the Console window.

Selecting and Deselecting Objects

Many operations begin by selecting one or more objects. To select individual objects or multiple objects:

Select a single object by clicking on it. Select several contiguous objects by Shift-clicking on the objects, or by holding down the left mouse button and moving the cursor over the objects. Select non-contiguous objects by Control-clicking on the objects.

To deselect one or all selected objects:

Deselect a single object by Control-clicking on the selected object. Deselect all selected objects by clicking on an empty space in the window.

Using Pop-Up Menus

When you have selected one or more objects, you can perform operations on them by using pop-up menus. Select the objects and right-click to display the pop-up menu. The choices in the pop-up menus differ, depending on the objects that you have selected.

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Adding Objects to a Window

The Add button, , is available in the standard toolbar of most SimVision windows. Click this button to add to the current window any objects that you have selected in another SimVision window. You can quickly move objects from one window to another by performing a drag-and-drop operation. To drag and drop objects: 1. Select the objects, then hold down the middle mouse button and move the cursor to the new location. As you move the mouse, the cursor indicates whether you may drop the objects at the current cursor location: The mouse is in an invalid location. You cannot drop the objects here. The mouse is in a valid location. You can drop the objects here.

2. Release the mouse button to drop the objects at the new location. Drag-and-drop operations do not require you to rst select an object. If you do not select an object, SimVision drags and drops the object closest to the mouse pointer. If that object is a scope in the design hierarchy, all objects in that scope are dragged and dropped to the destination. If that object is a signal, only that signal is dragged and dropped.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts and Hotkeys

Every menu choice is bound to a shortcut key sequence. You may nd these shortcuts faster to use than the pull-down menus. To use a shortcut, press the Alt key, then type the underlined letter in each menu choice. For example, to choose File Open Database , type Alt-FO. SimVision also denes a set of hotkeys, which are bound to certain commands. You can see a list of hotkey denitions by choosing Help Keyboard Shortcuts . You can change these keyboard shortcuts, as described in Keyboard Shortcuts on page 311, or dene your own keyboard shortcuts, as described in Chapter 2, Re-Creating an Interactive Session, in the SimVision Command Reference .

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Using the SimVision Command Language

Every operation that you can perform with the SimVision graphical user interface can also be performed with a command, as follows:
s s

Enter commands in the Console window while running SimVision. Create a command script that calls SimVision commands to open databases, create windows, cursors, and so on. You can then execute the command script at startup to initialize a SimVision session. SimVision can create this script for you, as described in Chapter 3, Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment. Create a command script that calls SimVision commands and Tcl commands to create a plug-in application. Plug-ins dene new window types and add new features to SimVision.

See the SimVision Command Language Reference for more information.

Aborting a SimVision Action

There might be times when you want to stop an action before it has completed. For example, you might want to stop loading a very large database. When SimVision detects that an action will take a long time to complete, it adds an Abort button to the relevent window. You can click this button to stop the action and resume your SimVision session. There might be times that no Abort button is available, for example, if you are trying to execute a command script that contains an innite loop. If no Abort button is available, you can still stop an action and regain control of the SimVision windows by pressing the Escape key three times. The triple-Escape sequence will return control of the SimVision windows to you.

Getting Help
There are several ways to get help when running SimVision:
s

Tooltips appear whenever you point your cursor at a button for a few seconds. The same message appears in the status bar at the bottom of the window. The Help button on the Preferences form displays interactive help. This help feature lets you click on a eld in the form to see a description of the eld. Help buttons on other forms take you to the relevant parts of the documentation.

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s

The Help menu contains the following choices:

Help Cadence Help Library opens the Cadence Help Library window. This gives you access to all of the Cadence documentation installed on your system. Help SimVision User Guide opens this document. Help SimVision Windows gives you help on any type of SimVision window. Help Tutorials takes you to any of the tutorials installed on your system. Help Keyboard Shortcuts displays a list of hotkey denitions supplied with SimVision. Help Command Reference opens the SimVision Command Language Reference , which describes how to perform any SimVision function and create plug-in applications with the SimVision command language. Help Related Products takes you to the documentation for any of the simulators and other simulation tools installed on your system. Help Whats New takes you to Whats New in IUS, which describes the new features in this release. Help KPNS takes you to the Known Problems and Solutions documents for the products installed on your system. These documents describe any problems that are known to exist at the time of this release. Help Customer Service takes you to the Cadence web pages for SourceLink and Web Collaboration. Help About SimVision displays the SimVision version number and copyright information.

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Invoking SimVision
Before you can invoke SimVision to simulate a design, you must compile and elaborate the design for debugging. You can then invoke SimVision in the following ways to access a design or a simulation database that you have already created:
s

Invoke the simulator with SimVision, so that you have access to the simulator controls and the debugging tools. Invoke SimVision and connect to a running simulation. Invoke the SimVision post-processing mode, so that you have access to the simulation data but not to the simulator controls. Post-processing mode lets you analyze digital simulation results stored in a database. It lets you debug your design without using a simulator license. You cannot use post-processing mode to analyze mixed-signal results.

s s

When you are connected to a simulation, you can disconnect or terminate the simulation. In the rst case, the simulation continues to run; in the second case, the simulation ends. SimVision provides a password facility to control who is able to connect to a simulation.

Preparing Your Design for Simulation

When debugging your design, you may need to set breakpoints at particular line numbers in the source code. To make source line numbers available to SimVision, include one of the following options when compiling the design: Command ncvlog ncvhdl irun Option -linedebug -linedebug -linedebug

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SimVision User Guide Invoking SimVision You may also want to make internal signals visible or trace the connectivity of the signals in your design. To control visibility and connectivity, include one of the following options when elaborating a design: Command ncelab irun Option -access rwc -afile access_file -access rwc -afile access_file

The -access option controls access for the entire design. The r argument enables read access, which makes internal signals visible to the simulator. The w argument enables write access, so that you can change the value of a signal during simulation with the force or deposit command. The c argument enables connectivity access. You can use one or all of these arguments to enable the types of access that you require. If you need to control access to particular instances and portions of your design, you can create an access le. You specify the access le with the -afile or +afile+ option. For more information on these options, see Enabling Read, Write, or Connectivitiy Access to Simulation Objects in your simulator Help.

Invoking the Simulator with SimVision

You can invoke the simulator with SimVision, as follows, and have access to the full debugging features of the simulator and SimVision: Simulator Verilog-XL Incisive Simulator irun Command verilog +gui source_files ncsim -gui snapshot irun -gui source_files

To pass arguments to SimVision, use the -simvisarg command-line option. For example, to open a Waveform window and specify a command script for SimVision, invoke ncsim as follows:
ncsim -gui -simvisargs -waves -simvisargs -input simvision.sv test_drink

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Important You must put the SimVision option in quotes, regardless of whether it takes an argument. Otherwise, it as treated as an ncsim option. You must also add a space before the option. Otherwise, the hyphen causes a Tcl syntax error. You can also invoke the simulator in Tcl mode, then invoke SimVision. For example:
ncsim -tcl test_drink ncsim: version : (c) Copyright 1995-2004 Cadence Design Systems, Inc ncsim> source your_install_dir /tools/inca/files/ncsimrc ncsim> simvision simvision: version : (c) Copyright 1995-2004 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. ------------------------------------Relinquished control to SimVision...

You can also specify a SimVision command le as an argument to the simvision command. SimVision executes the commands in that le at startup. For example, the following SimVision commands open a Waveform window, run the simulation, add some signals to the Waveform window, then terminate the simulator session:
set w [waveform new] simcontrol run scope set test_drink.top waveform add -using $w -signals { nickel_in dime_in quarter_in dispense nickel_out dime_out two_dime_out clk vending.current_state } simcontrol command exit

If you put these commands in a le, you can invoke SimVision with the simvision -input command, as follows:
ncsim -tcl test_drink ncsim: version : (c) Copyright 1995-2004 Cadence Design Systems, Inc ncsim> source your_install_dir /tools/inca/files/ncsimrc ncsim> simvision -input simviscmds.tcl simvision: version : (c) Copyright 1995-2004 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. ------------------------------------Relinquished control to SimVision...

When you invoke SimVision with this command le, it runs the simulation, sets up the Waveform window, and terminates the simulator at startup. You can then debug the design with SimVision.

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Important When invoking SimVision from the simulator, you can start only one SimVision process. However, you can use this process to connect to any number of active simulator sessions and to open any number of simulation databases. If you try to start another SimVision sessionthat is, if you invoke simvision without any argumentsyou receive the following error:
ncsim: *E, TCLERR: simvision is already active

To send options to SimVisionfor example, if you want to open other windowsissue the simvision command with the -input option. For more information on the simvision command, see your simulator Help. For information on the SimVision commands that you can include in an input le, see the SimVision Command Reference . When SimVision starts up, it opens a Design Browser window and a Console window. You access your design hierarchy in the Design Browser window, and enter SimVision and simulator commands in the Console window. The location of the Design Browser window is controlled by your window manager. If there is enough space below it, the Console window is placed there. Otherwise, it is place on top of the Design Browser window. Figure 2-1 on page 41 shows a Design Browser window displayed at startup. SimVision places the simulation at the top of the hierarchy and assigns it the name simulator.The top-level of the design hierarchy is placed below the simulation. In this example, it is named dkm.

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SimVision User Guide Invoking SimVision Figure 2-1 Design Browser Window

At startup, the Console window has two tabs, as shown in Figure 2-2 on page 42. The SimVision tab lets you enter SimVision commands. The simulator tab lets you enter simulator commands. As you run the simulation, the Console window also displays messages from SimVision and the simulator.

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SimVision User Guide Invoking SimVision Figure 2-2 Console Window

Disconnecting and Terminating the Simulation

There are several ways to break the connection between SimVision and the simulator:
s

Disconnect from the simulation. This leaves the simulation running but makes it unavailable from the SimVision user interface. You can reconnect to a disconnected simulation. Terminate and disconnect the simulation. This stops the simulator. You cannot reconnect to the simulation after you have terminated it. Terminate and post-process. This stops the simulation but keeps the connection with the simulator in post-processing mode.

Disconnecting from a Simulation

To disconnect from a simulation:

Click Disconnect , , in the simulator tab of the Console or Properties window. When you disconnect, the simulation toolbars are deactivated in all windows, and the simulator tab is removed from the Console window. You can reconnect to the simulation by choosing File Open Simulation and selecting the simulation from the Open Simulation form.

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SimVision User Guide Invoking SimVision You can also disconnect from a simulation from the File menu: 1. Simvision opens the Close Database/Simulator form, which contains a list of running simulations and open databases. 2. Select simulator from the list and click OK . For information on using the Close Database/Simulator form to close a database, see Closing a Database on page 123.

Terminating and Disconnecting from a Simulation

To terminate and disconnect a simulation:

Click Terminate & Disconnect, , in the simulator tab of the Console or Properties window, or choose Simulation Terminate & Disconnect from the menu bar of any SimVision window. When you terminate, the simulation toolbars are deactivated in all windows, and the simulator tab is removed from the Console window. SimVision displays a warning message, informing you that you cannot return to simulation mode for this design. When you click OK , the File Open Simulation menu choice is deactivated. Tip You might also type exit at the ncsim prompt to terminate the simulation. This command deactivates the simulation toolbar and the File Open Simulation menu choice, removes the simulator tab from the Console window, and puts you in post-processing mode. However, SimVision does not display a warning message.

Terminating and Post-Processing

You might switch to post-processing mode during simulation. To do this, rst probe the signals whose values you want to save, and run the simulation to the point that you are interested in debugging. You can then terminate the simulator session and enter post-processing mode. To terminate a session:

Click Terminate & Post-Process, , in the simulator tab of the Console window or Properties window, or choose Terminate & Post-Process from the Simulation menu.

Before it enters post-processing mode, SimVision displays a warning message. Entering post-processing mode releases the simulator license. When you terminate the simulation,

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SimVision User Guide Invoking SimVision you cannot reconnect to it. If you need to rerun the simulation, you must exit SimVision and reinvoke the simulator. When you enter post-processing mode, SimVision prompts you to press Return or click the X to remove the simulator tab. When you close the tab, the simulation toolbar is disabled in all SimVision windows. In post-processing mode, you can access the entire simulation hierarchy, including objects you have probed and objects you have not probed to a database. Probed objects are shown in regular font; unprobed objects are shown in italic font. To see only the objects that you have probed:

Enable the Show/Hide unprobed signals lter button in the signal list.

Invoking SimVision Separately

You can invoke SimVision separately, and then connect to a running simulation or open a database containing the results of a simulation that you have previously run. You invoke SimVision with the simvision command. The simivision command has the following syntax:
simvision [options ] [database ]

The simvision command accepts the following options: -64BIT Invokes the 64-bit version of SimVision. When you use this option, you must also use the -64BIT option to compile, elaborate, and simulate your design. However, you may also congure your environment to use the 64-bit version exclusively. For more information, see Conguring Your Environment for the 64-Bit Version, in the IUS 8.1 Configuration Guide . -APPEND_KEY -APPEND_LOG Appends captured keyboard input to the key le specied by the -KEYFILE option. Appends messages from the SimVision session to the log le specied by the -LOGFILE option.

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-COMPRESS

Translates a database to compressed SST2 format. The compressed database uses less disk space at the possible expense of taking more time and memory to translate. Use this option when you are translating a VCD, HSPICE list, HSPICE transient output, Nutmeg, Epic, or Qsim database, if you want to compress the resulting SST2 database.

-CONNECT session

Connects to a simulator session at startup. You can specify the session argument in any of the following ways:
simvision -connect dialog

SimVision displays the Open Simulation form at startup, so you can choose the simulation to which you want to connect. For more information, see Connecting to a Simulation on page 47.
simvision -connect pid

Connects to the simulation that has the specied process ID (pid ) on the local host.
simvision -connect host /pid

Connects to the simulation that has the specied process ID (pid ) on the specied host. -DISPLAY screen If you are running SimVision remotely, you can display the output on your system monitor. For example: simvision -display MY_SYS:0.0 This has the same effect as setting the DISPLAY environment variable. -HELP -INPUT file Displays a short description of the simvision command-line options. At startup, executes SimVision commands stored in file . If you want to execute more than one command script, use multiple -INPUT options. The command scripts are executed in the order in which they appear on the command line. Species the name of the key le, where captured keyboard input is written during the session. If you do not specify -KEYFILE, no keyboard input is saved. Species the name of the log le, where messages are written during the session. If you do not specify -LOGFILE, no messages are saved.

-KEYFILE file

-LOGFILE file

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-NOCOPYRIGHT

By default, SimVision displays a splash screen and copyright notice when it starts up. If you do not want to see this notice, use the -NOCOPYRIGHT option. Disables the loading of plug-in applications. Species that you do not want to execute the commands in a .simvisionrc le at startup. You can set a preference to restore the application state when you reinvoke SimVision. SimVision reopens any databases and windows that were open. It also restores the windows to their previous state, including signals, cursors, markers, groups, mnemonic maps, and expressions that you dened. If you do not want to restore these settings, use the -NORESTORE option.

-NOPLUGINS -NORC -NORESTORE

-PRIVATE -REGISTER -SCHEMATIC -SEQUENCE

Installs a private colormap for SimVision. Opens the Register window at startup. Opens the Schematic Tracer window at startup. Includes sequence time information in a translated database. Use this option when you translate a VCD, HSPICE list, HSPICE transient output, Nutmeg, Epic, or Qsim database, and you want to include sequence information in the database.

-SNAPSHOT snapshot

Invokes SimVision in post-processing mode and loads the specied snapshot, including a partially-elaborated snapshot. When you use this option, you can view the design hierarchy in the Design Browser and Schematic Tracer, and you can access the source code in the Source Browser, but no simulation data is available, such as waveforms or signal values. If you also specify a database command-line argument, the simulation database is merged with the design hierarchy.

-SOURCE -SST sst_dbase

Opens the Source Browser at startup. Species the name that you want to give to the translated database. By default, SimVision creates two les, with the same name as your original database and the .dsn and .trn extensions. When you use this option, it creates two les, named sst_dbase .dsn and sst_dbase .trn.

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-TITLE title

Species a string that you want to include in the title bar of every SimVision window that you create during the session. If the title argument contains spaces, you must enclose it in quotation marks. For example:
simvision -title "My SimVision"

-VERSION -WAVES

Displays the version of SimVision installed on your system. Opens the Waveform window at startup.

You can specify default command-line options by setting the SIMVISIONOPTS environment variable. For example, if you want the Source Browser to open when you invoke SimVision, you can set SIMVISIONOPTS as follows:
setenv SIMVISIONOPTS -source

If you want to specify multiple command-line options, separate them with spaces within the quotation marks. For example:
setenv SIMVISIONOPTS -source -input mytcl.sv

These options open a Source Browser window and execute the commands in the le called mytcl.sv whenever you run SimVision. When you invoke SimVision with no simulation database or simulator connection, it does not open a Console window. It opens a blank Design Browser window. You can access a design by connecting to a simulation or opening a simulation database.

Connecting to a Simulation
To connect to a running simulation: 1. Click Open Simulation , , or choose File Open Simulation from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Open Simulation form. When Show all hosts is disabled, the form displays all of the simulations that the user is running on the selected host. When Show all hosts is enabled, the form displays either the names of the designs being simulated or No sessions available for each host in the Add Host drop-down list. 2. Select a simulation and click Open . SimVision adds the design to the Design Browser sidebar. The Design Browser sidebar gives you access to the design hierarchy. SimVision also adds a simulator tab to the Console window. The Console window lets you enter simulator commands.
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SimVision User Guide Invoking SimVision By default, the Open Simulation form displays only the simulations that you have started. However, you can connect to simulations started by other users. To access simulations started by other users:

Enter the user name in the Show Simulations for User eld. When you enter a user name, SimVision adds it to the drop-down list. Because SimVision keeps a history of the user names that you enter, you can enter a partial name and press Tab. If the history contains one matching name, SimVision seeds the eld with that name. If the history contains more than one matching name, it displays a list of those names, and you can choose one. When you try to connect to a simulation started by another user, SimVision prompts you to enter a password. For information on protecting your simulations with passwords, see Making Simulation Processes Secure on page 51.

To add a host to the Add Host list:

Enter the host name in the text eld and click Add , SimVision adds them to the drop-down list.

. As you enter host names,

Because SimVision keeps a history of the host names that you enter, you can enter a partial name and press Tab. If the history contains one matching name, SimVision seeds the eld with that name. If the history contains more than one matching name, it displays a list of those names, and you can choose one. To remove any simulations running on a particular host:

Choose the host from the drop-down list in the Add Host eld and click Remove .

Simulations are protected by passwords. For information on the security features of SimVision, see Making Simulation Processes Secure on page 51.

Opening a Simulation Database

To open a database: 1. Click Open Database , , or choose File Open Database from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Open Database form. The path shown in the Directory eld is determined by the SIMVISION_WORKDIR environment variable. If you have not set this variable, the path is to the last directory visited by any of the le browser forms. You can navigate to other directories to nd the database that you want to open.

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SimVision User Guide Invoking SimVision 2. Select the simulation database le and click Open . The Design Browser sidebar displays the design hierarchy. If you saved simulation information for only some of the design objects, only those objects appear in the Design Browser sidebar. A simulation database does not include all of the connectivity information required by the Schematic Tracer and Trace Signals sidebar. In addition, it does not include source line information required by the Source Browser. This information is stored in the snapshot. The simulator stores the location of the snapshot in the simulation database. If have loaded a database into SimVision and you try to open one of these windows, SimVision looks for the snapshot associated with the database. If it nds the snapshot, SimVision loads it before opening the window. If SimVision cannot nd the snapshot, it prompts you for the snapshot name. Important SimVision cannot locate a snapshot for a database created before Version 5.3. For these older databases, SimVision prompts you for the snapshot information. This feature is supported by Verilog-XL. If you are a Verilog-XL user and you want to use this feature, you need to recompile your design with ncverilog, and specify the -c option to prevent simulation. To specify the snapshot: 1. Enter the name of the library mapping le in the cds.lib eld, or choose one by clicking the browse button. If you used the default library mapping le when you created the snapshot, leave this eld blank. However, to use the default cds.lib le, you must be in the directory where the snapshot resides. 2. Enter the snapshot name in the Snapshot eld, or choose a snapshot from the drop-down list. Tip You can also load a snapshot from a Design Browser sidebar. Right-click the database name and choose Explore Full Design from the pop-up menu. After you load the snapshot, you will be in full post-processing mode. You can access all of the design information and simulation data.

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Invoking SimVision in Post-Processing Mode

If you have already simulated your design and saved the simulation results to a database, you can run SimVision in post-processing mode. In post-processing mode, you have access to the same tools as you would have during an interactive session, except for the simulation controls. That is, the Simulation menu and toolbar are not available. You cannot run the simulation or set breakpoints and probes. You invoke SimVision in post-processing mode, as follows: Tool Verilog-XL Incisive Simulator Command verilog +ppe source_files ncsim -ppe -ppdb database snapshot You can use multiple -ppdb options to specify multiple databases for the same snapshot. SimVision simvision -snapshot snapshot database

When you invoke ncsim with the -ppe option and then open a simulation database, SimVision does not overlay the signals in the snapshot and database in the Design Browser sidebar. The database and snapshot are displayed in separate hierarchies. When you invoke ncsim with both the -ppe and -ppdb options, SimVision overlays the snapshot and database. As a result, only one hierarchy is displayed in the Design Browser sidebar. In the Design Browser signal list, the signals in the database are displayed in regular font, indicating that they have been probed. The signals that have not been probed are displayed in italic font. See Chapter 5, Accessing Design Objects for information about the Design Browser sidebar, and Chapter 6, Monitoring Signal Values. for information about the Design Browser signal list Tip When you invoke ncsim with a Tcl input le, the simulator executes the commands in that le before starting SimVision. If the last command in the le is an exit command, the simulator invokes SimVision in post-processing mode and terminates the simulation. To prevent the simulator from terminating, remove the exit command from the input le before you invoke the simulator.

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Making Simulation Processes Secure

Because users can access simulation sessions running on a network, SimVision provides features to help you make them more secure. You can control the visibility of a session by setting the LDV_SIMVISION_CONNECTIONS environment variable as follows:
s

When set to on, 1, or yes, the simulation is available for connection. That is, it can appear in the Open Simulation form. When set to hidden, the simulation is not visible in the Open Simulation form, but it is still available for connection. For example, you can specify its process ID when you invoke SimVision with the -connect option. When set to off, 0, or no, connections are not allowed.

SimVision also lets you place passwords on your simulation processes, as follows:
s

SimVision stores your passwords in a le called $HOME/.simvision/passwd. You have read-write access to the le, so that you can connect to the simulations you start on your local machine or on any machine on the network that shares the same home directory. Important The passwd le contains encrypted information. Do not edit this le.

The simulator uses your password for all simulator processes that you run. When you connect to a simulation, SimVision compares the passwords in the password le to the password that is set on the simulation. If it nds a match, SimVision connects to the simulation. If not, it prompts you for the password. This allows other users to connect to simulations that you start, if they know the password. To set a password for a simulation: 1. Invoke the simulator with the -password option. For example, if you are running the Incisive simulator:
ncsim -password -tcl test_drink.top:module ncsim: 04.20-b002: (c) Copyright 1995-2002 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Simulation password:

The simulator prompts you for a password. 2. Enter a password and press Return. The simulator prompts you to verify the password by entering it again, and asks if you want to make this the default password.

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SimVision User Guide Invoking SimVision 3. Choose yes, and the new password replaces the default password, if one exists. Choose no, and the new password is added to the passwd le along with the current default password. To change the location of the passwd le:

Set the LDV_SIMVISION_PASSWORD_FILE environment variable to the new location. For example:
setenv LDV_SIMVISION_PASSWORD_FILE $HOME/mypassword/pwd

To prevent any user from connecting to a simulation:

Set the LDV_SIMVISION_PASSWORD_FILE environment variable as follows:

setenv LDV_SIMVISION_PASSWORD_FILE --

This is useful when running in batch mode if you do not want anyone to connect to the simulation with SimVision.

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Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment
Sometimes you will want to re-create a debugging session. For example, you might want to save a set of probes and breakpoints on a design under development, so that you can re-create them at any time. You may want to save SimVision preferences, re-create a complex mnemonic map, or open the same set of SimVision windows every time you simulate a design. SimVision provides several ways for you to save and restore your debugging environment.

The Simulator and SimVision Environments

The simulator and SimVision operate in their own environments:
s

The simulator environment is made up of the probes, breakpoints, forces, and deposits that you set during simulation. The SimVision environment is made up of your preference settings and the windows, cursors, groups, and other objects that you create to make debugging your design easier. The following are not treated as part of the environment and, therefore, cannot be saved and restored:

The scope set in the Design Browser sidebar. When you restore this sidebar, it displays the top-level scope. The current simulation time, if you are saving the connection to the simulator. Simulation time is restored at time 0. The contents of the Trace Signals sidebar. The contents of the Console window. The Expression Calculator window, if it is open when you save the environment. However, any expressions that you create are saved.

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SimVision User Guide Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment Most of the objects in the simulator and SimVision environments are unique, but both tools operate on databases, as follows:
s

The simulator creates the database. You set probes on the signals whose transitions you want to save. When you run the simulation, the simulator generates the data and writes it to the database. When you restore a simulator environment, the command script creates the database and sets the probes, but it does not run the simulation. Therefore, the database itself is not restoredonly the means to re-create it. SimVision reads the simulation database and displays the data in various windows. You can tie a command script to a specic database or use it as a template. When you tie a command script to a specic database, references to signals include the database name, as in waves::test_drink.top.dispense. You can use this script only on the specied database. When you want to use a command script as a template, references to signals do not include the database name, as in test_drink.top.dispense. You can use this script on any database that has the same design hierarchy. For example, you could simulate a design twice and save the results in different databases. (Perhaps you forced a signal to a particular value in one simulation to produce different results.) You can use the same command script for both databases, because they contain similar data.

SimVision can save the SimVision environment automatically on exit and restore it the next time you start another session, but you cannot automatically save and restore the simulator environment. If you want to save both the SimVision environment and the simulator environment, you must create command scripts that contain the Tcl commands necessary to restore the environment.

Using Automatic Save and Restore

Important The automatic save and restore feature will not be supported in the next release of SimVision. You should save and restore your simulation environment in a command script. When you exit a SimVision session, SimVision can automatically save your debugging environment. By default, SimVision saves your environment in the following directories:
s

A .simvision directory in your $HOME directory stores global settings, such as options you have set in the Preferences window. A .simvision directory in your working directory stores design-specic data, such as bookmarks you have created during a SimVision session.
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SimVision User Guide Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment You can specify a different $HOME/.simvision directory by setting the SIMVISION_HOME environment variable. For example, if you want to store your global settings in the same directory as your working directory, you can dene the variable as follows:
setenv SIMVISION_HOME .

To specify that you want to save and restore your SimVision environment automatically: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision menu and select the General Options tab in the Preferences window. 2. Enable Restore Application State to automatically restore your environment at startup. Tip If you have enabled this button and you do not want to restore the application state, use the -norestore command-line option when you run simvision. 3. Enable Save Application State to automatically save your settings on exit. For example, suppose you invoke the simulator with SimVision, send some signals to the Waveform window, run the simulation, and create a marker. When you exit this session, SimVision saves the Waveform window, the marker, and the simulation database created during simulation. There are several ways to restore this environment:
s

Run SimVision in the original design directory. SimVision creates the windows and marker, and loads the simulation database. As a result, the Design Browser contains the database hierarchy, and the Waveform window contains the signals and waveforms from the simulation database. This re-creates the SimVision environment so that you can debug the simulation database in post-processing mode.

Run the simulator with SimVision in the original design directory. SimVision loads the snapshot into the Design Browser and creates the Waveform window and marker. SimVision then opens the simulation database from the previous session. As a result, the Design Browser contains both the design hierarchy and the database hierarchy, and the Waveform window contains the signals and waveforms from the simulation database. You can run the simulation again and also examine the simulation data generated from the previous simulation run.

Run SimVision with or without the simulator, but in a different design directory.

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SimVision User Guide Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment SimVision creates the window and marker, but does not load the simulation database. This is useful if you want to use the same SimVision environment on another design or simulation database.

Saving and Restoring a Command Script for Simulator Connection

When you save a command script for simulator connection, SimVision creates two scriptsone containing simulator commands, and one containing SimVision commands. By default, the simulator command script is named restore.tcl, and the SimVision command script is named restore.tcl.svcf. To save the command scripts for simulator connection: 1. Choose File Save Command Script from any SimVision window. SimVision opens the Save Command Script form. 2. Enable Save connection to simulator. 3. If you have loaded any preexisting databases during the simulation session, you can choose whether you want to use the script to reload those databases, or to load any similar databases:

Enable Save all database names to use the script to load the same databases that you have loaded in the current session. Enable Prompt me later for database names to use the script as a template. When you restore this command script, SimVision tries to use a database that is already open. If no open databases contain the necessary data, it prompts you to choose another database to open.

Note: These options do not apply to databases you have created during simulation. If you have not loaded any preexisting databases during this session, these options are disabled. 4. Click Advanced to open the advanced options area. 5. Check the items that you want to save in the command script, uncheck those items that you do not want to save. 6. When Save these advanced settings is enabled, SimVision applies these settings whenever you save a command script. If you do not want these settings to be the default, disable this option.

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SimVision User Guide Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment 7. Click OK . When you exit SimVision, the command to restore the environment is displayed on stdout. This command also appears at the beginning of the command script. Note: The suggested command line may not produce the results you expect, especially if you have used an input le to set up the simulation environment. SimVision cannot parse the input le to determine whether the le has, for example, set probes or deposited values. These operations may be performed twice if you use the suggested command line. You may need to modify the command line to recreate the desired environment. To restore the debugging enviroment at startup:

Invoke the simulator with the -input option. For example:

ncsim -gui test_drink -input restore.tcl

The restore.tcl command script restores the simulator environment, then it invokes simvision to restore the SimVision environment from the restore.tcl.svcf command script. To source the command script after startup:

Invoke the simulator with the -gui option, then Choose File Source Command Script from any SimVision window. SimVision opens the Source Command Script form. In the Filename eld, enter the name of the simulator command script, or click Browse , , to locate the le. In the Send commands to eld, choose simulator Console .

To source the command script from the Console window:

Invoke the simulator with the -gui option, then open the simulator tab of the Console window and enter the command: input restore.tcl. The commands are executed in the Console window.

Saving and Restoring a Command Script for Post-Processing

There are several ways to run SimVision in post-processing mode, as described in Chapter 2, Invoking SimVision. When you save a command script for post-processing, SimVision creates only one script to restore the SimVision environment. By default, the command script is named simvision.svcf.

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SimVision User Guide Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment To save a command script for post-processing: 1. Choose File Save Command Script from any SimVision window. SimVision opens the Save Command Script form. 2. Enable Save data for post-processing . 3. Choose whether you want to apply the the script to a specic database or use it as a template, as follows:

Enable Prompt me later for database names to use the script with any database that contains similar data. When you restore this command script, SimVision tries to use a database that is already open. If no open databases contain the necessary data, it prompts you for a database to open. This is recommended if you have switched to PPE mode in the simulator, or if you ran the ncsim with the -ppe and -ppdb options.

Enable Save all database names to use the script with the same databases that are open in the current session.

4. Click Advanced to open the advanced options area. 5. Check the items that you want to save in the command script, uncheck those items that you do not want to save. 6. When Save these advanced settings is enabled, SimVision applies these settings whenever you save a command script. If you do not want these settings to be the default, disable this option. 7. Click OK . When you exit SimVision, the command to restore the environment is displayed on stdout. This command also appears at the beginning of the command script. To restore the SimVision environment at startup:

If you chose to save all database names, you can restore the command script as follows:
simvision -input simvision.svcf

If you chose to prompt for database names, you restore the command script as follows:
simvision -input simvision.svcf

Then SimVision prompts you for the database name in the Open Database form. Enter the name of the database, or click Open to choose a database. If you do not want to open a database at this time, click Skip this database . Note: SimVision does not prompt you for the database name if it can nd a database with the same logical name as the one that you saved.
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If you know the names of the databases that you want to use, you can specify them on the command line, as follows:
simvision -input simvision.svcf database1 database2

When you specify one or more databases on the command line, SimVision loads the databases and does not prompt you, unless the databases do not contain the necessary data. To source the command script after startup: 1. Invoke SimVision in PPE mode, then choose File Source Command Script from any window. SimVision opens the Select SimVision Command Script form. 2. Enter a lename or browse the directory structure to select a le. The path shown in the Directory eld is determined by the SIMVISION_WORKDIR environment variable. If you have not set this variable, the path is the last directory visited by any of the le browser forms. You can navigate to other directories to nd the database that you want to open. Select a le from the directory list, and click Open . To source the script from the Console window:

Open the SimVision tab and enter the source command.

Examining the Contents of a Command Script

If you need to edit a command script, you should become familiar with its contents and with the command languages provided by the simulator and SimVision. Command scripts are text les. You can edit the les if you want to customize the environment that the script restores. For example, you could create other SimVision windows that were not open when you saved the environment, or you could create additional simulation objects, such as probes, breakpoints, forces, or deposits. You can also edit the command script to perform Transaction Explorer commands, as described in the Transaction Explorer Reference Manual , or any general-purpose Tcl/Tk commands. If you save the simulator connection, SimVision creates two scriptsone to restore the simulator environment, and one to restore the SimVision environment. If you choose to use the script for post-processing, SimVision creates only one script that restores the SimVision environment.

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The Simulator Command Script

The simulator command script begins with a comment that describes how to restore the debugging environment. For example:
# You can restore this configuration with: # # ncsim -gui test_drink -input restore.tcl #

The simulator command script opens databases, creates probes and breakpoints, and invokes the SimVision command script. For example, if you opened a database called waves.shm, the command script contains the following simulator command:
database -open -shm -into waves.shm waves -default

If you probed any signals, it contains a probe command, such as the following:
probe -create -database waves test_drink.top.cans test_drink.top.clk test_drink.top.dime_in test_drink.top.dime_out test_drink.top.dimes test_drink.top.dispense test_drink.top.empty test_drink.top.exact_change test_drink.top.load test_drink .top.nickel_in test_drink.top.nickel_out test_drink.top.nickels test_drink.top.quarter_in test_drink.top.reset test_drink.top.two_dime_out

The last line of the script invokes the SimVision command script, as follows:
simvision -input restore.tcl.svcf

See the Help for your simulator for details about the simulator commands that you can add to the simulator command script.

The SimVision Command Script

SimVision command script begins with a comment that describes how to restore the debugging environment. For example, the following command restores a simulator connection:
# SimVision Command Script (day MM dd hh:mm:ss EST yyy ) # # You can restore this configuration with: # ncsim -gui worklib.test_drink:module -input restore1.tcl

The command script contains commands to specify the preferences that you have set. This is done with a series of preferences set commands. For example, if you have disabled the Prompt on Exit option in the General Preferences tab, the command script contains the following command:
#

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# preferences # preferences set prompt-exit 0

If you chose to save database names, the script contains a database require command, which species the name of the database to load. For example:
# # databases # database require waves -search { ./waves.shm/waves.trn /hm/yourhome/tutorial/waves.shm/waves.trn }

The script then creates the markers, groups, windows, and other SimVision objects. For example, if you created a marker, the script contains the following commands:
# # markers # set time 68058ns if {[catch {marker new -name {Marker 1} -time $time}] != ""} { marker set -using {Marker 1} -time $time }

See the SimVision Command Reference for a description of the SimVision commands that you can place in a command script.

Executing SimVision Commands at Startup

At startup, SimVision looks for a le named .simvisionrc. This le can contain any SimVision or Tcl commands that you want to execute every time you start up SimVision. The commands that you place in the le can set up your debugging environment. For example, if you place the following commands in a .simvisionrc le, SimVision opens a database, creates a waveform window, and adds two signals to the window:
database open waves.shm/waves.trn waveform new waveform add -signals {test_drink.top.clk test_drink.top.vending.current_state}

In the following .simvisionrc le, the plugin::application command disables certain options in the Advanced portion of the Save Command Script form:
plugin::application plugin::application plugin::application plugin::application script script script script categories categories categories categories configure configure configure configure dbnames -enabled 0 markers -enabled 0 conditions -enabled 0 mmaps -enabled 0

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SimVision User Guide Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment When SimVision executes these commands, it disables the Write database names , Markers , Conditions , and Mnemonic Maps options in the Save Command Script form. When you exit SimVision, it does not save this information to the simvision.svcf le. You can dene more than one .simvisionrc le. By default, SimVision searches for the le rst in the following order:

. $CDS_WORKAREA $CDS_SEARCHDIR $HOME $CDS_PROJECT $CDS_SITE

Current directory User-dened work area Tool-dened area; set when certain tools start up Users home directory Project-specic storage area Site-specic setup area

$(compute:THIS_TOOL_INST_ROOT/share Cadence default setup area For information on how to change this default search order, see Chapter 3, Cadence Setup Search File: setup.loc, in the Cadence Application Infrastructure User Guide . SimVision executes the commands in only the rst le that it nds. However, you can execute commands in multiple les by using the source command. For example, suppose the following .simvisionrc le is contained in the current working directory:
database open waves.shm/waves.trn waveform new waveform add -signals {test_drink.top.clk test_drink.top.vending.current_state} source ~/.simvisionrc

At startup, SimVision executes the commands to open the database and Waveform window, then it executes the commands in the .simvisionrc le contained in the users home directory. For information on the commands that you can place in a .simvisionrc le, see the SimVision Command Language Reference .

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Accessing the Design Source Code
The Source Browser gives you access to the source code for your design. It recognizes the Verilog, SystemVerilog, VHDL, C, C++, and SystemC languages, and it can color-code keywords, comments, and message strings that it detects in the source les. The Source Browser lets you access design objects and perform simulation functions, such as setting breakpoints and probes. You cannot edit the source code directly in the Source Browser, because it would no longer represent the design snapshot currently loaded into the simulator. However, you can use the Source Browser to invoke a text editor, make changes to the source le, and then create a new snapshot and load it into the simulator.

Opening a Source Browser Window

To display a source le for a selected scope or design object:

Select a scope or object in any SimVision window and click Source Browser ,

If you select nothing before you click the Source Browser button, the target Source Browser window opens to the debug scope, if you are attached to a simulator. All other Source Browser windows are empty when you open them, unless you send a scope or object to them. The Source Browser displays the source code associated with the selected scope, as shown in Figure 4-1 on page 64.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code Figure 4-1 Source Browser Window

The standard toolbars and menus perform the common functions available in all SimVision windows, such as controlling the simulation. A navigation toolbar lets you move through the design hierarchy and open source les for the scopes that you select. You can also add a toolbar to search for text strings and line numbers within the source le. The source le uses the following default colors to show the type of objects in the source le: Blue Green Red Language keywords Text strings, and objects that have been traced Comments

You can change these default colors, as described in Source Browser Colors on page 319.

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Navigating the Design Hierarchy

From the Source Browser, you can access the design hierarchy and the les associated with each module or block in the hierarchy, including SystemC processes, modules, and instances. Note: You cannot navigate a UDP with the Source Browser. To move down the hierarchy one level:

Select a scope from the drop-down list in the Scope eld. When you select the subscope, the Source Browser displays the source code for that scope.

To move up one level in the hierarchy:

Click the Scope Up button,

As you move through the hierarchy, the Source Browser maintains a history of the scopes you have visited. By default, the Source Browser history list contains the 20 most-recently visited scopes. You can change the size of the history list in the Preferences form, as described in Source Browser on page 318. To move through the scope history:

Click Previous Scope , , to move back through the scope history. This button also has a drop-down list, so that you can jump to any scope in the list. Click Next Scope , , to move forward through the scope history. This button also has a drop-down list, so that you can jump to any scope in the list.

As you move through the hierarchy, the Source Browser maintains a list of the source les or design units that are related to the current scope, such as included les and VHDL units. To access a source le or design unit:

Select it from the drop-down list. This list is labeled Files for Verilog designs. It is labeled Units for VHDL designs.

Opening a File in the Source Browser

You can open any source le, regardless of whether it is part of your design.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code To open a source le: 1. Click Open Source , , or choose File Open Source File . SimVision opens the Open Source File form. The path shown in the Directory eld is determined by the SIMVISION_WORKDIR environment variable. If you have not set this variable, the path is the last directory visited by any of the le browser forms. You can navigate to other directories to nd the source le that you want to open. 2. Select a le and click Open . Tip If the source le is going to take a long time to load, the Source Browser adds an Abort button to the status bar. Click this button if you do not want to load this source le.

Selecting Text in the Source Browser

The Source Browser denes the following mouse actions for selecting text: Double-click Triple-click Quadruple-click Shift-click Select a word Select a line Select all Select all text between two cursor locations

After you select text in the Source Browser, you can paste it into a text le. When you select an area of text in the Source Browser window, you select the signals and variables contained within that text area. See Accessing Design Objects and Values on page 68 for more information.

Searching a Source File

To search for a string or a line number within a source le, you can add a search toolbar to the Source Browser window or use the Edit menu.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code To add the search toolbar to the window:

Click Show Search , the source le.

. From the toolbar, you can search for a text string or a line within

To search for a text string:

Enter a search string in the Text Search eld, and click Search Up, , or Search Down , , to nd the next or previous occurrence of the string within the le. The string can include any of the following special characters: * ? Match any number of characters Match a single character

Because SimVision keeps a history of the search strings that you enter, you can enter a partial string and press Tab. If the history contains one matching string, SimVision seeds the Search eld with that string. If the history contains more than one matching string, it displays a list of those strings, and you can choose one. Tip You can also initiate a search by selecting some text in the Source Browser, pressing the right mouse button, and choosing Search for Selected Text from the pop-up menu. To search for a line within the source le:

Enter a line number in the Go To Line eld and click Go, . The Source Browser displays a blue arrow in the left column of the source le at the specied line.

To remove the Search toolbar:

Click Hide Search ,

If you need more exibility when searching for text strings or lines, use the Edit menu. To search for a text string from the Edit menu: 1. Choose Edit Text Search from the Source Browser menu. SimVision opens the Text Search form. 2. Enter a search string in the Find what eld, including the special characters, * and ?.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code The Text Search form also lets you specify the following options:

Disable Regular Expression to specify the exact string you want to nd. When this button is disabled, special characters (* and ?) are treated like ordinary characters. Enable Match Case if you want the search to be case-sensitive. Enable Up or Down to control the direction of the search.

3. Click Find Next to nd each occurrence. 4. Press Close to end the search. To go to a line using the Edit menu:

Choose Edit Go To Line from the menu and enter a line number in the Go To Line form.

Accessing Design Objects and Values

Design objects are underlined in the Source Browser. You can select objects in several ways:
s s s

Click on the object. Control-click to select multiple objects. Use the Select menu to select specic types of objects, such as scopes, signals and variables, and types of ports. Drag-select an area of text to select all of the objects in that area.

After you select objects, you can add them to other windows by clicking the windows Send To toolbar button. When you place the cursor over an object, the Source Browser pops up its full hierarchical name. If you have set a probe on the object, the Source Browser also displays the name of the database to which it is probed and its value at the current time. If you have not set a probe for the object, it is labeled Not probed, and its value is shown as Value Not Available at all times except the last simulation time. If you move the cursor to that time, all objects have a value, regardless of whether they have been probed. If the value of an object changes during the current clock cycle, the pop-up message indicates the signal transition at that time point. For example, if the signal transitions from 0 to 1 in the current clock cycle, the pop-up message shows b0 -> b1. You can turn off the display of signal transitions for all SimVision windows by disabling Display signal transition values in the Signal Options tab of the Preferences window.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code You can display object values on a separate line in between each line of source code. Signal transitions are displayed with the same notation as in the pop-up message. To display object values: Enable Display or Hide Values in the Source Browser toolbar, or enable View Display Values in the Source Browser menu. To hide object values: Disable Display or Hide Values in the Source Browser toolbar, or disable View Display Values in the Source Browser menu. Note: When Watch Live Data is enabled, updated until the simulation pauses or stops. , values in the Source Browser are not

Displaying dene Macros in the Source Browser

When debugging designs that contain define macros, it is often necessary to see the value of a macro or to see the macro denition. All instances of a macro denition are underlined in the Source Browser, like other design objects. Note: The Source Browser can display only the values of macro references that are constants. It cannot display values that are complex expressions. To show the value of a macro:

Hover the cursor over the instance, and the Source Browser displays a tooltip that contains the value of the macro and its denition. Enable Display or Hide Values , , and the Source Browser displays the macro value on a separate line above the line of source code.

To go to the macro denition:

Double-click the instance, or right-click the instance and choose Show Macro Definition from the pop-up menu.

Performing Functions on Design Objects

When you select an object, you can right-click to pop up a menu of functions that you can perform on the object.
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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code The following menu choices are available in the pop-up menu for scopes: Bookmark This View Creates a bookmark for the view currently displayed in the window. Send to Lets you add the objects in the scope to a window. If you choose one of the window types in the menu, SimVision adds the scope to the target window of that type. If you choose Send to new, you can send the scope to a new window of the type you choose. Displays the source code for the scope in the Source Browser and makes that scope the current scope. Opens the Set Probe form, so that you can set a probe on the scope. Chapter 8, Creating and Managing Probes for more information on setting probes. Displays information about the scope, as returned by the describe simulator command.

Set Debug Scope Create Probe

Describe

The following menu choices are available in the pop-up menu for signals and variables: Bookmark This View Creates a bookmark for the view currently displayed in the window. Follow Signal Lets you look at the source code in other scopes where the signal appears. The submenu lists the scopes from which you can choose. If the signal is local to the current scope, the submenu displays (nothing above) and (nothing below) . Note: If your design contains SystemVerilog implicit port connections, the Source Browser displays the port connections as writtenthat is, with the .* notation. The Follow Signal menu choice cannot follow these signals. However, the Schematic Tracer and the Trace Signals sidebar display them as if they were explicitly dened. Trace Driving Logic Opens the Trace Signals sidebar and traces the selected signal back to its module inputs.

Trace Loading Logic Opens the Trace Signals sidebar and traces the selected signal forward to its module outputs. Send to Lets you add the object to a window. If you choose one of the window types in the menu, SimVision adds the object to the target window of that type. If you choose Send to new, you can send the object to a new window of the type you choose.

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Break on Change

Creates a breakpoint on the object. See Chapter 9, Setting and Managing Breakpoints for more information on setting breakpoints. Opens the Force Value form, so that you can specify the value that you want to give to the object. See Forcing and Releasing a Signal Value on page 139. Releases any forces that you have set on the object and returns it to its original value. See Forcing and Releasing a Signal Value on page 139. Opens the Deposit Value form, so that you can specify the value that you want to deposit. See Depositing a Signal Value on page 141. Opens the Set Probe form, so that you can set a probe on the object. Chapter 8, Creating and Managing Probes for more information on setting probes. Displays the current value of the object in the simulator tab of the Console window. Displays the full hierarchical name and current value of the selected object. This is the same information that pops up when you position the cursor over the object in the Source Browser.

Set Force

Release Force

Deposit Value

Create Probe

Show Value Describe

Setting Breakpoints
The Source Browser provides shortcuts for setting line and signal breakpoints. For more information on setting breakpoints, see Chapter 9, Setting and Managing Breakpoints. To set a line breakpoint:

Double-click on the line number, or right-click a line number and choose one of the following pop-up menu entries: Break at Line Break at Line in Instance Break at Line in Object Same as double-clicking on the line number Applies to class objects only

A red stop sign in the left column indicates that a breakpoint is set. You can set more than one type of breakpoint on the same line. However, the Source Browser displays only one

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code stop sign. Hover the mouse pointer over the stop sign, and a tool tip shows you the breakpoints set on that line, as shown in Figure 4-2 on page 72. Figure 4-2 Line Breakpoint in the Source Browser

You cannot set a breakpoint on all lines of the source code. The Source Browser displays in black the line numbers for lines that can accept breakpoints; it displays in gray the line numbers for lines that cannot accept breakpoints. See Preparing Your Design for Simulation on page 37 for information on making source line numbers available to SimVision. To disable all breakpoints on a line:

Double-click on the line number or stop sign to disable all breakpoints set on the line. When disabled, the stop sign turns gray, as shown in Figure 4-3 on page 72.

Figure 4-3 Disabled Line Breakpoint

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code To disable or delete one or all breakpoints:

Right-click the breakpoint and choose one of the following pop-up menu entries: Delete all Breakpoints on Line <n> Disable all Breakpoints on Line <n> Delete Line Break in Instance Disable Line Break in Instance Delete Line Break in Object Disable Line Break in Object Delete Line Break Disable Line Break Applies to class objects only Applies to class objects only

To set a signal breakpoint:

Select the signal and click Breakpoint , Change .

, or right-click and choose Break on

When you set a signal breakpoint, no breakpoint icon appears, but you can see the breakpoint denition in the Properties window, as described in Managing Breakpoints in the Properties Window on page 138.

Setting Probes
The Source Browser provides the following shortcuts for setting probes:

Select an object and choose Send to Waveform from the pop-up menu. This menu choice performs the following operations:

Opens the default database, if you have not opened a default database already. Sets a probe on the selected object. Sends the object to the Waveform window. If a Waveform window is not opened, it opens one for you.

Select an object and choose Create Probe from the pop-up menu, or choose Simulation Create Probe from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Set Probe form, which you can use to create the probe.

See Chapter 8, Creating and Managing Probes for more information on setting probes.
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Running the Simulation

You can run the simulation from the Source Browser window, using either the simulation toolbar or the Simulation menu. See Chapter 11, Controlling the Simulation for more information on using this toolbar and menu. If the current execution point is known, the Source Browser displays a yellow arrow next to the line of source code that is currently executing, as shown in Figure 4-4 on page 74. Otherwise, the arrow is displayed in gray at the last known execution point. Figure 4-4 Displaying the Current Execution Point

The Source Browser may not know the current execution point for the following reasons:
s s

For Verilog designs, it has stopped at the wire resolution phase of the simulation cycle. For VHDL designs, it has stopped at the signal evaluation phase.

If the current execution point is not displayed in the Source Browser window, you can quickly move to that point, by clicking Current Execution Point , , in the simulation toolbar. If the current execution point is not known, the Current Execution Point button is disabled.

Viewing the Call Stack

During simulation, you can view the Verilog and VHDL call stack in the Source Navigation sidebar of the Source Browser window. This tab also functions as a thread manager for

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code SystemC processes. For information on how to use this tab with SystemC designs, see the NC-SC User Guide . Important This feature is available only in the target Source Browser window. Make sure you enable the target icon for the Source Browser window in which you want to view the call stack. To open the call stack: Select the Call Stack tab in the Source Browser sidebar. The Source Browser displays the call stack, as shown in Figure 4-5 on page 75.

Tip If the sidebar is not visible, enable the Sidebar option in the View menu, then click the Call Stack tab. Figure 4-5 Displaying the Call Stack

When simulation enters a Verilog task or function, or a VHDL function, process, or procedure, its name is added to the call stack. When the task, function, process, or procedure exits, its name is removed from the call stack. If there is nothing on the call stack at the current execution point, the Source Browser displays (call stack empty).

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code When you click on an entry in the call stack, the Source Browser points to its location in the source code. Note: For Verilog, the sidebar can display the call stack only for the currently executing task or function, and only if the debug scope is set to the scope in which it is executing.

Finding the Cause of a Signal Transition

There might be times when you would like to trace a signal transition to the place in the source code that causes the transition. SimVision is able to go directly to the source code if you are tracing a non-structural object, such as a Verilog register or VHDL variable, and if you have saved statement trace information in the database. If you do not save statement trace information, or if you are tracing a structural object, such as a Verilog net or a VHDL signal, SimVision can trace the cause of a transition with the Trace Signals sidebar. From the Trace Signals sidebar, you can trace drivers and contributing signals and view them in the Source Browser. For information on the Trace Signals sidebar, see Chapter 16, Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar. If you trace a structural object that has no drivers, it is displayed in the Trace Signals sidebar, but no drivers appear below it. When you double-click on the object, a message pops up, stating that no drivers are available. To save statement trace information: 1. Create a database and enable Record statement trace information . Although statement trace information can more quickly locate the cause of a problem in your design, it slows the performance of the simulator. The simulator warns you of this when you create the database. 2. Probe the scope in which you want to trace statement information. When setting a probe, you must include all ports, inputs, outputs, and variables. You might also want to include all subscopes. Important You cannot gather statement trace information with an object probe. 3. Simulate the design to generate the simulation data.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code To nd the cause of a signal transition: 1. In the Waveform window, select a signal and place the primary cursor on the signal transition that you want to trace, or anywhere within the waveform where the signal has the desired value. 2. Choose Explore Go To Cause . SimVision opens the Source Browser and adds the signal to the Trace Signals sidebar. 3. When Click and add to source code area is enabled, you can select a signal in the Trace Signals sidebar and see where it is dened in the source code.

Using Bookmarks in the Source Browser

In the Source Browser, a bookmark saves the source le, line number, and scope displayed in the window. You can use the bookmark to restore the view at a later time. You create, rename, reorder, and delete bookmarks in the Bookmarks sidebar. Bookmarks are automatically saved when you exit SimVision and restored when you run SimVision again from the same design directory. Video Source Browser Bookmarks To open the Bookmarks sidebar: Click Bookmarks in the Source Browser sidebar, or choose View Manage Bookmarks from the menu bar. To create a bookmark:

Click Add a Bookmark , the menu bar.

, in the sidebar, or choose View Add to Bookmarks from

The Source Browser assigns a unique name to the bookmark, based on the source le name, line number, and scope. To rename a bookmark:

Double-click the bookmark to open a text area where you can edit the name; press Return to close the text area.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code To reorder the list of bookmarks:

Press and hold the middle mouse button over the bookmark, then drag the bookmark to a new location in the list.

To delete a bookmark:

Select the bookmark and click Delete ,

To return to a view that you have bookmarked:

Select the bookmark in the sidebar.

The Properties window lists all of the bookmarks that you create. You can use the Properties window to rename and delete bookmarks. To manage Source Browser bookmarks in the Properties window: 1. Click Properties , , in the Send To toolbar and select Bookmarks in the lefthand pane of the window, or click Display Bookmark Properties , , in the Bookmarks sidebar. 2. Select Source Browser in the Bookmarks tab of the Properties window. This displays the Source Browser bookmarks that you have created. 3. You can perform the following operations on bookmarks:

Double-click on a bookmark to edit its name. Select one or more bookmarks and click Delete , , to delete the bookmarks.

Drag and drop bookmarks to change their order in the list.

Editing a Source File

You cannot edit a source le directly in the Source Browser, because it would no longer represent the design snapshot currently loaded into the simulator. However, you can invoke a text editor, either from the Source Browser or outside of the SimVision environment, make the necessary changes, and then create a new snapshot and load it into the simulator. To invoke a text editor from the Source Browser:

Use the Scope toolbar to display the source code you want to edit, then click Edit Source , . The editor that you invoke depends on your preferences setting. See Source Browser on page 318 for information on choosing an editor.

After you save the le and reselect the scope for the le, the Source Browser displays the Modied indicator in the Source Browser status bar, as shown in Figure 4-6 on page 79.
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SimVision User Guide Accessing the Design Source Code Figure 4-6 Modied Indicator in the Source Browser Status Bar

If you have edited the source le after creating the snapshot but before invoking SimVision, the Source Browser displays the Modied indicator, and it displays a message that objects might not line up correctly in the Source Browser as a result of the changes. To create a new snapshot and load it into the simulator:

Choose Simulation Reinvoke Simulator from the menu bar of any SimVision window. SimVision compiles and elaborates the design, loads the new snapshot into the simulator, and sets simulation time to 0. For more information, see Reinvoking the Simulation on page 147.

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Accessing Design Objects
The Design Browser and Design Search sidebars let you access the objects in your design. You can use these sidebars to locate the signals and variables that you want to debug. For example, you can use them to select objects to send to the Waveform window or to the Schematic Tracer. For information on expanding, collapsing, and hiding the sidebars, see Using the Sidebar on page 28.

Using the Design Browser Sidebar

The Design Browser sidebar lets you navigate the design hierarchy for the simulation or database that you have loaded into SimVision. To access the Design Search sidebar:

Click the Design Browser tab.

Tip If the sidebar is not visible, enable the Sidebar option in the View menu, then click the Design Browser tab. The sidebar contains a scope view, which shows the design hierarchy, plus controls for browsing and ltering the hierarchy, and for displaying signals within the hierarchy. You can display the scope in tree format or list format. Tree format displays the scopes of the design hierarchically, as shown in Figure 5-1 on page 82. List format displays only the objects at the currently selected level of hierarchy, as shown in Figure 5-2 on page 83.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing Design Objects To switch between tree format and list format:

Enable View Show Scope Tree View for tree format; disable this option for list format.

You can also save this setting as a preference in the Design Browser Preferences tab, as described in Scope View on page 317. Figure 5-1 Design Browser Sidebar in Tree Format

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SimVision User Guide Accessing Design Objects Figure 5-2 Displaying the Scope in List Format

The icons indicate the types of the objects in the scope. Table 5-1 Scope View Icons Verilog module instance Verilog package instance SystemVerilog interface SystemVerilog interface reference SystemVerilog modport SystemVerilog program block SystemVerilog clocking block SystemVerilog class SystemVerilog class specialization

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Verilog or VHDL function Verilog named block Verilog task Verilog generate statement Procedure statement VHDL package instance or VHDL block VHDL block VHDL component instance VHDL concurrent assertion VHDL concurrent procedure call VHDL concurrent signal assignment VHDL generate statement SystemC module SystemC process SystemC thread process OVM instance e language objects e language SystemVerilog object e language generate statement

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Selecting a Design Hierarchy to View

When you are connected to a simulation, the top of the design hierarchy is called simulator. You can connect to only one simulation at a time. When you are running a simulation, you might probe objects to one or more databases. These databases all store information about the objects in the simulator design hierarchy. Therefore, by default, the Design Browser sidebar displays a single hieararchy, without regard for the databases where the simulation data is written. You might also open any number of databases, which contain the results of previous simulations. These databases are not connected to the simulator. When you invoke the simulator in post-processing mode (by specifying the -ppe and -ppdb options on the ncsim command), the scope view displays the name design and the top-level scope of the hierarchy. You can view all of the objects in the database. Probed objects are displayed in regular font; unprobed objects are in italics. If you want to view the probed objects only, enable the Show/Hide unprobed objects button in the signal list. When you open a database in SimVision (by specifying the database argument on the simvision command line, or by choosing File Open database from any SimVision menu), the scope view shows the database logical name and the top-level scope of the design hierarchy. If you load multiple databases from the same simulation session, SimVision automatically overlays the databases over the same design hierarchy. Thus, at any time you might have one simulator with objects probed to one or more databases, plus any number of databases from other simulations, all loaded into SimVision at the same time. SimVision lets you choose which hierarchies you want to display in the scope view. To choose the hierarchies that you want to view:

Choose simulator from the Browse drop-down list to display the hierarchy for the design snapshot you are simulating.

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Choose the name of a database from the Browse drop-down list to display the hierarchy for a specic database. Choose All to display all hierarchies that are loaded into SimVision.

Setting the Root of the Scope View

When you select a hierarchy, the top-level design unit is added to the Browse drop-down list. If you select that design unit from the list, its children are added to the list. To make a subscope the root of the scope view:

Choose a design unit from the drop-down list. In this way, you can control how much of the design hierarchy is visible in the view. Select the design unit in the scope view and choose Browse from here from the pop-up menu. Tip When in list format, you can double-click on a subscope to make that scope the root of the scope view.

To make a parent scope the root of the scope view:

Click Scope Up , Tip

. This button moves up the hierarchy one scope at a time.

When viewing a long list of subscopes in tree format, you can quickly scroll back to the parent scope by selecting the subscope, then right-clicking and choosing Scroll to parent .

Expanding and Collapsing a Scope

To expand and collapse the scope:

Click the + button next to a level of hierarchy, and the hierarchy expands to display the next lower level. Click the - button next to a level of hierarchy, and the hierarchy collapses to remove all lower-level hierarchies from the scope view.

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Choose Edit Explode Scope , and the hierarchy expands all scopes beginning at the selected scope and ending at the leaf nodes of all subscopes. Locked scopes are not expanded.

When a level of hierarchy does not have a + or - button, it is a leaf node. That is, there are no levels of hierarchy below it. However, if you probe additional scopes during an interactive simulation, a leaf node may turn into a non-leaf node.

Locking and Unlocking a Scope

When a hierarchy is large, you might want to prevent certain scopes from appearing in the scope view. This is done by locking those scopes. When you lock a scope, you cannot expand it, and you cannot search or select any of its subscopes. However, you can still probe its contents, including the contents of its subscopes. To lock a scope:

Select the scope and choose View Lock/Unlock Scope . The Design Browser sidebar marks the scope with a lock icon.

To unlock a scope:

Select the locked scope and choose View Lock/Unlock Scope from the menu bar, or right-click and choose Lock/Unlock Scope .

Filtering the Scope View

When your design hierarchy is large, you might want to lter the scope view to remove those scopes that you are not interested in. To lter the scope view:

Enter a scope name, partial name, or a glob or regular expression in the Leaf Filter eld. As you enter lter strings, the Design Browser sidebar adds them to a drop-down list, so that you can quickly switch from one lter setting to another. If you specify multiple strings in the Leaf Filter eld, separated by spaces, they are ORed. See Searching for Objects in the SimVision Command Reference for information on how to form glob and regular expressions.

Because SimVision keeps a history of the search strings that you enter, you can enter a partial string and press Tab. If the history contains one matching string, SimVision seeds the Leaf Filter eld with that string. If the history contains more than one matching string, it displays a list of those strings, and you can choose one.
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Important The Leaf Filter eld lters only at the leaf-node level because a scope can contain subscopes that match the lter string. Removing higher-level scopes could hide matching subscopes. As a result, the Design Browser sidebar might display scopes that do not match the lter string. Figure 5-3 on page 88 shows a scope view that has been ltered to show only those scopes whose names begin with the string load, plus all higher-level scopes. At those levels of hierarchy where scopes have been removed from the scope view, it displays an ellipsis (...). Figure 5-3 Filtering the Scope View

Searching for Scopes

To add the search toolbar to the window:

Click Show Search , scope tree.

. From the search toolbar, you can search for a text string in the

To search for a text string:

Enter a search string in the Text Search eld, and click Search Up, Down , , to nd the next or previous occurrence of the string.

, andSearch

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SimVision User Guide Accessing Design Objects The string can include any of the following special characters: * ? Match any number of characters Match a single character

Selecting Scopes
To select scopes, use any of the following methods:

Select a single scope by clicking on it in the scope view. Select multiple scopes by Shift-clicking on contiguous scopes, or Control-clicking on non-contiguous scopes. Select a scope and all of its child scopes by clicking on a top-level scope, then do one of the following:

Choose Select Scope Deep. Right-click and choose Select Deep. Click Select Scope Deep, .

All of the subscopes of the top-level scope are also selected. Select Deep selects all subscopes, regardless of whether they are expanded in the scope view.

Displaying Objects in Selected Scopes

You can choose where you want to display the signals and variables contained in the selected scopeseither in the sidebar or in the window that contains the sidebar. To display objects in the sidebar: 1. In the Show contents eld, choose In the selector below. Signals are displayed in the sidebar. 2. If the Click and add to waveform area button is enabled (the label reects the type of the containing window), you can send signals to the containing window by clicking on them within the sidebar. If this button is disabled, you can select the signals in the sidebar, then click the Add button in the containing window to add them to the window.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing Design Objects 3. You can choose which types of signals you want to display by enabling or disabling the following buttons: Show or hide input ports Show or hide output ports Show or hide inout ports Show or hide internal signals Show or hide transaction streams Show or hide assertions Show or hide unprobed signals

4. To lter signals from the signal list by name, enter the signal or variable name, or partial name, in the Filter eld. Prex the search string with ~ to display signals that do not match the lter string. Objects whose names match the string are displayed in the signal list; all other objects are removed. As you enter lter strings, the Design Browser sidebar adds them to a drop-down list, so that you can quickly switch from one lter setting to another. If you specify multiple strings in the Filter eld, separated by spaces, they are ORed. That is, the Design Browser sidebar displays a signal if it matches any of the lter strings. To display objects in the containing window:

In the Show contents eld, choose in the waveform area (the label reects the type of the containing window). When you select a scope in the scope view, its signals are displayed in the containing window. If the selected scope contains subscopes, only the signals in the top-level scope are added to the window.

Setting Scope View Options

You can control how scopes are displayed in the scope view, including how they are sorted, the format of their names, and the types of scopes that you want to display.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing Design Objects To set scope view options: 1. Click Options . The Design Browser sidebar opens the Scope View tab of the Sidebar Options form. 2. In the General tab, you can set the following options:

Choose how you want to sort scopes in the scope view, either by name or by declaration type. Enable Show Module/Unit Names if you want the Design Browser to display module or design unit names. Note: Show Module/Unit Names does not apply to the e unit tree. The e unit tree displays the short names for units at all times.

Enable Show Icons to display icons that indicate object type, or disable this option to display only the object name. Enable Show Tree View to display the scopes of the design hierarchically. Disable this option to display only the objects at the current level of hierarchy.

3. Click the Verilog tab and enable the types of Verilog scopes you want to display in the scope view. 4. Click the VHDL tab and enable the types of VHDL scopes you want to display in the scope view. 5. Click the SystemC tab and enable the types of SystemC scopes you want to display in the scope view. 6. Click the e tab and enable the types of e scopes you want to display in the scope view. Important The options you choose affect the sidebar in the current window only. Use the Design Browser Scope View Preferences tab to change these settings for all Design Browser windows, as described in Scope View on page 317.

Setting Signal List Options

You can control how signals are displayed in the signal list area of the sidebar, including the types of signals that are displayed, and how they are sorted. To set signal list options: 1. Click Options . SimVision opens the Sidebar Options form.
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SimVision User Guide Accessing Design Objects 2. Enable Signal List on the left side of the form. SimVision displays the Signal List General options. 3. In the General tab, select the signal types that you want to display in the Signal List area of the sidebar. 4. In the Verilog tab, select the Verilog signal types that you want to display. 5. In the VHDL tab, specify the VHDL signal types that you want to display. 6. In the SystemC tab, enable the SystemC signal types that you want to display. 7. In the e tab, enable the e language scope types that you want to display. Important The options you choose affect the sidebar in the current window only.

Using the Design Search Sidebar

The Design Search sidebar lets you search for scopes, signals, and variables across multiple databases without regard for the design hierarchy. To access the Design Search sidebar:

Click the Design Search tab.

Tip If the sidebar is not visible, enable the Sidebar option in the View menu, then click the Design Search tab. The Design Search sidebar is shown in Figure 5-4 on page 93.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing Design Objects Figure 5-4 Design Search Sidebar

Searching for Objects

To search for objects: 1. Enter a search string in the Search for text eld. This string species the name, or partial name, of the object that you want to nd. By default, the search string is *, which matches any name. SimVision keeps a history of the search strings that you enter. Therefore, you can enter a partial string and press Tab. If the history contains one matching string, SimVision seeds the Search for text eld with that string. If the history contains more than one matching string, it displays a list of those strings, and you can choose one. You can drag and drop the signal or scope into the Search for text eld. SimVision adds the simple name of the object, not the full scope path. Tip Prex the search string with ~ to search for signals that do not match the lter string. 2. Enable Case sensitivity, , if you want your search to be case sensitive; disable the button, , if you want the search to be case insensitive. This button is useful, for example, when debugging a mixed-language design in which the Verilog code is case sensitive and the VHDL code is case insensitive.

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SimVision User Guide Accessing Design Objects 3. In the Consider eld, choose the types of objects you want to search for, as follows:

All Design Elements Only Signals/Variables Only Scopes

4. If you want to return only those signals that have a specic valueX , Z , 0 , 0r 1 at the current simulation time, choose the value from the With value drop-down menu. The default is Any value . 5. Enable the types of signals that you want to search for, by enabling or disabling the following buttons: Show or hide input ports Show or hide output ports Show or hide inout ports Show or hide internal signals Show or hide transaction streams Show or hide assertions Show or hide unprobed signals

6. In the Look In eld, specify the hierarchy and scopes within that hierarchy that you want to search, in any of the following ways:

From the drop-down menu, choose the simulator or database hierarchy that you want to search, or choose All Available Data to search all hierarchies that are loaded into SimVision. When you select a hierarchy, its top-level scope is added to the drop-down list. Select this scope to add its sub-scopes to the list. Continue in this way until you reach the scope that you want to search.

Drag a scope from any SimVision window and drop it into the Look In eld.

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Select a scope in any SimVision window, then right-click and choose Search from here .

7. Use the Include drop-down menu to further limit how scopes are searched. Choose from the following levels:

Just this level Search only the current scope All sub-scopes Search sub-scopes of the current scope, except library cells All sub-scopes, down to cells Ssearch sub-scopes of the current scope, including library cells

8. Click Search Now to perform the search. While the search is in progress, the Search button is replaced with an Abort button. If you want to stop the search before it has completed, click Abort .

Displaying the Search Results

You can display the results of the search in the sidebar, or send the signals and scopes to the containing window. To display the results in the sidebar: 1. In the Show results eld, choose In the selector below. The signals and scopes returned by the search are displayed in the sidebar. 2. If the Click and add to waveform area button is enabled (the label reects the type of the containing window), you can send the results to the containing window by clicking on them within the sidebar. If this button is disabled, you can select the signals in the sidebar, then click the Add button in the containing window to add them to the window. To display results in the containing window:

In the Show results eld, choose In the waveform area (the label reects the type of the containing window). When you perform a search, the signals and scopes are sent to the containing window.

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Monitoring Signal Values
The Design Browser lets you monitor signal value changes, during a running simulation or in a simulation database.

Opening a Design Browser Window

By default, SimVision opens one Design Browser window when it starts up, as shown in Figure 6-1 on page 98. To open additional windows:

In the Send To toolbar of any SimVision window, click and hold the Design Browser button, , and choose New Browser, or choose Windows New Design Browser from the menu bar.

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SimVision User Guide Monitoring Signal Values Figure 6-1 Design Browser Window

The left side of the window contains the Design Browser sidebar, which lets you select the objects in the design. These are added to the signal list in the right side of the window. You use the signal list to monitor the signal values. See Chapter 5, Accessing Design Objects for information on the Design Browser sidebar. Video Monitoring Signal Values

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Displaying Signals and Variables

To select the signals that you want to monitor, use either of the following methods:

In the Design Browser sidebar, set the Show contents field to In the signal list area . When you select a scope, all of the signals in that scope are added to the signal list. In the Design Browser sidebar, set the Show contents field to In the selector below. When you select a scope, its signals are displayed in the sidebar. If you enable Click and add to signal list area , individual signals within the scope are added to the signal list as you select them. If this button is disabled, you can drag and drop signals into the signal list.

The Design Browser window displays the names and values of signals in the signal list, as shown in Figure 6-2 on page 99. Figure 6-2 Signals and Variables in the Signal List

The left column shows the signal names; the right column shows the signal values at the primary cursor time. Probed objects are shown in regular font; unprobed objects are shown in italics. If the signal value changes at the current cursor time, the transition is displayed with the notation old-value -> new-value .

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SimVision User Guide Monitoring Signal Values A button sometimes appears below the Name column when the hierarchy becomes so deep that the expand and compress buttons (+ and -) reach the right side of the column. You can use this button to scroll through the signal names, as follows: Click the right or left side of the pyramid to shift the hierarchy to the left or right.

Note: For probed objects, signal values are available for all simulation times that the probe is in effect. For unprobed objects with read access, signal values are available only for the current simulation time, if Watch Live Data , , is enabled. Note: When a signal is probed to a database, you can go back in time, and the Design Browser displays the values for the signals at that time. For analog buses, the Design Browser shows the value for the whole bus and the values for the individual bits of the bus. However, bit values in the whole bus representation and in the individual bit representation are different. This is because SimVision interpolates values for individual bits, whereas the whole bus value is taken from the solution point. When you move the cursor in the Waveform window, individual bits show the correct interpolated values.

Sorting the Signal List

Signals appear in the signal list in the order in which you add them. To sort the signals in the signal list:

Choose View Sort By Name to sort the signals in alphabetical order. Choose View Sort By Declaration to sort the signals by declaration type.

Choosing the Format of Signal Names

You can display signal names in one of the following formats:
s s s s

Name Displays only the signal name Path.Name Displays the full hierarchical signal name Db::Name Displays the database name and signal name Db::Path.Name Displays the database name and full hierarchical signal name

To change the format of signal list names:

Select the desired format from the drop-down list above the signal names.

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Choosing the Radix for Signal Values

By default, the Design Browser displays signal values in the radix in which they were recorded. To change the radix:

Choose a radix from the drop-down list in the Value column.

Justifying the Signal Values

The button below the Value column indicates whether the column is left-justied or right-justied. Click the button to toggle between the two choices. The button changes, as follows: Indicates that the Value column is left-justied. Indicates that the Value column is right-justied.

Filtering Signals in the Signal List

For each object, the Design Browser window indicates whether the object is an input, output, input/output, internal signal, transaction stream, or assertion. You can choose which types of signals you want to display by enabling or disabling the following buttons: Show or hide input ports Show or hide output ports Show or hide inout ports Show or hide internal signals Show or hide transaction streams Show or hide assertions

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Show or hide unprobed signals

To lter signals from the signal list by name, enter the signal or variable name, partial name in the Filter eld. Prex the search string with ~ to display signals that do not match the lter string. Objects whose names satisfy the search criteria are displayed in the signal list; all other objects are removed. Tip If you want to include wildcard characters, you must enable Filter using regular expressions in the Design Browser Signal List tab of the Preferences window. See Searching for Objects in the SimVision Command Reference for information on how to form a regular expression. As you enter lter strings, the Design Browser window adds them to a drop-down list, so that you can quickly switch from one lter setting to another. If you specify multiple strings in the Filter eld, separated by spaces, the Design Browser window displays a signal if it matches any of the lter strings. Tip By default, the Design Browser updates the signal list incrementally, that is, after each character that you enter in the Filter eld. If you want the signal list to be ltered only after you have nished entering the entire search string, terminated by a Return, disable the Incremental Signal Filtering option in the Design Browser tab of the Preferences window. SimVision uses the notation more to indicate that some objects have been ltered from the signal list.

Viewing Aggregate Signals

When you view aggregate signals in the Design Browser, such as arrays, VHDL records, and SystemVerilog structures, you might want to see just the name of the signal or expand the signal to see the individual elements. The Design Browser provides several ways to expand and collapse aggregate signals. When you expand a large signal with many elements, you can create a scrollable region, so that the object takes up less space in the window. In addition, you can sort the elements of a queue, or a dynamic or associative array in either 0-rst or reverse index order.

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Video Viewing Aggregate Signals

Expanding and Collapsing Aggregates

Note: Queues, and dynamic and associative arrays can be expanded only when Watch Live Data , , is enabled. You can expand and collapse objects in several ways. From the Edit menu:

To expand an object, select it and choose Edit Expand Signal Expand from the menu bar. To collapse an object, select it and choose Edit Expand Signal Collapse from the menu bar.

When View Show Values is enabled:

To expand an object, click on the + button next to the signal, or double-click on the signal name. To collapse an object, click on the - button next to the signal, or double-click on the signal name. Right-click the signal name and choose Expand Expand .

When View Show Values is disabled:

To expand or collapse an object, double-click on its name. Right-click the signal name and choose Expand Expand .

When a signal is expanded, you see each element of the object. For example, Figure 6-3 on page 104 shows two arrays. The one named cans is expanded; you can see each bit of the array. The one named dimes is collapsed. In this gure, View Show Values is enabled, so that you can see both the signal names and their values at the current simulation time.

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SimVision User Guide Monitoring Signal Values Figure 6-3 Expanding an Array

Some aggregate types give you different options for expanding objects of those types. For example, you can expand a VHDL record to Record Elements , and packed structures to low-level elements, such as Bits and Bytes , as well as higher-level Structure Elements .

Splitting a Signal
You can split aggregates composed of bitssuch as bit vectors, integers, and SystemVerilog packed structuresinto bits and bytes, or a width that you dene. Whenever you choose a new width, it becomes the default width for all subsequent expand operations on that signal. There are several ways to split a signal. From the Edit menu:

Select the object that you want to split, and enable the width in the Expand Signal pull-right menu. Note: If the object you have selected is not expanded, choosing a width does not expand the object. However, if the object is expanded, it is displayed with the new width.

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SimVision User Guide Monitoring Signal Values When View Show Values is enabled:

Right-click the + button next to the signal that you want to split, and choose a width. Note: If the object is not already expanded, choosing a width expands the object at the same time. If the object is expanded to a different width, it is displayed with the new width.

When View Show Values is disabled:

Right-click the signal name and choose the width that you want to use from the Expand pull-right menu. Note: If the object is not already expanded, choosing a width does not expand it. However, if the object is already expanded, it is displayed with the new width.

To dene your own width: 1. Right-click the + button next to the signal, and choose User-Defined Width . SimVision opens the Enter Desired Width form. 2. Enter the width and click OK . SimVision splits the signal to the desired width, and also adds the new width to the pop-up menu.

Creating a Scrollable Region

Aggregates can be quite large, and you might not want to display an entire object at once. You can make an aggregate scrollable and display only a portion of it at a time. Note: When you expand SystemVerilog queues, and dynamic and associative arrays, the scrollable region is enabled by default. To make an aggregate scrollable: 1. Enable View Show Values in the menu bar. Note: You cannot create a scrollable region when View Show Values is disabled. 2. Right-click the + icon next to the object and enable Scrollable View in the pop-up menu, or select the object and choose Edit Expand Scrollable View from the menu bar. The Design Browser displays a portion of the aggregate. To adjust the size of the scrollable region: 1. Move the cursor over an edge of the scrollable region, and the Design Browser displays a box around the region. In the lower left corner of the box, notice the sizer button. 2. Drag the sizer up or down to increase or decrease the size of the scrollable region.

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SimVision User Guide Monitoring Signal Values To scroll a region: 1. Move the cursor to the right side of the scrollable region. The Design Browser displays a scroll bar. 2. Drag the cursor up and down within the scroll bar. Scrolling speeds up as the cursor moves toward the top or bottom of the scroll bar, and it slows down as the cursor moves closer to the middle of the scroll bar. Click on the arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar to scroll one line at a time.

Making the Design Browser Window Compact

After you have added all of the signals you want to see in the Design Browser window, you can reduce the window size. When the Design Browser window is compact, it acts more like a watch window, in which you can monitor signal values as they change during simulation. To make the window compact:

Click Compact ,

When the window is compact, the Design Browser sidebar is removed, the menu bar is removed, all toolbars are removed except for the cursor control toolbar, and the width of the window is reduced to the size of the signal list. Tip You can add toolbars by right-clicking over any blank area or separator in the toolbar, and enabling the toolbar in the pop-up menu.

Using Bookmarks in the Design Browser

In the Design Browser, a bookmark saves the scope displayed in the window. You can use the bookmark to restore the view at a later time. You create, rename, reorder, and delete bookmarks in the Bookmarks sidebar. Bookmarks are automatically saved when you exit SimVision and restored when you run SimVision again from the same design directory. Video Design Browser Bookmarks
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SimVision User Guide Monitoring Signal Values To open the Bookmarks sidebar: Click Bookmarks in the Design Browser sidebar, or choose View Manage Bookmarks from the menu bar. To create a bookmark:

Click Add a Bookmark , the menu bar.

, in the sidebar, or choose View Add to Bookmarks from

The Design Browser assigns a unique name to the bookmark, based on the scope. To rename a bookmark:

Double-click the bookmark to open a text area where you can edit the name; press Return to close the text area.

To reorder the list of bookmarks:

Press and hold the middle mouse button over the bookmark, then drag the bookmark to a new location in the list.

To delete a bookmark:

Select the bookmark and click Delete ,

To return to a view that you have bookmarked:

Select the bookmark in the sidebar.

The Properties window lists all of the bookmarks that you create. You can use the Properties window to rename and delete bookmarks. To manage bookmarks in the Properties window: 1. Click Properties , , in the Send To toolbar and select Bookmarks in the lefthand pane of the window, or click Display Bookmark Properties , , in the Bookmarks sidebar. 2. Select Design Browser in the Bookmarks tab of the Properties window. This displays the Design Browser bookmarks that you have created. 3. You can perform the following operations on bookmarks:

Double-click on a bookmark to edit its name. Select one or more bookmarks and click Delete , , to delete the bookmarks.

Drag and drop bookmarks to change their order in the list.

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Setting Design Browser Preferences

To choose the information you want to display in the Design Browser window: 1. Enable or disable View Show Values to add or remove signal values from the signal list. By default, the Design Browser displays signal values if you are connected to a simulator. 2. Choose Edit Preferences to open the Design Browser tab of the Preferences form. 3. Set Design Browser preferences, Scope View preferences, and Signal List preferences as described in Chapter 25, Setting Preferences. Important The options you choose in the Preferences window are applied to the current Design Browser window, as well as any new Design Browser windows that you open.

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7
Managing Simulation Databases
Simulation databases store information about the signal transitions that occur during simulation. You can use these les to debug your design in post-processing mode, rather than while running the simulation. SimVision creates databases in SST2 format. An SST2 database is made up of the following les:
s

Design leContains information about the design hierarchy and connectivity. Design les have the .dsn extension. Transition leRecords information about signal values and how they change during simulation. Transition les have the .trn extension. Each transition le references a design le. You can create multiple transition les for different simulation times; each transition le references the same design le. Statement Trace leContains information that lets you trace the cause of a signal transition to its location in the source code. This information is not generated unless you specically request it, because it signicantly increases the overall size of the simulation database. Statement trace les have the .stc extension.

These les are stored in a database directory that contains only those les. By convention, this directory has the .shm extension. You are not limited in the number of transition les that you can create during simulation. Creating several les, called incremental les, can be useful in some situations. For example, if your design is large, you might want to save simulation data for each component of the design in its own database. Using this method, you can debug the design components separately before debugging the interfaces between them. You can use system tasks to split your transition le in this way. You can also specify a maximum le size for the transition le. When a transition le approaches the maximum size, the simulator creates a new le. The simulator gives each new le the same base name as the original transition le, and it appends an incremental number to the name. For example, if the original le is named ncsim.trn, the rst incremental le is named ncsim-1.trn, the next is named ncsim-2.trn, and so on.

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SimVision User Guide Managing Simulation Databases Whenever a new transition le is created, a new statement trace le is also created. It is given the same incremental number as its corresponding transition le, such as ncsim-1.stc. Breaking up large databases into incremental les can improve SimVisions performance and memory usage, because you can load into SimVision only those les that contain the information you want to view. You can open incremental les individually, by specifying their names, or you can open all of them at once, by specifying the directory in which they are stored. When you load multiple incremental les into SimVision, the data is merged. That is, you see a single waveform for a signal, even though the simulation data is split across multiple les. You can also merge incremental databases by concatenating the les, such as with the cat command on UNIX systems. However, when you merge the les in this way, you lose the ability to load them incrementally. Note: Creating incremental les by calling system tasks is supported in both Verilog-XL and the Incisive simulator. Creating incremental les automatically by specifying a maximum le size is supported only by the Incisive simulator; it is not supported by Verilog-XL. Important As of the IUS5.3 release, the size of an SST2 database has been reduced by an average of 40%. SimVision can still read databases created with earlier versions of SimVision, but earlier versions of SimVision cannot read these new, optimized databases. If you have a database created by an earlier version of SimVision, you can still load it into later versions of SimVision. However, if you create an optimized database, it cannot be read by earlier versions of SimVision or by other tools that require the larger database format, such as Signalscan. If you need to create a database to be read by these tools, set the following environment variable to turn off database optimization:
setenv CDS_SHM_COMPATIBILITY 5.1

Creating an SST2 Database

SimVision creates a database automatically when you set a probe or when you send a design object to the Waveform window. It names the database directory waves.shm, and it uses default database options. For example, it does not record event and statement trace information.

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SimVision User Guide Managing Simulation Databases You an create a database when you do not want to use the default settings. The options you can set when creating a database differ, depending on the simulator you are using: Incisive simulator Verilog-XL See Creating a Database with the Incisive simulator on page 111. See Creating a Database with Verilog-XL on page 112.

Creating a Database with the Incisive simulator

To create a database with the Incisive simulator: 1. Choose File Create Database from any SimVision window. SimVision opens the New Database form. 2. Specify either the logical name for the database, or the name of the database le. During simulation, you refer to the database by its logical name. If you do not specify a logical name, SimVision generates the logical name by using the database lename without the extension. If you do not specify a database lename, SimVision generates a lename by adding the .shm extension to the logical name. 3. Disable Open as default database if you do not want this to be the default database. Objects that you probe are automatically written to the default database, unless you specify a different database in the Probe form. 4. Enable Record all events if you want to write all value changes to the database. This is useful if you need to debug race conditions or locate where a signal is assigned multiple values during the same clock cycle. 5. Enable Record statement trace information if you want to trace the cause of a transition in the Source Browser. If you do not record statement trace information, SimVision traces the cause of the transition in the Trace Signals sidebar. 6. Enable Maximum database size to set a limit on the size of the database. By default, there is no size limit. The value that you enter in the text eld must be a positive integer that indicates the number of bytes. SST2 databases exist as chunks that vary in size from about 2 MB to 4 MB. Thus, the minimum possible size of the database is somewhere between 2 MB and 4 MB. If you set the maximum size to less than this approximate range of sizes, the resulting database size can still be up to 4 MB. When the maximum size that you specify is about to be exceeded, the simulator maintains the size limit by discarding an entire chunk (24 MB) of the earliest recorded

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SimVision User Guide Managing Simulation Databases values. This means that if the maximum size that you specify is greater than 4 MB, the database size will be below the limit, but it might be up to 4 MB below the limit. 7. Enable Maximum database compression to compress the SST2 database. Enabling this button produces a smaller database, but it takes more time and memory to write the database. 8. Enable Incremental database size to specify the maximum number of megabytes that you want to store in each incremental database le. Because the le size is checked on simulation time changes, and buffered data is subjected to further compression, the maximum database size is not an exact size. 9. Enable Maximum number of incremental files to specify the maximum number of incremental les that you want to keep for the database. When you exceed this number, the simulator deletes the oldest le.

Creating a Database with Verilog-XL

To create a database with Verilog-XL: 1. Choose File Create Database from any SimVision window. SimVision opens the New Database form. 2. Enter a database lename. If you do not specify a name, SimVision gives the database the default name, waves.shm. 3. Enable the Record all events button if you want to write all value changes to the database. This is useful if you need to debug race conditions or locate where a signal is assigned multiple values during the same clock cycle. 4. Enable the maximum database size button to set a limit on the size of the database. By default, there is no size limit. The value that you enter in the text eld must be a positive integer that indicates the number of bytes. SST2 databases exist as chunks that vary in size from about 2 MB to 4 MB. Thus, the minimum possible size of the database is somewhere between 2 MB and 4 MB. If you set the maximum size to less than this approximate range of sizes, the resulting database size might still be up to 4 MB. When the maximum size that you specify is about to be exceeded, the simulator maintains the size limit by discarding an entire chunk (24 MB) of the earliest recorded values. This means that if the maximum size that you specify is greater than 4 MB, the database size will be below the limit, but it might be up to 4 MB below the limit.

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SimVision User Guide Managing Simulation Databases 5. Enable the maximum database compression button to compress the SST2 database. Enabling this button produces a smaller database, but it takes more time and more memory to write the database.

Opening an SST2 Database

When you open a transition le, SimVision also loads in the corresponding design le. If it cannot nd a .dsn le with the same lename as the .trn le, SimVision prompts you for the design lename. SimVision also opens the corresponding statement trace le, if one exists. To open a database: 1. Click Open Database, any SimVision window. , or choose File Open Database from the menu bar in

The path shown in the Directory eld is determined by the SIMVISION_WORKDIR environment variable. If you have not set this variable, the path is the last directory visited by any of the le browser forms. You can navigate to other directories to nd the database that you want to open. 2. Double-click the lename, or select a le and click Open . Tip The Open Database form can open only one database le at a time. If you have multiple database les in a single directory, you can open them all at once by entering the database open command in the SimVision tab of the Console window.

Converting a Database to SST2 Format

When you open a database that is not in SST2 format, SimVision converts it to SST2 format. SimVision can convert any of the following database formats:
s s s s

VCD HSPICE list HSPICE transient output Nutmeg

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s s

Epic Qsim

To convert a database to SST2 format: 1. Click Open Database , , or select File Open Database from the menu bar.

2. Choose the type of les that you want to display in the Open Database form. For example, if you select VCD Files (*.vcd) , the form displays any database les with the .vcd extension in the current directory. The path shown in the Directory eld is determined by the SIMVISION_WORKDIR environment variable. If you have not set this variable, the path is the last directory visited by any of the le browser forms. You can navigate to other directories to nd the database that you want to open. 3. Select the database le from the le list and click Open . SimVision opens the File Translation form. The contents of the form differ, depending on the database format. 4. Select the options that you want for translating the le, as follows:

Enter the lename of the translated database in the Destination eld. By default, the database les are given the same name as the original database, plus the .trn and .dsn extensions. You can click Browse to select an existing le in your directory hierarchy, or enter a new lename in a le selection form. For VCD databases, specify whether you want to translate the entire database or a range of simulation time. Specify whether you want to translate sequence time information, if you have saved this information in your original database. See Viewing Events in Sequence Time on page 255 for information on saving and viewing sequence time. Specify whether you want to compress the translated database. Enabling this option produces a smaller database at the expense of taking more time to translate. It also uses more memory during translation, but it does not impair the reading of the database after it is translated.

5. Click OK to translate the database and load it into SimVision.

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Exporting a Database
Although SimVision reads databases only in SST2 format, you can export a database to any of the following formats:
s s s

SST2 Value change dump (VCD) Comma-separated values (CSV)

Note: Exporting 9-state VHDL std_logic or std_ulogic values to VCD format with SimVisions File Export feature or the simvisdbutil command does not produce the same results as the simulators database -vcd Tcl command. The simulator supports the 4-state values as dened in the IEEE 1364-2001 VCD specication; SimVision retains the 9-state logic values. The differences between the simulator and SimVision are shown in Table 7-1 on page 115. Table 7-1 Mapping 9-State VHDL Values Simulator 'U' 'X' '0' '1' 'Z' 'W' 'L' 'H' '-' X X 0 1 Z X 0 1 X SimVision U X 0 1 Z W L H -

You can map these 9-state values in the simulator by enabling Convert VHDL MVL9 to Verilog 4-state in the Export Variables form, or by running simvisdbutil with the -CVTMVL9 option. To export a database to SST2, VCD, or CSV format: 1. Choose File Export from the Design Browser or Waveform window menu bar. SimVision opens the Export Variables form.
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SimVision User Guide Managing Simulation Databases 2. Enter a name for the exported database le in the Output File eld, or choose a le by clicking Browse (...). By default, databases are assigned extensions according to their format: Database Format SST2 VCD CSV Extension .trn .vcd .csv

3. Choose whether you want to export all selected variables or all recorded variables. When you select a scope, all variables under the selected scope are exported. 4. Choose whether you want to export a range of times or all times. You can select the time units from a drop-down list. 5. Select the format of the exported database from the Database Format drop-down list. 6. Select other options, depending on the format of the exported database: Database Format SST2 Other Options Choose whether you want to include sequence time information, and whether you want to compress the exported database. Choose whether you want to convert 9-state VHDL values to Verilog 4-state values, and whether you want to add indices to memories and VHDL vectors. Click Advanced CSV Options to specify the options. The Advanced CSV Options form lets you choose when data is sampled in the CSV databaseat signal transitions, at specied time intervals, or when a logical expression evaluates to true. It also lets you specify the time units and radix of the data, and a string to use when writing X values. If you enable Logical Expression Selection , the drop-down list contains all of the expressions you have created during the SimVision session. You can choose one of these expressions. If the list is empty, rst create an expression, as described in Creating an Expression on page 238.

VCD

CSV

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SimVision User Guide Managing Simulation Databases 7. Enable Save simvisdbutil command line if you want to be able to perform the same export operation at a later time in batch mode. If you want to save the command line without exporting the database, click Command Line Only. 8. If you want to save these settings as the default, click Save . The settings are saved along with your other SimVision option settings.

Using the Batch Database Translation Utility

The simvisdbutil batch database translation utility translates databases through a command-line interface rather than the SimVision graphical user interface. You can place the simvisdbutil command in a script le, for example, to translate large databases overnight. The simvisdbutil utility can translate any of the following database formats into SST2 format:
s s s s s s s

VCD EVCD HSPICE list HSPICE transient output Nutmeg Epic Qsim

It can also translate an SST2 database into either VCD or CSV format. Note: Exporting 9-state VHDL std_logic or std_ulogic values to VCD format with SimVisions File Export feature or the simvisdbutil command does not produce the same results as the simulators database -vcd Tcl command. The simulator supports the 4-state values as dened in the IEEE 1364-2001 VCD specication; SimVision retains the 9-state logic values. The differences between the simulator and SimVision are shown in Table 7-1 on page 115.

simvisdbutil Command Syntax

The simvisdbutil command has the following syntax:
simvisdbutil [options ...] inputFile ...

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SimVision User Guide Managing Simulation Databases The command accepts the following options: -64BIT -ADDINDICES Invokes the 64-bit version of the utility. By default, simvisdbutil runs in 32-bit mode. Adds indices to VHDL vectors and memories. This option is for databases in VCD format. Note: This option produces a non-standard VCD database. -APPEND_LOG -COMPRESS Appends messages to an existing log le. If you do not use this option, the previous log le is overwritten. Compresses the SST2 output le. This option produces a smaller database, but it takes more time and more memory to write the database. Generates a database in CSV format. When you use this option, the input le must be in SST2 format. You can also specify this format by including the .csv le extension in the argument to the -OUTPUT option. -CVTMVL9 Converts 9-state VHDL std_logic or std_ulogic values to Verilog 4-state values. This option is for databases in VCD format. By default, SimVision retains the 9-state values. For more information, see Exporting a Database. Adds the specied delay (or offset) to CSV expression sample times. Uses the specied expression to determine CSV sample points. Reads simvisdbutil command-line options from the specied le. To specify multiple argument les, use one -FILE option per le. Displays a brief description of all command-line options. Species the name of the le where messages are written during the conversion. If you do not specify -LOGFILE, the le is named simvisdbutil.log. Species that if a signal is missing in the input database, it is ignored.You would use this option with the -SIGNAL option, which selects the signals that you want to export. When you use -MISSING, an error is reported only if none of the selected signals are present in the database.

-CSV

-DELAY time -EXPRESSION expr -FILE argfile

-HELP -LOGFILE filename

-MISSING

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-NOCOPYRIGHT -NOLOG -OUTPUT filename -OVERWRITE

Disables printing of the copyright message when simvisdbutil starts up. Prevents messages from going to any log le. Species the name of the generated database le. Overwrites an existing database le that has the same name as the generated database le. If you do not specify this command and a database le of the same name exists, simvisdbutil reports an error and exits without generating the database. It is also an error to try to overwrite the input database. Samples data at specied time intervals for CSV output. Disables all output to stdout and stderr. Messages are written to the log le only. Species the radix of CSV output values. Allowable radix values are dec or decimal, hex or hexadecimal, bin or binary, and oct or octal. Species the starting and ending times to be included in the output database. You can leave out the starting time range to indicate a starting time of 0, or leave out the ending time range to indicate the last recorded time. The keywords start and end can also indicate the starting and ending times. Includes sequence time information in the generated database. Generates an SST2 database and places the .trn and .dsn output les in a subdirectory with the same name as the database, plus the .shm extension. You can also specify this format by including the .shm directory path in the argument to the -OUTPUT option.

-PERIOD interval -QUIET -RADIX radix

-RANGE start : end

-SEQUENCE -SHM

-SIGNAL signal

Exports the specied signal to the output database. To export multiple signals, use one -SIGNAL option per signal. If a signal is not present in the input database and you do not use the -MISSING option, an error is reported.

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-SST2

Generates a database in SST2 format and places the .trn and .dsn output les in the current working directory. This is the default. You can also specify this format by including the .trn le extension in the argument to the -OUTPUT option.

-TIMEUNITS units -VCD

Species the time units used for CSV time output. Allowable time units are s, ms, us, ns, ps, and fs. Generates a database in VCD format. When you use this option, the input le must be in SST2 format. You can also specify this format by including the .vcd le extension in the argument to the -OUTPUT option.

-VERSION -XSUB string

Displays the version of simvisdbutil. Species a string to use when displaying X values. If you have set the radix to hex or binary, individual X values are not substituted, so data is not lost.

Generating a Database That Contains a Range of Times

To generate a database that contains simulation data in a range of times, invoke simvisdbutil with the -RANGE option. For example:
simvisdbutil waves.shm -range 100:10000 -output waves.shm/newdb.trn

This command translates the SST2 database stored in the waves.shm directory into the SST2 les, newdb.trn and newdb.dsn, and it places the generated database in the waves.shm directory. The database contains the simulation data that falls between simulation time 100 and 10,000. Because no time units were specied on the command line, they are the same as the time units in the input database.

Generating a Database for a Specic Set of Signals

To generate a database that contains simulation data for only a specic set of signals, use the -SIGNAL option. For example:
simvisdbutil waves.shm -output waves.shm/signals.trn -signal test_drink.top.dispense -signal test_drink.top.vending.current_state

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Reloading a Database
You may want to reload a database if you have overwritten it from outside the SimVision analysis environment or from a different SimVision session, and you want to view the new data in your current session. (Changes made from within the current session are reected automatically and do not require you to reload the database.) To reload a database: 1. Choose File Reload Database from any SimVision window. This opens the Reload Database form. 2. Select the database that you want to reload, and click OK .

Renaming a Database
You might want to rename a database as a way to save it before rerunning a simulation. You can then compare the old simulation data against the new data. To rename a database from the Waveform window, Design Browser window, or Databases tab of the Properties window: 1. Choose File Rename Database from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Rename Database form. 2. Edit the lename in the NEW SST filename eld. 3. Click OK .

Displaying Information about Databases

Databases that you create during simulation are associated with the simulator; existing databases that you load into SimVision are not. Therefore, information about databases can be found in two places.

Displaying Information about Databases Created during Simulation

To display information about the databases that you create during simulation: 1. Choose Windows Tools Simulator from the menu bar. This opens the simulator tab of the Properties window.

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SimVision User Guide Managing Simulation Databases 2. Select Databases . The Properties window shows whether the database is currently enabled for writing, the databases rank order in the list of databases, and its logical name, type, and lename. 3. Enable the check box to allow the simulator to write to the database; disable the check box to stop writing to the database. Tip To write information to a database only for a specic period of time:

Create a database, then disable the check box in the Properties window. Set two breakpointsone for the time you want to begin writing to the database, the other for the time you want to stop writing. Start running the simulation. When the rst breakpoint occurs, enable the check box. Resume the simulation. SimVision records information in the database. When the second breakpoint occurs, disable the check box. SimVision stops writing to the database.

Displaying Information about Databases Loaded into SimVision

To display information about the databases that you have loaded into SimVision:

Choose Windows Tools Databases from the menu bar. The Databases tab in the Properties window displays information about all open databases. The Databases tab displays the logical names of all opened databases and information about the database that is currently selected. This information includes:

The logical name of the database. You can change the logical name by editing the name in the text eld. The path to the database le and the range of simulation time stored in the le. Information about the database, such as its format and creation date.

Important If you create a database during simulation, then switch to PPE mode, the database appears in both the Databases tab and in the simulator Databases tab.

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Closing a Database
To close a database from any SimVision window: 1. Choose File Close Database/Simulation from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Close Database/Simulator form. 2. Select the database that you want to close, and click OK . In the Design Browser window, you can also close a database as follows:

Select the database in the scope view, then right-click and choose Close .

To close a database from the Databases tab of the Properties window:

Select the database name and click Close Database,

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Creating and Managing Probes
When you probe signals, the simulator saves every value change for those signals during recorded simulation time. You can later reload the simulation data into SimVision and debug the design without running the simulator. If your design contains assertions, you can probe them as described in Assertion Checking in Simulation .

Setting a Probe
When you add signals and scopes to the Waveform window, SimVision automatically creates a probe before it executes the next simulator command. At that time, SimVision opens a database (if you have not opened one already) and sets a probe on each of the selected objects. The probed information is written to the default database. For scopes, only the ports for the selected scope are probed. Creating a probe with the Set Probe form gives you more exibility than letting the Waveform window create one for you. The Set Probe form lets you probe one or more levels of subscope, choose the types of signals that you want to probe within those scopes, and write the probed information to any database. The Set Probe form differs, depending on the simulator you are using: Incisive simulator Verilog-XL See Setting a Probe with the Incisive Simulator on page 125. See Setting a Probe with Verilog-XL on page 126.

Setting a Probe with the Incisive Simulator

To create a probe with the Set Probe form: 1. Select the signals or scopes that you want to probe, then choose Simulation Create Probe from the menu bar, or right-click and select Create Probe .

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SimVision User Guide Creating and Managing Probes The area of the window labeled Probe these signals and scopes contains the names of the objects you have selected. You can add objects to the probe by selecting them in another window and clicking Add , , in the Set Probe toolbar, or by entering their names in the Signal/Scope eld and clicking the Add button beside the eld. 2. Enter a name for the probe in the Probe Name eld. If you do not name the probe, SimVision assigns a name to it. 3. Enable the Include tasks option if you want to include task scopes in the probe; enable the Include functions option if you want to include function scopes. (You do not need to enable these options if the selected scope is a task or function.) 4. If you have probed a scope, you can enable Include sub-scopes and choose which subscopes you want to probe. When probing scopes, you can also choose the types of signals that you want to probe within those scopes. For information on probing SystemC processes, see the NC-SC Simulator User Guide . 5. Choose a database for storing the simulation data. You can choose a database from the list of opened databases, or click New Database to create a new database. 6. Disable Add to waveform display if you do not want to display the probed signals in the Waveform window when the probe is created. If you disable this button, you can add the signals to the Waveform window at a later time. If you include subscopes and enable Add to waveform display, only the signals in the top-level scope are added to the window, because recursively adding scopes to the Waveform window could adversely affect performance. 7. Click OK to create the probe. To remove an object from the Probe these signals and scopes list:

Select the object in the list and click Delete ,

Setting a Probe with Verilog-XL

To create a probe with the Set Probe form: 1. Select the signals or scopes that you want to probe, then choose Simulation Create Probe from the menu bar, or right-click and select Create Probe . The area of the window labeled Probe these signals and scopes contains the names of the objects you have selected. You can add objects to the probe by selecting them in another window and clicking Add , , in the Set Probe toolbar, or by entering their names in the Signal/Scope eld and clicking the Add button beside the eld.
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SimVision User Guide Creating and Managing Probes 2. If you have probed a scope, you can choose whether to include subscopes and you can choose the types of objects in those subscopes to include. 3. Click OK to create the probe. To remove an object from the Probe these signals and scopes list:

Select the object in the list and click Delete ,

Managing Probes in the Properties Window

All probes are listed in the Properties window. From the Properties window, you can enable, disable, and delete probes, or create new probes. To access probes in the Properties window: 1. Choose Simulation Show Probes from the menu bar of any SimVision window. This opens the simulator tab of the Properties window. The NC Simultor Probes tab contains a check box to indicate whether the probe is enabled or disabled, the probe name and the name of the database associated with the probe. When you have many probes, you can sort them by clicking a column heading. An arrow in the heading indicates whether the data is sorted in ascending order (uparrow) or descending order (down-arrow). The Verilog-XL Probes tab contains a check box to indicate whether the probe is enabled or disabled, and the the names of the probed objects. You can sort the table by clicking a column heading. An arrow in the heading indicates whether the data is sorted in ascending order (up-arrow) or descending order (down-arrow). To enable and disable a probe:

Click the box in the Enabled column, . When the box is checked, the probe is enabled. When it is not checked, the probe is disabled. Tip You can enable and disable a probe at different times during simulation. In this way, you save simulation data only for the times that you are interested in debugging. This can make the simulation database smaller, which improves performance when loading data and viewing waveforms.

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SimVision User Guide Creating and Managing Probes To create a probe in the Properties window:

Click Probe , . This opens the Set Probe form. Enter the probe information as described in Setting a Probe on page 125.

To delete a probe in the Properties window (Incisive simulator):

Select the probe and click Delete ,

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Setting and Managing Breakpoints
You might want to run the simulation up to a point, then stop so that you can examine the state of the design. To control where simulation stops, you set breakpoints. SimVision lets you set the following types of breakpoints:
s

A time breakpoint stops simulation at a specied time or time interval. Delta breakpoints are a type of time breakpoint. A signal breakpoint stops simulation, based on the value of a design object. A line breakpoint stops simulation when it reaches a specied line in the source code. A condition breakpoint stops simulation when a specied condition is detected. You can set condition breakpoints only with the Incisive simulator. A process breakpoint stops simulation when a VHDL process begins executing. A subprogram breakpoint stops simulation when a VHDL subprogram begins executing.

s s s

s s

Setting a Time Breakpoint

Time breakpoints stop simulation at a specied time or time interval. How you set a time breakpoint depends on the simulator you are using: Incisive simulator Verilog-XL See Setting a Time Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator on page 129. See Setting a Time Breakpoint with Verilog-XL on page 131.

Setting a Time Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator

To set a time breakpoint:

Choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Time from the menu. SimVision opens the Set Breakpoint form.

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SimVision User Guide Setting and Managing Breakpoints You can set the breakpoint to stop at regular intervals, starting at the current time or at a future time. You can also specify an exact time for a breakpoint that occurs only once. As you choose settings, the breakpoint display changes. For example:

To stop every 10 ns starting at simulation time 100 ns, enter the interval, starting time, and time units, as follows:

To stop at simulation time 2500 ns, enter the time and time units, as follows:

To stop at every 10th delta cycle, starting at the current time, enter the interval and set the time units to delta , as follows:

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To stop at delta cycle 10, starting at delta time 30, enter the exact time and the starting time, as follows:

You may also set breakpoint options, as described in Table 9-1 on page 137.

Setting a Time Breakpoint with Verilog-XL

To set a time breakpoint from the Simulation menu:

Choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Time from the menu. SimVision opens the Set Breakpoint form. You can set the breakpoint to stop at an exact time or at a time relative to the current simulation time. You can also choose to stop immediately before or after the specied time. As you choose settings, the breakpoint display changes. For example:

To stop every 10 ns immediately after the specied time, enter the following:

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To stop once, immediately before 10 ns, enter the following:

Setting a Line Breakpoint

Line breakpoints stop simulation when it reaches a particular line in the source code. The simplest way to set a line breakpoint is from the Source Browser, as follows:

Double-click on the line number. A red stop sign appears in the left column, as shown in Figure 9-1 on page 132, to indicate that the breakpoint is set.

Figure 9-1 Line Breakpoint in the Source Browser

You can also set a line breakpoint from the Simulation menu. How you set an line breakpoint in this way differs, depending on the simulator you are using. Incisive simulator Verilog-XL See Setting a Line Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator on page 133. See Setting a Line Breakpoint with Verilog-XL on page 133.

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Setting a Line Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator

To set a line breakpoint from the Simulation menu: 1. Choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Line from the menu. SimVision opens the Set Breakpoint form. 2. Enter the line number in the Line eld, and enter the source lename in the File eld. 3. Select Stop in one instance at Scope or Stop in all instances of Module/Unit if the design has more than one instance of the module or unit at the specied line. Then specify the scope at which you want to set the breakpoint. You can also set breakpoint options, as described in Table 9-1 on page 137.

Setting a Line Breakpoint with Verilog-XL

To set a line breakpoint from the Simulation menu: 1. Choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Line from the menu. SimVision opens the Set Breakpoint form. 2. Enter the line number in the Line eld, and enter the source lename in the File eld. 3. Select Stop in one instance at Scope or Stop in all instances of Module/Unit , if the design has more than one instance of the module or unit at the specied line. Then specify the scope, or the module or unit, at which you want to set the breakpoint. 4. Select one of the following options to specify how long you want the breakpoint to exist: Breakpoint remains in effect until you disable it or until the end of simulation. Breakpoint triggers only once, and then it is deleted.

Setting a Signal Breakpoint

Signal breakpoints stop simulation based on the value of a signal. The simplest way to set a signal breakpoint is from the simulation toolbar; select the signal and click Breakpoint, .

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SimVision User Guide Setting and Managing Breakpoints You can also set a breakpoint from the Simulation menu. How you set a signal breakpoint in this way differs, depending on the simulator you are using: Incisive simulator Verilog-XL See Setting a Signal Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator on page 134. See Setting a Signal Breakpoint with Verilog-XL on page 134.

Setting a Signal Breakpoint with the Incisive Simulator

To set a signal breakpoint from the Simulation menu: 1. Select the signals that trigger the breakpoint, then choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Signal . SimVision opens the Set Breakpoint form. The Signal eld contains the names of any signals you have selected. You can add other signals to the breakpoint by selecting the signals in any SimVision window and clicking Add , . You can also set breakpoint options, as described in Table 9-1 on page 137.

Setting a Signal Breakpoint with Verilog-XL

To set a signal breakpoint from the Simulation menu: 1. Select the signals that trigger the breakpoint, then choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Signal from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Set Breakpoint form. The Signal eld contains the names of any signals you have selected. You may add other signals to the breakpoint by selecting the signals in any SimVision window and clicking Add , . 2. Select one of the following options to specify when you want the breakpoint to stop: Breakpoint triggers whenever the signal value changes. Breakpoint triggers when the signal value goes low. Breakpoint triggers when the signal value goes high.

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Breakpoint triggers when the signal has the specied value. 3. Select one of the following options to specify how long you want the breakpoint to exist: Breakpoint remains in effect until you disable it or until the end of simulation. Breakpoint triggers only once, and then it is deleted.

Setting a Condition Breakpoint

Note: You can set a condition breakpoint only with the Incisive simulator. A condition breakpoint stops simulation when a condition expression evaluates to true. SimVision evaluates the condition whenever a change occurs to any of the objects referenced by the condition. A condition expression can check the values of wires, signals, registers, and variables, or it can check the values written to memories. This type of breakpoint is particularly useful when you want to stop simulation the moment an object has been set to an incorrect value. A condition is a Tcl expression. See the following topics in your simulator online help for more information:
s s

The description of the stop command provides examples of condition breakpoints. The section Tcl Expressions as Arguments in the chapter Using the Tcl Command-Line Interface provides guidelines for writing expressions. Appendix A, Basics of Tcl, provides general information on Tcl and details on the simulator extensions to Tcl.

To set a condition breakpoint: 1. In any SimVision window, select the objects that you want to include in the condition expression. 2. Choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Condition from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Set Breakpoint form. The Condition eld contains the names of any objects you have selected, preceded by the # sign and separated by ??.

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SimVision User Guide Setting and Managing Breakpoints 3. Edit the expression to specify the condition you want to evaluate, as follows:

Add objects to the condition expression by selecting them in another window and clicking Add , , by dragging and dropping them into the Condition eld, or by entering them directly into the eld. The expression parser does not recognize names. Therefore, you must precede object names with the # sign or use the value command, as in [value test_drink.top.dime_in], so that the value of the object is evaluated rather than the name. If you do not do this, SimVision returns a syntax error.

Supply the condition operators for the expression. You must substitute ?? with the appropriate condition operator for any preselected objects.

You can also set breakpoint options, as described in Table 9-1 on page 137.

Setting a Process Breakpoint for VHDL

For VHDL, you can set a breakpoint that stops the simulation when a named process starts or resumes after a wait statement. Important You must compile with the -linedebug option to enable the setting of process breakpoints. To set a process breakpoint: 1. Choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Process . The Set Breakpoint form opens. 2. Enter the name of the process in the Process eld. You can select the process in the Source Browser and then choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Process . The Set Breakpoint form is seeded with the name of the selected process. 3. Select the options you want and click OK . See Breakpoint Options on page 137 for details on these options.

Setting a Subprogram Breakpoint

You can set a subprogram breakpoint on a VHDL or Verilog function or procedure, then use the step command to step into the function or procedure and view the values of objects declared there.
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SimVision User Guide Setting and Managing Breakpoints To set a subprogram breakpoint: 1. Choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Subprogram . The Set Breakpoint form appears. 2. Enter the name of a function or procedure in the Subprogram eld. 3. Select any additional options that you want and click OK . See Breakpoint Options on page 137 for details on these options.

Breakpoint Options
The Incisive simulator let you set breakpoint options, as described in Table 9-1 on page 137. Table 9-1 NC Simulator Breakpoint Options Breakpoint Name Specify an optional name for the breakpoint. By default, breakpoints are numbered sequentially. You can use the breakpoint name in Tcl commands. Enable this option to set a condition on the breakpoint. The breakpoint triggers only if the condition is true. The condition can be any Tcl boolean expression. See your simulator documentation for information on writing Tcl boolean expressions. Enable this option to execute a Tcl command when the breakpoint triggers. For example, you might want to examine the value of a set of signals when the breakpoint occurs. See your simulator documentation for information on writing Tcl commands. Select this option to always stop at this breakpoint. Select this option to skip a specied number of occurrences of this breakpoint. Select this option to resume the simulation immediately after executing the breakpoint. For example, you could set a breakpoint to stop every 1000 ns and execute a value command, then resume simulation. Select this option to keep this breakpoint after it has triggered. Select this option to delete the breakpoint after it has triggered a specied number of times.

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Managing Breakpoints in the Properties Window

All of the breakpoints that you dene are listed in the Properties window. From the Properties window, you can enable, disable, delete, and create breakpoints. To access breakpoints in the Properties window: 1. Choose Simulation Show Breakpoints from the menu bar of any SimVision window. This opens the simulation tab of the Properties window. To enable and disable a breakpoint:

Click the box in the Enabled column, . When the box is checked, the breakpoint is enabled. When it is not checked, the breakpoint is disabled.

To set a breakpoint:

Click Set Breakpoint ,

, and ll in the Set Breakpoint form.

To delete a breakpoint:

Select the breakpoint and click Delete ,

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Changing and Monitoring the Value of an Object during Simulation
Sometimes you might want to change the value of an object during simulation. For example, you might suspect that a signal is not being set correctly, and you might want to test the design behavior when the signal has a different value. SimVision lets you change an object value in the following ways:
s

You can force an object to a particular value. When you set a force, the value change occurs immediately, and future transactions on the object are blocked. That is, the object keeps the forced value until you release it or until you force it to a different value. You can deposit a value into an object. When you deposit a value, behaviors that are sensitive to value changes on that object run when the simulation resumes, as if the value change was caused by the design source code. You can deposit a value immediately, at some time in the future, or after a delay. Although you cannot change the object back to its original value, future transactions are not blocked. You can create or replace a run-time driver for a VHDL signal. If you are running Verilog-XL, you can create a monitor to report the changes in a signal value during simulation. Important Any signal being forced or deposited must have write access. That is, you must rst elaborate the design with the -access +w option, as described in Preparing Your Design for Simulation on page 37.

s s

Forcing and Releasing a Signal Value

You can force any type of design object except the following:
s

A Verilog memory or memory element

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s s s s

A bit-select or part-select of a Verilog register or unexpanded wire A VHDL variable An analog signal A digital signal when the analog solver is active

Forces are saved when you save a simulation checkpoint. To create a force: 1. Select an object in any SimVision window, then choose Simulation Create Force from the menu bar or right-click and choose Create Force . SimVision opens the Create Force form. The name of the object and its current value are displayed in the form. Tip If you do not select an object before opening the form, you can select it in any SimVision window and click Add , , to add it to the form. 2. Specify the new value for the object. For some objects, such as binary objects, the drop-down menu for the Value eld lists all values that are valid for the object; you can choose a value from the list. For other objects, such as state machine variables, you must enter the new value in the eld. To display the forces that you have set:

Choose Simulation Show Forces . SimVision opens the Forces tab of the Properties window. For each force that is in effect, this tab shows the same information that the force -show command displays. That is, it displays the name of the forced object, the value of that object, and where the force originated. Note: For the Properties window to display forces created by a Verilog procedural force continous assignment, you must compile the Verilog source code with the -linedebug option, or elaborate the snapshot with the -show_forces option. For more information on the force -show command, see the force command in your simulator Help.

To set a force from the Properties window:

Click Force ,

. This opens the Create Force form.

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SimVision User Guide Changing and Monitoring the Value of an Object during Simulation To delete a force:

Select a force in the Properties window and click Delete ,

To release a force:

Select the object in the Design Browser tab of any SimVision window, then right-click and choose Release Force .

Depositing a Signal Value

Note: You cannot set a deposit with Verilog-XL. You can deposit a value into ports, signals, and variables. If the object is a memory or a range of memory elements, the value is deposited into each element of the memory or each element in a specied range. You cannot deposit values in the following types of objects:
s s s

An analog signal A digital signal when the analog solver is active A VHDL variable or signal with multiple sources, if a delay is specied

To deposit a value: 1. Select the object in any SimVision window and choose Deposit Value from the pop-up menu or from the menu bar. SimVision displays the Deposit Value form. The name of the object and its current value are displayed in the area at the top of the form. You can specify options for the deposit command in the bottom area of the form. As you enter options, the area in the middle of the form changes to show how values are deposited in relation to simulation time. 2. You can deposit other values at different times by clicking New Value , . You can then specify the new value and the time when you want to deposit that value. For example, Figure 10-1 on page 142 species four values to be deposited in the test_drink.top.vending.reset signal at 100 ns intervals. The timeline display shows the four points at which a value is to be deposited. The selected value is highlighted along the timeline, showing the interval in which the deposit occurs and the deposited value.

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SimVision User Guide Changing and Monitoring the Value of an Object during Simulation Figure 10-1 Depositing Additional Values

These other buttons let you manage the list of deposited values: Deletes the selected entry. Moves the entry up one position in the list. Moves the entry down one position in the list. 3. Specify any of the following options:

Choose whether the deposit should occur at relative time intervals or at absolute time points. If you want to deposit values at regular time intervals, enable Repeat and specify the time interval. If you want to stop depositing values after a specied time, enable Cancel and enter the time. Enable Release if you want to release any forces before depositing the value. Choose the type of delay that you want to occur before depositing the valuetransport delay, inertial delay, or no delay.

The display changes to represent how the value or values are deposited during simulation.

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SimVision User Guide Changing and Monitoring the Value of an Object during Simulation 4. Click OK to create the deposit command.

Creating, Replacing, and Deleting a VHDL Run-Time Driver

Note: You can set a run-time driver only on a VHDL signal. To create or replace a run-time driver: 1. Choose Simulation Create Driver from any SimVision window, or select a signal, then right-click and choose Create Driver. This menu choice appears in the menus only when your design contains VHDL. SimVision opens the Set Driver form. If you select a VHDL signal before opening this form, the signal name and value are entered in the form. 2. In the Object eld, enter the name of the signal driver that you want to set, or select the signal driver in any SimVision window and click Add , . 3. In the Value eld, enter the value that you want to give to the driver. 4. Enable Create to create a driver, or enable Replace to replace the driver. 5. Click OK. To delete a run-time driver:

Select the VHDL signal that has the run-time driver, then right-click and choose Delete Driver.

For more information, see the driver command in the NC-VHDL Simulator Help.

Monitoring Signal Value Changes in Verilog-XL

If you are running Verilog-XL, you can monitor selected signal values during simulation. When you create a monitor, the simulator displays a message whenever the signal value changes. The monitor messages are displayed on a separate line but interleaved with any other messages that the testbench displays during simulation. Unlike a breakpoint, simulation does not stop when the value changes. A message is written to the simulator tab of the Console window, and the simulation continues to run. Setting a monitor in SimVision invokes the $monitor system task. For more information about this system task, see the Verilog-XL User Guide .
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SimVision User Guide Changing and Monitoring the Value of an Object during Simulation To create a monitor: 1. Select the signals that you want to monitor, then choose Simulation Create Monitor. SimVision opens the Create Monitor form. 2. Add a signal by entering its full hierarchical name in the Signal/Scope eld and clicking Add , or by selecting the signal in another window and clicking Add , . 3. Specify the radix for the signal value by choosing a radix from the Format drop-down menu, or specify a message string by choosing Use this format string from the Format menu, then enter the string in the text eld. The string can contain any of the following substitution strings: %b %o %d %x Binary number Octal number Decimal number Hexadecimal number

For example, if you enter the string dispense = %b, the simulator tab of the Console window displays the message dispense = 1 or dispense = 0, whenever the value of the signal changes.

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Controlling the Simulation
The simulation toolbar lets you run the simulation, stop at breakpoints, and step into and over subprogram calls. The Simulation menu gives you menu choices to not only run the simulation, but also to control the simulation in the following ways:
s s

Reset the simulation to time 0. Reinvoke the simulation after you have changed the source code. Reinvoking the simulation automatically recompiles the design and loads it into the same simulator session. Saving the state of a simulation, or checkpoint, and restarting the simulation from that point. Creating and deleting aliases for simulator or other Tcl commands. Setting variables to control the simulation environment.

s s

Running the Simulation

The most common simulation functions are available in the Simulation toolbar, as shown in Figure 11-1 on page 145. Figure 11-1 Simulation Toolbar
Run Reset Next Set breakpoint

Stop

Step

Next in scope

Current time

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Simulation The Run button runs the simulation until the next breakpoint or the end of simulation. When you click the small down-arrow next to the Run button, a text eld opens, as shown in Figure 11-2 on page 146. You can enter a duration in that eld. When this eld is visible, the Run button runs the simulation for the specied amount of time. Figure 11-2 Running the Simulation for a Specied Amount of Time

Click to remove duration eld.

You can also start, stop, and resume simulation from the Simulation menu. Table 11-1 on page 146 shows the Simulation menu choices. Table 11-1 Simulation Menu Choices Menu Choice Simulation Run Description Run the simulation until it nishes or until it is interrupted by a breakpoint or a language construct, such as a Verilog $stop system task. Interrupt the simulation. Run one behavioral statement, stepping into any subprogram calls. Run one behavioral statement, stepping over any subprogram calls. Run to the next statement, maintaining focus in the active scope. Run until the current task, function, procedure, or VHDL subprogram returns. Note: Not available in Verilog-XL. Simulation Advance Run the simulation at the delta cycle level. See Chapter 12, Debugging at the Delta Cycle Level for more information.

Simulation Stop Simulation Step Simulation Next Simulation Next in Scope Simulation Return

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Resetting the Simulation

Note: Resetting the simulation is not available for mixed-signal designs. When you reset the simulation, you return to time zero. After you reset the simulation, the debugging environment is preserved, as follows:
s

SST2 and VCD databases remain open, except for VCD databases created with the $dumpvars system task. Those databases are closed. All breakpoints and probes remain set. The values of Tcl variables remain as they were before the reset. All windows remain open. Forces and deposits are removed.

s s s s

Reinvoking the Simulation

When you change your source code, you must reinvoke the simulator to access those changes. When you reinvoke Verilog-XL, SimVision recompiles all of the source les for the design. When you reinvoke the Incisive simulator, SimVision recompiles only the changed design units. It then re-elaborates the design, generates a new snapshot, and loads the updated snapshot. When you reinvoke, your current setup is automatically saved and restored. This includes the following:
s s s s

SST2 databases Breakpoints Probes Windows

To reinvoke the simulator from the Simulation menu:

Choose Simulation Reinvoke Simulator from any SimVision menu bar. By default, the simulator uses the same command line to compile and elaborate your design. However, you can set a preference to prompt you for a command line before reinvoking the simulator.

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Simulation To set this preference:

Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window. In the General Options tab, enable the Prompt on reinvoke option.

To reinvoke the simulator from the Properties window: 1. Choose Windows Tools simulator from the menu bar. SimVision opens the simulator tab of the Properties window. The top of the form displays information about the current simulator session, plus buttons to disconnect or terminate the simulator, or enter PPE mode. The Reinvoke area of the form contains a Command line eld, which shows the command-line options that you used to invoke the simulator. If you want to change the command-line options, enter the new options in the Command line eld. 2. Click Reinvoke .

Saving and Restarting a Simulation Checkpoint

A simulation checkpoint is the state of a design at a particular simulation time. A checkpoint includes the databases you have opened, breakpoints you have set, and any forces and deposits that are in effect at that time. Verilog-XL saves the simulation state in a le; the Incisive simulator creates a new snapshot. Creating simulation checkpoints is especially useful for large simulations, where you might want to save the simulation state at regular intervals. For example, you may want to save the simulation state after a circuit has been initialized, so that future simulations can begin at that point rather than from time 0. You restart the simulation at a checkpoint by loading the le or snapshot into the simulator. You can restart the simulation during the same simulation session, or exit the simulator and start a new session using the saved snapshot. Note: For mixed-signal designs, you cannot restart another snapshot after simulation has started for the current snapshot.

Saving a Simulation Checkpoint

To save a simulation checkpoint: 1. Select Simulation Save Checkpoint . SimVision opens the Save Checkpoint form.

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Simulation 2. Click Run Clean if the simulator is not in a clean statethat is, if it is executing sequential HDL code. The Run Clean button runs the simulation until the currently running sequential behavior suspends at a delay, event control, or VHDL wait statement. Otherwise, the simulator cannot save the checkpoint. 3. Enter a name for the checkpoint in the Save this snapshot as eld. If you have created other checkpoints, they are listed in the window. You can replace one of those snapshots by selecting its name in the list. 4. Click Save to create the checkpoint.

Restarting during the Same Simulation Session

To restart during the same simulation session: 1. Choose Simulation Restart from Checkpoint . SimVision opens the Restart from Checkpoint form. 2. Select a checkpoint from the list and click Restart . When you restart with a saved snapshot in the same simulation session, your debugging environment is saved, as follows:
s s

SST2 databases remain open and all probes remain set. Breakpoints set at the time that you execute the restart remain set. Note: After a restart, periodic breakpoints trigger at the same times they would trigger without a save and restart. This is true even when the save and restart takes place at a time in between the periodic breakpoints. For example, suppose you set a breakpoint that triggers every 10 ns, at times 10, 20, 30, and so on. If you restart with a snapshot saved at time 15, the breakpoint triggers at 20, 30, and so on, not at 25, 35, and so on.

Forces and deposits in effect at the time you save the snapshot remain in effect when you restart.

Restarting from a New Simulator Session

To restart from a new simulator session:

Invoke the simulator with the name of the checkpoint snapshot or le, as follows:
ncsim -gui checkpoint

When you invoke the simulator with a saved snapshot, databases are closed. Any probes and breakpoints are deleted. If you want to be able restore the full Tcl debug environment when
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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Simulation you restart, you must save the debugging environment before exiting from the simulator, as described in Chapter 3, Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment.

Creating and Deleting an Alias in the Incisive Simulator

The Incisive simulator lets you create an alias for any simulator command or series of commands. An alias gives a name to a command, which you can use in place of the simulator command. For example, the Incisive simulator denes . as an alias for the run command and quit as an alias for the exit command. To create an alias: 1. Select Simulation Create Command Alias from the menu bar of any SimVision window. The Command Alias form appears. 2. In the Alias Name eld, enter the name that you want to give to the command or commands, or choose an existing alias name from the drop-down list. Note: You cannot create an alias with the same name as a predened Tcl command. For example, you cannot use the gets Tcl command as an alias. SimVision displays the following error message in the simulator tab of the Console window if you try to create an alias named gets.
ncsim: *E,ALNORP: cannot create an alias for Tcl command gets.

3. In the Definition eld, enter the command or commands that you want to alias, then click OK . To display the aliases that are dened:

Choose Simulation Show Aliases from the menu bar of any SimVision window. SimVision opens the Aliases tab of the Properties window.

To create an alias from the Properties window:

Click Create Alias ,

, and enter the name and description in the Command Alias form.

To delete an alias:

Select the alias and click Delete ,

Setting Variables in the Incisive Simulator

The Incisive simulator denes a number of variables, which store information about the current simulation. For example, the snapshot variable contains the name of the current
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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Simulation snapshot, and the time_scale variable contains the time units currently in use. For a list of predened variables, see the topic called Setting Variables in the NC-Verilog Simulator Help or the NC-VHDL Simulator Help. The Incisive simulator also lets you dene Tcl variables or change the values of a predened variable. To create or change a variable denition: 1. Select Simulation Create Debug Variable from the menu bar of any SimVision window. SimVision opens the Debug Variable form. 2. Enter the name of the variable in the Variable Name eld, or select a variable from the drop-down list for this eld. 3. Enter the value in the Value eld. 4. Click OK . To display a list of all currently-dened variables:

Choose Simulation Show Variables from the menu bar of any SimVision window. SimVision opens the Variables tab of the Properties window. The list of variables includes some variables that Tcl sets for itself, such as the path to the Tcl libraries. These variables might change, and new variables might appear with new versions of Tcl. Refer to a Tcl manual for the meaning of these variables.

To change the value of a variable:

In the Variables tab of the Properties window, double-click the variable value and enter the new value. Press Return to apply the new value.

To unset a variable:

In the Variables tab of the Properties window, double-click the variable value and press the Backspace key. Press Return to apply the NULL value.

To create a variable in the Properties window:

Click Create ,

, and enter the variable name and value in the Debug Variable form.

To delete a variable:

Select the variable and click Delete ,

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Debugging at the Delta Cycle Level
Note: The Simulation Cycle Debugger is available only with the Incisive simulator. When a circuit operates, many events occur simultaneously. A simulator cannot run this way. It must simulate the parallel execution of the circuit by dividing each time point into delta cycles and executing the events, one at a time, within the time point. Ordinarily, you see only the nal state of the signals and variables at the end of the time point. However, you can use the Simulation Cycle Debugger to see what events are scheduled during each delta cycle. Simulating the design at the delta cycle level can help you nd the cause of 0-delay errors or errors caused by event ordering. Simulating at the delta cycle level can be especially helpful when you are debugging VHDL designs. When debugging Verilog designs, you might prefer to use the Waveform window to view events in sequence time. Sequence time shows you the order of events that occur during one time slice, without regard for the delta cycles in which the events occur. For more information on sequence time, see Viewing Events in Sequence Time on page 255.

How a Delta Cycle Executes

A delta cycle executes in phases, as follows:
s

Phase 1: Signal evaluation or wire resolution In VHDL, phase1 is called signal evaluation; in Verilog, it is called wire resolution. Simulation returns to phase 1 after either phase 2 or phase 3 completes. The time it takes to execute a phase and return to phase 1 is called a delta cycle. During phase 1, the simulator schedules the processes to be executed during the delta cycle, and it assigns values to signals and wires.

Phase 2: Process execution or behavior execution In VHDL, phase 2 is called process execution; in Verilog, it is called behavior execution. During this phase, the simulator executes all scheduled processes or behavioral statements.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging at the Delta Cycle Level Every process in the same delta cycle is presumed to run simultaneously. Therefore, if one process changes a signal value during phase 2, another process that executes during the same delta cycle does not see the updated value; it uses the value assigned during phase 1.
s

Phase 3: End of time In VHDL, postponed processes are executed at the end of time; in Verilog, certain tasks, such as $monitor tasks, occur at the end of time. After this phase completes, simulation time advances.

Figure 12-1 on page 154 shows the phases of a delta cycle. Figure 12-1 Simulation Cycles
VHDL Verilog

Signal evaluation Delta cycle Process execution Delta cycle End of time

Wire resolution Delta cycle Behavior execution Delta cycle End of time

Time point

Time point

Any number of process execution or behavior execution delta cycles can occur during one simulation time point. For example, if a process is sensitive to a change in a value that gets updated during one delta cycle, the simulator schedules that process to execute in the next delta cycle. Figure 12-2 on page 155 shows an example of three delta cycles occuring at time 0. During the rst delta cycle, the simulator assigns initial values to the signals a and b, and it executes processes P1 and P2. Process P1 assigns the value 1 to a; Process P2 assigns the value of a to b. Notice that the value of b at the end of this delta cycle is 0. That is because the simulator uses the value of a at the beginning of the delta cycle, not at the end of the process P1.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging at the Delta Cycle Level Process P3 is sensitive to the value of a, which changed during the rst delta cycle. Therefore, the simulator schedules P3 to execute in the next delta cycle. Process P3 assigns the value of a to signal c. At the end of Time 0, a has the value 1, b has the value 0, and c has the value 1. Figure 12-2 Three Delta Cycles at Time 0
Delta Time 0 + 0 Signal evaluation a = 0 b = 1 Process execution P1: a = 1 P2: b = a Delta Time 0 + 1 Signal evaluation a = 1 b = 0 c = 0 Process execution P3: c = a Delta Time 0 + 2 Signal End of time evaluation a = 1 b = 0 c = 1 Time 1

The Simulation Cycle Debugger lets you simulate from one delta time to the next, from one phase to the next, from one process to the next, or from one time point to the next. At every stopping point, it displays the events scheduled to run during the current delta cycle, and the processes or tasks scheduled to run at the end of time.

Opening the Simulation Cycle Debugger

To open the Simulation Cycle Debugger:

Choose Windows Tools Simulation Cycle Debug from the menu bar of any SimVision window. SimVision opens the window shown in Figure 12-3 on page 156.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging at the Delta Cycle Level Figure 12-3 Simulation Cycle Debugger

The time toolbar contains buttons to let you control simulation at the delta cycle level. Below the time toolbar, a state diagram indicates the current phase that is executingsignal resolution or process execution for VHDL designs; wire resolution or behavior execution for Verilog designs. Below the state diagram, the Simulation Cycle Debugger shows the list of processes or behavior statements to be executed during the current delta cycle. At the bottom of the window, it lists the processes or tasks to be executed at the end of the current time point.
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Running the Simulation at the Delta Cycle Level

To run the simulation, use the menu choices or buttons shown in Table 12-1 on page 157. Table 12-1 Cycle Debugging Menu Choices and Toolbar Buttons Toolbar Button

Menu Choice Simulation Advance Timepoint Simulation Advance Delta Cycle Simulation Advance Simulation Phase Simulation Advance Process

Description Run until simulation reaches the next time point. Run until simulation reaches the beginning of the next delta cycle. Run until simulation reaches the next phase of the simulation cycle, either the process execution phase or the signal evaluation phase. Run until simulation reaches the next scheduled process.

Viewing the Source Code for an Event

When you have stopped simulation, such as at the beginning of a delta cycle, you can select any of the events in the Simulation Cycle Debugger and view the source code associated with that event. To display the source code for an event:

Select an event in the list of processes, behavior statements, or end of time tasks. SimVision opens a Source Browser window and positions the pointer at the line in the source code where that event is dened.

Printing and Saving the Simulation Cycle Debugger Window

You can print the contents of the Simulation Cycle Debugger window or save the contents to a postscript le.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging at the Delta Cycle Level To print or save the Simulation Cycle Debugger window: 1. Choose File Print Window from the menu bar. The Simulation Cycle Debugger opens the Print form. 2. In the Printer area of the Options tab, choose Command if you want to print the window, and enter the appropriate print command. If you want to save the window to a postscript le, choose File and enter the name of the le. 3. In the Comments area, specify a heading that you want to appear on every page. This heading includes a Title , Designer Name , Company Name , and an additional Note that you want in the heading. 4. In the Print paper area, specify the Paper size , Orientation , and Colors that you want to use. Each of these elds has a drop-down list of values from which you can choose. 5. Click OK when you are ready to print. To view the printed image before saving it or sending it to the printer:

Open the Preview tab. This tab shows you the pages as they will appear. You can scale the preview by increasing or decreasing the Scale factor at the bottom of the tab.

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Debugging API Applications
The Incisive simulator support several application programming interfaces (APIs), including VPI, VHPI, DPI, PLI, VDA, CFC, and FMI. These programming interfaces make it possible for you to integrate C, C++, and SystemC applications into the simulator. API applications can serve a variety of purposes. For example:
s s s s

Implementing special-purpose simulator functions to help you debug your design Implementing system tasks Implementing C-language design models Integrating third-party tools into the simulation environment

SimVision provides the capability for debugging API applications directly in the SimVision environment with GDB. This native SimVision debugging mode uses the Source Browser as the debugger display. You can also use DDD as your debugging environment. When you use DDD, the SimVision windows are not available for debugging the API code. Note: The API debugger provides additional features for debugging SystemC applications. See the NC-SC User Guide for information on debugging SystemC applications. Video Debugging API Applications

Preparing to Debug an API Application

Cadence recommends that you use irun to compile and link your API application for debugging in SimVision. For information on using irun, see Chapter 5, Compatibility with Existing Use Models, in the irun User Guide . You may need to use special options when compiling and elaborating the HDL design that calls your API application, depending on the programming interface you are using. For

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SimVision User Guide Debugging API Applications example, if your API application implements a DPI task, you must use the -dpiheader elaborator option and specify a .h le that declares the DPI task. See the documentation for the programming interface for information on how to compile and elaborate a design that calls your API application.

Using the Native-Mode GDB Debugger

You invoke the simulator with the -gui option to run the simulation in the SimVision analysis environment. When SimVision starts up, it displays the Design Browser and console windows. Simulation is stopped at time 0, and you can begin debugging your HDL code. At this time, the API debugger is not yet active. You must start GDB if you want to debug your API code. When you start GDB, SimVision adds a gdb tab to the Console window. The gdb tab acts as the debugger command prompt, where you can enter debugger commands directly, such as break, continue, return, and so on. The gdb tab gives you full control over the entire debugging process. The following buttons are unique to the gdb tab of the console window: Function Breakpoint displays a list of functions in your API code and lets you set breakpoints on the functions you select. Interrupt C/C++ Debugger sends an interrupt to GDB and places control at the GDB prompt. Disconnect and Terminate from C/C++ Debugger exits GDB and removes the gdb tab from the console window. When you start GDB, SimVision also adds the following buttons to the Simulation Control toolbar in any Source Browser window that you open: Set Watchpoint creates an object breakpoint on a SystemC, C, or C++ variable. Interrupt C/C++ Debugger sends an interrupt to GDB and places control at the GDB prompt. Open File lets you open the API source les that are compiled with the -g option in the simluation process. Function Breakpoint displays a list of functions in your API code and lets you set breakpoints on the functions you select.

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Starting GDB
You can start GDB by setting a breakpoint or by invoking it from the Simulation menu. To start GDB by setting a breakpoint: 1. Click Send to Source Browser, , or choose File New Source Browser from any SimVision window. SimVision opens a Source Browser window. 2. In the Source Browser window, choose File Open Source File and open the API source le. 3. Set a breakpoint by either double-clicking in the column to the left of the line where you want to set the breakpoint, or by right-clicking over the column and choosing Set Break from the pop-up menu. The Source Browser displays a red stop sign in the column to show that the breakpoint is set and that it is enabled. SimVision adds the GDB buttons to the Simulation Control toolbar, and it adds the gdb tab to the Console window. In the gdb tab, an -exec-continue command is executed, and control passes to the simulator. 4. Click Run , to GDB. , and simulation advances to the breakpoint. At that time, control returns

To start GDB from the Simulation menu: 1. From any SimVision window, choose Simulation SystemC/C++/C Debug . SimVision adds the GDB buttons to the Simulation Control toolbar in any Source Browser windows that are open, and it adds the gdb tab to the Console window. 2. In the Source Browser, click Open File and choose the API source le from the list. The source le is displayed in the Source Browser window. 3. Set a breakpoint by either double-clicking in the column to the left of the line where you want to set the breakpoint, or by right-clicking over the column and choosing Set Break from the pop-up menu. The Source Browser displays a red stop sign in the column to show that the breakpoint is set and that it is enabled. 4. Click Run , , and SimVision executes an -exec-continue command in the gdb console. Control passes to the simulator. 5. Click Run , , again and simulation advances to the breakpoint. At that time, control returns to GDB.

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Viewing Source Code

You can open a source le in any of the following ways:

Click Open File to open the Open C/C++ Source File form. Select a le from the list and click OK . Choose File Open Source File and choose the API source le from the Open Source File form.

The Source Browser displays the source le, including line numbers. The Scope and Files elds that you would see when displaying an HDL source le are not available, because the API code is not part of the design hierarchy. In their place, the Source Browser displays the lename, as shown in Figure 13-1 on page 162. Figure 13-1 Displaying the API Source File Name in the Source Browser

Even though it is not part of the hierarchy, the API source le is added to the scope history. To move through the scope history:

Click Previous Scope , , orNext Scope , , to move backward or forward through the scope history. These buttons also have a drop-down list, so that you can jump to any scope in the list.

In addition, you can use the search function to search for a text string or go to a specied line in the source le. For information on using the search function, see Searching a Source File on page 66.

Setting Breakpoints in the API Code

SimVision lets you set breakpoints on any line or function in the API source code. You can also enable, disable, and delete breakpoints in the API code, as you would in the design code. The Properties window keeps tracks of all breakpoints that you set, including those in the API code. To set a line breakpoint: 1. Open the source le as described in Viewing Source Code on page 162. 2. Double-click on the line number where you want to set the breakpoint. SimVision places a red stop sign next to the line number, to indicate that the breakpoint is active.
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SimVision User Guide Debugging API Applications To set a function breakpoint: 1. Click Set Function Breakpoint , , in either the Source Browser or the Console window. SimVision displays a list of the functions in the API code, as shown in Figure 13-2 on page 163. Figure 13-2 Set Function Breakpoint Form

2. Select the function on which you want to set the breakpoint. If the list of functions is long, you can use the Filter eld to remove functions from the list, as follows:

As you type, SimVision automatically removes the names that do not match the current string. Enter a partial name and press Tab. SimVision completes the name up to the point at which it is no longer unique, and removes the names that do not match that string.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging API Applications You can continue to enter characters and press Tab until you have found the function you are looking for.

Include wildcard characters, * and ?, anywhere in the string to return all functions whose names match that pattern.

3. When you have selected the function on which you want to set a breakpoint, click OK . The Source Browser places a red stop sign next to the rst line of the selected function to indicate that the breakpoint is active. For more information on breakpoints and the Breakpoints Properties window, see Chapter 9, Setting and Managing Breakpoints.

Setting Watchpoints
SimVision lets you set watchpoints on any C/C++ variable in your design. A watchpoint is like an object breakpointsimulation stops whenever the value of the variable changes. To set a watchpoint: 1. Select the variable in the Source Browser. 2. Click Set Watchpoint , , in the API debugger toolbar.

SimVision records all watchpoints in the Breakpoints tab of the Properties form. You can use this form to delete or disable a watchpoint, as you would a breakpoint.

Passing Control between the Simulator and GDB

When simulation reaches a breakpoint in the API code, control is given to the GDB debugger. When simulation stops in the design code, control is given to the simulator. The Simulation menu lets you issue commands, such as step, next, return, and so on, to advance the simulation. You can use these functions with your API code, as well as the HDL code. See Chapter 11, Controlling the Simulation for information on the Simulation menu and toolbar. When the simulation is under control of GDB and the simulator is suspended, the force and deposit menu commands are disabled. If you want to switch context from the simulator back to GDB to continue debugging, set additional breakpoints, and so on, you can interrupt the debugging process. To interrupt the debugging process:

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Click Interrupt C Debugger, . This sends a Control-C to the debugger and returns control to GDB. If GDB is already in control, the button is disabled in the Source Browser window.

You can operate on any HDL object (SystemC, Verilog, or VHDL) while GDB is in control. You can navigate to other portions of your design and set line breakpoints in Verilog or VHDL, create object breakpoints on simulation objects, or issue other simulator Tcl commands. These commands are passed to the simulator through GDB, and their output appears in the simulator console.

Viewing the SystemC/C++/C Call Stack

SimVision can show the SystemC/C++/C call stack when simulation is stopped within GDB. The call stack shows the call stack frame number, followed by the function name and location, as shown in Figure 13-3 on page 165. Figure 13-3 API Call Stack in the Source Navigation Sidebar

To access the call stack: Advance simulation into the API code, then open the Call Stack tab in the Source Browser window.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging API Applications When you click on a frame in the call stack, the frame becomes active, thus allowing you to move up and down the call stack. The Source Browser jumps to the selected function in the source le. When simulation enters an API function, its name is added to the call stack. When the function exits, its name is removed from the call stack. If there is nothing on the call stack at the current execution point, the sidebar displays (call stack empty).

Viewing API Function Parameters and Local Variables

You can view function parameters and local variables in the Source Browsers SystemC/C++/C Variables sidebar. The sidebar displays these objects and their values. You can expand a complex object to see the values of its elds. To view API function parameters and local variables: Advance simulation into the API code, then open the SystemC/C++/C Variables sidebar in the Source Browser window.

Initially, the sidebar is blank. To add objects to the sidebar:

Select a parameter or variable in the Source Browser and click Add Variables , Click Load Parameters , , to add all function parameters and their values. , to add all local variables and their values.

Click Load Local Variables ,

Figure 13-4 on page 167 shows the sidebar with parameters and variables loaded into it.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging API Applications Figure 13-4 The SystemC/C++/C Variables Sidebar

To remove objects from in the sidebar:

Select the object and click Delete ,

SimVision updates the sidebar whenever simulation stops within GDB. If the simulation advances into the HDL code, the values of the local parameters are not updated until control returns to GDB.

Handling Signals When Debugging

The simulator makes use of specic operating system signals to handle unusual simulation conditions or to implement debugging functionality. The simulator can generate and handle the following UNIX/Linux signals during normal operation: SIGILL, SIGALRM, SIGSEGV, SIGBUS, SIGINT, SIGFPE, SIGEMT, and SIGPROF. Note: Handling signals as described in this section is necessary only if you start GDB or DBX manually from the command line. Handling signals is not required if you are using SimVision in native debugging mode. C and C++ debugging tools usually catch UNIX and Linux signals by default. They return control to the debugger user interface when such signals are raised. This is because these signals often indicate a problem with the C++ or C code. Debugging tools also provide
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SimVision User Guide Debugging API Applications commands to change the default behavior, so that you can continue debugging without interruption by such signals. For example, you can use the handle or ignore commands for this purpose in GDB or DBX, respectively. Generally, you should ignore any UNIX signals that are not raised by your C or C++ source code. To do this, you need to set up the debugger accordingly when you start debugging. Use the following sequence of commands for GDB:
(gdb) (gdb) (gdb) (gdb) (gdb) (gdb) handle SIGSEGV SIGBUS SIGFPE SIGALRM SIGEMT nostop noprint break nc_signal_raised commands 1 handle SIGSEGV SIGBUS SIGFPE stop print cont end

Use the following sequence of commands for DBX:

(dbx) ignore SIGSEGV SIGBUS SIGFPE SIGALRM SIGEMT (dbx) when in nc_signal_raised { up 4; down; stop; }

When you set a breakpoint at nc_signal_raiseda routine in the simulator main functionyou invoke the simulator functionality that causes the debugger not to stop when one of the listed signals is raised by the simulator or by UNIX, and to stop at signals that are raised by your C++ code. As part of the SimVision integration with GDB, this set of commands is included in the debugger startup procedure. So when you invoke GDB from SimVision, a breakpoint on nc_signal_raised is already set in the simulator main function. However, if you want to apply the same methodology of handling signals to debugging the elaborator (the ncelab executable) in command-line mode of debugging (GDB or DBX prompt), you must set this breakpoint manually because it is not possible to run elaboration with SimVision. You can also determine if a signal is generated by your code with the C++ where command. After you have compiled your code with the -g option, when such a signal is raised, type where. If the stack trace includes any function names in your source code, the signal was raised by the code. If you cannot recognize any of the function names, or if there are none in the stack trace, then the signal is a normally generated ncsim signal, and you can continue debugging. If you use GDB, simply type cont to continue from the execution point of the debugged process. A simulator internal error on continuing indicates that the signal is generated by your code, and you should consider debugging it.

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Viewing a Design Schematic
The Schematic Tracer displays abstract RTL models and gate-level designs in schematic form.

Opening a Schematic Tracer Window

To open a Schematic Tracer window:

In the Send To toolbar of any SimVision window, click Schematic Tracer, Windows New Schematic Tracer from the menu bar.

, or choose

If you select a scope or a signal before opening the window, the Schematic Tracer displays the selected scope or the scope of the selected signal, as shown in Figure 14-1 on page 170.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing a Design Schematic Figure 14-1 Schematic Tracer Window

Adding Objects to the Schematic

To add objects to the schematic:

Select scopes or signals in any SimVision window, then click Schematic Tracer, the Send To toolbar or click Add , , in the Schematic Tracer window.

, in

Open the Design Browser or Design Search sidebar and send scopes or signals to the window from the sidebar, as described in Chapter 5, Accessing Design Objects.

Adding Details of a Scope

After you add a scope to the Schematic Tracer, you can add its parent scope, all of its subscopes and signals, and the connections between them.

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Select the child scope, then click Display Parent Module , Ascend from the menu.

, or choose Edit

Select the scope, then press and hold the left mouse button and drag the mouse up and to the left. The Schematic Tracer draws a red line labeled Ascend . When you release the mouse, the Schematic Tracer adds the parent scope to the display.

To add subscopes and signal connections:

Select the scope and click Fill Modules , , or choose Edit Fill Modules from the menu bar, or right-click the scope and choose Fill . This adds any subscopes, blocks, and internal signals dened in the selected scope. Select the scope and choose Edit Descend into Module . This lls the selected scope and removes any parent scopes from the display. This is useful when you have a large design and want to focus on only one part of the design.

You can also set preferences in the Schematic Tracer tab of the preferences window to automatically ll instances and modules when you add them to the Schematic Tracer window. See Schematic Tracer on page 321 for more information. Whenever you add objects to the schematic, the Schematic Tracer highlights them. By default, they are displayed in red. You can change the highlight color, as described in Schematic Tracer Colors on page 322. To remove highlighting:

Choose Edit Clear Highlights.

Selecting Objects in the Schematic

There are several ways to select objects in the Schematic:

Click to select a single object. Shift-click to select several objects. Press the Control key and drag the mouse to select objects within an area of the design. Use the Edit Select menu to select all objects in the schematic, or to select all highlighted objects, or to deselect all selected objects.

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Removing Scopes from the Schematic

To remove individual scopes from the schematic:

Select the objects that you want to remove and click Delete , ,or choose Edit Delete Modules from the menu bar. Signal paths that would pass through a removed scope are displayed with a broken line.

To remove the details of a scope:

Select the scope, then click Collapse Modules , Modules from the menu bar.

, or choose Edit Collapse

To redisplay the schematic after you have changed its contents, such as removing a module or signal:

Choose View Regenerate .

Using Color in the Schematic Diagram

The Schematic Tracer displays signal names and values in the following colors:
s s s

X values are displayed in red Non-X values are displayed in green Signals with no value are displayed in white

You cannot change these colors. However, you can change the color of a selected area in the design. This may be useful if you are going to print a schematic diagram and want to draw attention to one area of the design. To specify the color of an area in the design: 1. Select the scopes and paths that you want to color and choose Format Color from the menu bar. The Schematic Tracer displays the Color menu. 2. Select a color from the palette, click More to mix your own color in the Select a New Color form, or click Default to return the selected area to its default color.

Displaying Signal Names

You can display either the simple name of a signal or its full name.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing a Design Schematic To change the format of signal names:

Enable View Show Full Signal Names to display the full hierarchical name of signals. Disable View Show Full Signal Names to display the simple name of signals.

Displaying Signal Values

The Schematic Tracer lets you display signal values in any radix that you choose, and it lets you watch signal values change during a live simulation or as you jump from edge to edge in a simulation database. If Display signal transition values is enabled in the Signal Options tab of the Preferences window, the Schematic Tracer displays two values when the value of an object changes during the current clock cycle. For example, if a signal transitions from 0 to 1 in the current clock cycle, SimVision displays the transition as b0 -> b1. If Display signal transition values is disabled, the Schematic Tracer displays only the value of the signal at the end of the clock cycle. To display signal values in the Schematic Tracer window:

Choose View Show Values from the menu bar. The Schematic Tracer adds signal values to the schematic. If the signal value changes during the current clock cycle, the transition is displayed with the notation old-value -> new-value . When Watch Live Data is enabled, until the simulation pauses or stops. , values in the Schematic Tracer are not updated

To view signal value changes during simulation:

Select a signal and click Next Edge , . Simulation progresses up to the point where the signal value changes. Simulation is interrupted, similar to setting a breakpoint on the object, and the values of signals in the window are updated. You can click Next Edge again, or select another signal and simulate to the next edge of that signal.

To view signal values in a database:

Select a signal and click Next Edge ,

, to jump to the next signal transition. , to jump to the previous signal transition.

Select a signal and click Previous Edge ,

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Setting the Radix of Values

By default, signal values are displayed in the radix in which they are recorded. To change the radix:

Select a radix from the Format Radix menu. The new radix is applied to all signals in the window. As recorded displays signals in the radix in which they were recorded during simulation.

Zooming the Schematic

Several toolbar buttons, menu entries, and keyboard shortcuts let you zoom in and out on the Schematic Tracer window. Button Menu Entry View Zoom In View Zoom Out View Zoom Fit Keyboard Shortcut i o f

You can also zoom in and out by pressing and holding the left mouse button, then dragging the mouse in one of the following directions: Up and right Down and right Down and left Zoom out incrementally Zoom to t the select area in the window Zoom to t the entire schematic in the window

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Using the Panner

You can use the scroll bars at the bottom and right sides of the window to view areas of the schematic that are not currently displayed in the window. However, the Schematic Tracer also has a panner that gives you more panning and zooming features. Video Using the Panner The panner is a small representation of the entire schematic, with a box sourrounding the area currently displayed in the window. You can use the panner to zoom in and out and display different areas of the schematic. To show the panner:

Click the down arrow in the upper left corner of the window, in the menu bar.

, or enable View Panner

To zoom in and out:

Press and hold the left mouse button over one corner of the box, then drag the corner to make the box larger (zoom out) or smaller (zoom in).

To display a different area of the schematic:

In the panner, click the area that you want to view, or press and hold the left mouse button and drag the box to the new location.

To hide the panner:

Click the up arrow in the upper left corner of the panner, in the menu bar.

, or disable View Panner

To remove the panner entirely:

Click Close Panner, , in the upper right corner of the panner, or disable View Panner in the menu bar.

Searching for Objects

When the window contains many signals and scopes, you might have difculty nding a specic instance or signal.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing a Design Schematic To search for signals and instances: 1. Click the Search button, , or choose Edit Search from the menu bar. The Schematic Tracer opens the Search form. 2. Select the type of object you want to search for, either Instance or Signal . 3. Enter the name or partial name of the object you want to nd. By default, the search string is *, which matches any name. 4. Click Search, and the Schematic Tracer displays a list of all instances or signals whose names match the search string. 5. Single-click a name in the list, and the Schematic Tracer highlights the object in the schematic diagram. Double-click a name, and the Schematic Tracer zooms in and highlights the object.

Tracing Paths with the Schematic Tracer

The Schematic Tracer provides several ways to trace a signal path through the design. When a signal has an unexpected value, you can trace the driving logic for the signal back through the design to see the signals that contribute to that value. Similarly, if you suspect that a signal contributes to an incorrect value in another part of the design, you can trace the loading logic from that signal forward through the design. You can also trace a scope to see all of the drivers or all of the loads for that block or module. The Schematic Tracer toolbar contains the following trace buttons: Traces a signal back through the design, or traces all drivers of a scope. You can also perform this trace function by choosing Trace Driving Logic from the menu bar or Trace Driving Logic from the pop-up menu. Traces a signal forward through the design, or traces all the loads of a scope. You can also perform this trace function by choosing Trace Loading Logic from the menu bar or Trace Loading Logic from the pop-up menu. Traces the driving logic back to the cause of an X value. You can also perform this trace function by choosing Trace X Backwards from the menu bar or Trace-X Backwards from the pop-up menu. The Schematic Tracer cannot trace the driving logic if there are multiple X values along the path. Traces the loading logic forward from the X value. You can also perform this trace function by choosing Trace Follow-X Forwards from the menu bar or Follow-X Forwards from the pop-up menu.
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Traces back to the current debug scope boundary, through any intervening modules or blocks. You can also perform this trace function by choosing Trace Logic Cone Backwards from the menu bar or Logic Cone Backwards from the pop-up menu. Traces forward to the current debug scope boundary, through any intervening modules or blocks. You can also perform this trace function by choosing Trace Logic Cone Forwards from the menu bar or Logic Cone Forwards from the pop-up menu. Trace Trace Signal Through Hiererarchy Traces the signal through the entire design (both drivers and loads). This option is available only through the Trace menu and the pop-up menu, not as a button in the Trace toolbar. Important When the Trace Signals sidebar is open, the trace buttons behave in the same way as the trace buttons in the Trace Signals sidebar. That is, you cannot trace a scope, and when you click the trace buttons, a new trace path is added to the Trace Signals sidebar. This change affects the Trace and the Trace X buttons. The Trace Logic Cone buttons behave in the usual way. For more information, see Chapter 16, Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar.

Tracing Paths from Point to Point

The Schematic Tracer can trace the path a signal between two points, as follows:
s s s

Tracing the Path between Two Pins Tracing a Path between a Pin and a Scope Tracing the Path between a Pin and a Cell

You can trace either forward or backward through the designfrom an input to an output, or from an output to an input. If the schematic information along the traced path is not displayed in the Schematic window, the Schematic Tracer adds the necessary information to the window. Important The point-to-point tracing feature cannot trace a path through a bus.

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Tracing the Path between Two Pins

To trace a path between two pins: 1. Select the pin at the beginning of the path that you want to trace, then hold down the Control key and select the pin at the end of the path. 2. Choose Trace Point to Point . The Schematic Tracer opens the Point To Point Tracing form. The rst Name eld contains the full hierarchical name of the rst signal that you selected; the second Name eld contains the second signal. The Type eld species the type of object selected. You can also enter the signal names directly in the Name elds. 3. In the Direction for this tracing eld, choose Input to trace back through the design toward the primary inputs, or Output to trace forward through the design toward the primary outputs. Important The order in which you select the pins determines the direction that you should choose. For example, if you select an input pin as the rst point and an output pin as the second point, you will ordinarily set the direction to Output . If you select an output pin as the rst point and an input pin as the second point, you will ordinarily set the direction to Input . Otherwise, the Schematic Tracer will try to a trace loop condition, such as an output signal driving an input signal. 4. If you want to display the results in a new Schematic window, enable Perform the trace in a new window. Otherwise, the current window is updated with the trace path. 5. Click OK to trace the path between the two pins. The Schematic Tracer displays the path in pink.

Tracing a Path between a Pin and a Scope

To trace a path between a pin and a scope: 1. Select the pin, then hold down the Control key and select the scope. 2. Choose Trace Point to Point . The Schematic Tracer opens the Point To Point Tracing form.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing a Design Schematic The rst Name eld contains the full hierarchical name of the pin that you selected; the second Name eld contains the name of the selected scope. The Type eld contains the type of object selected. You can also enter the signal and scope names directly in the Name elds. 3. In the Direction for this tracing eld, choose Input to trace back through the design toward the primary inputs, or Output to trace forward through the design toward the primary outputs. 4. If you want to display the results in a new Schematic window, enable Perform the trace in a new window. Otherwise, the current window is updated with the trace path. 5. Click OK , and the Schematic Tracer displays the traced path in pink. If there are multiple paths between the selected pin and scope, the Schematic Tracer displays all of those paths, if possible.

Tracing the Path between a Pin and a Cell

To trace the path between a pin and a cell: 1. Select the pin, then choose Trace Point to Point . The Schematic Tracer opens the Point to Point Tracing form. The rst Name eld contains the full hierarchical name of the pin that you selected. The Type eld species the type, Pin . You can also enter the signal name directly in the Name eld for the starting point. 2. In the second Name eld, enter the cell name and set the Type to Cell . The name can contain wildcard characters. For example, specify ff* to trace between the pin and any cell instance whose name contains the string ff. The name does not have to be a library cell; it can be a module denition (not a module instance). 3. In the Direction for this tracing eld, choose Input to trace back through the design toward the primary inputs, or Output to trace forward through the design toward the primary outputs. 4. If you want to display the results in a new Schematic window, enable Perform the trace in a new window. Otherwise, the current window is updated with the trace path. 5. Click OK , and the Schematic Tracer displays the path in pink.

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Using Bookmarks in the Schematic Tracer

In the Schematic Tracer, a bookmark saves the contents of the windowthat is, the scopes and interconnections currently displayed. You can use the bookmark to restore the view at a later time. You create, rename, reorder, and delete bookmarks in the Bookmarks sidebar. Bookmarks are automatically saved when you exit SimVision and restored when you run SimVision again from the same design directory. Video Schematic Tracer Bookmarks To open the Bookmarks sidebar: Click Bookmarks in the Schematic Tracer sidebar, or choose View Manage Bookmarks from the menu bar. To create a bookmark:

Click Add a Bookmark , the menu bar.

, in the sidebar, or choose View Add to Bookmarks from

The Schematic Tracer assigns a unique name to the bookmark, comprised of the string Schematic followed by a unique number. To rename a bookmark:

Double-click the bookmark to open a text area where you can edit the name; press Return to close the text area.

To reorder the list of bookmarks:

Press and hold the middle mouse button over the bookmark, then drag the bookmark to a new location in the list.

To delete a bookmark:

Select the bookmark and click Delete ,

To return to a view that you have bookmarked:

Select the bookmark in the sidebar.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing a Design Schematic The Properties window lists all of the bookmarks that you create. You can use the Properties window to rename and delete bookmarks. To manage bookmarks in the Properties window: 1. Click Properties , , in the Send To toolbar and select Bookmarks in the lefthand pane of the window, or click Display Bookmark Properties , , in the Bookmarks sidebar. 2. Select Schematic Tracer in the Bookmarks tab of the Properties window. This displays the Schematic Tracer bookmarks that you created. 3. You can perform the following operations on bookmarks:

Double-click on a bookmark to edit its name. Select one or more bookmarks and click Delete , , to delete the bookmarks.

Drag and drop bookmarks to change their order in the list.

Printing and Saving the Schematic Window

To print or save the Schematic window: 1. Choose File Print Window from the menu bar to open the Print form. 2. If you want to print the window, select Printer and enter the appropriate print command. If you want to save the window to a le, select File and enter the lename or click Browse to choose a le. By default, the Schematic Tracer names the le schematic.ps. 3. Set the Scale to Full if you want to print or save the entire schematic (similar to a zoom full operation). Set Scale to View if you want to print or save only the portion of the schematic displayed in the window. 4. Set Color Mode to Mono to print or save the schematic in black-and-white; set Color Mode to Color to print or save the schematic in full color. 5. Select a paper size. 6. Click OK .

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15
Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements
The Schematic Tracer maps a Verilog or VHDL RTL or gate-level object, or a SystemC structural object to one of the following schematic elements:
s s s s s s

Blocks SystemVerilog Interfaces and Modports Expressions Abstracted RTL Elements Gate Primitives Source

After you have synthesized a design, all of the modules that correspond to ip-ops, latches, muxes, and other special gate types are displayed in the Schematic Tracer as simple boxes. If you want to display these cells using other shapes, you can create a cell map le.

Blocks
A block represents an HDL construct, such as a Verilog module or a VHDL process statement. The block is labeled with the name given to the element in the design. For example, a block for a Verilog module is labeled with the module name and the instance name. If the element is not named, the Schematic Tracer generates a label. For example, an unnamed VHDL process is labeled $PROCESS_NNN and a Verilog always block is labeled blockN , where NNN and N are sequential numbers. Figure 15-1 on page 184 shows the block schematic element. Inputs appear on the left side of the block, and outputs appear on the right.

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements Figure 15-1 Block Schematic Element

Table 15-1 on page 184 lists the Verilog and VHDL constructs represented by the block schematic element. Table 15-1 Block Language Constructs Verilog Continuous assignment always statement module instantiation VHDL block statement process statement Concurrent procedure call Concurrent signal assignment Component instantiation statement generate statement Note: VHDL concurrent assertion statements are ignored by the Schematic Tracer and do not appear in schematic diagrams.

SystemVerilog Interfaces and Modports

Interfaces and modports are displayed as wires labeled with the interface or modport name on the outer connection of the block that instantiates it. Inside the block, the wire fans out to show the ports dened in the interface or modport. For example, Figure 15-2 on page 185 shows a modport named slave that is instantiated in the mem module. It appears as a wire going into the module, and its ports are displayed within the module.

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements Figure 15-2 Displaying a SystemVerilog Modport in the Schematic Tracer

Expressions
An expression schematic element is used when a port is connected to an expression. All of the signals in the expression are shown as inputs to the expression schematic element, and the output feeds the port of the block. For example, the following code denes an expression as an input to a VHDL block:
ff: BLOCK (C=1 AND NOT cSTABLE) . . .

Figure 15-3 on page 186 shows how the expression is represented in the schematic diagram as an input to the block.

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements Figure 15-3 Expression Schematic Element ff

Expr

Abstracted RTL Elements

The Schematic Tracer can display logic elements for an RTL design if you have processed the design for Incisive HDL analysis (HAL), or if the design is modeled in such a way that SimVision can extract the logic elements. You control the display of logic elements, as follows:

Enable View Show RTL in the Schematic window. This turns on the display of logic elements in that window only. Enable Show RTL Logic when available in the Schematic Tracer tab of the Preferences window. This displays logic elements in all new Schematic Tracer windows, by default.

When abstracted RTL information is available, the design is represented using the following logic elements:

wire ip-op mux latch AND

OR

NOT

NOR

XOR

NXOR/XNOR

&& Logical AND

|| Logical OR

~ Logical NOT

> Greater than

< Less than

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>= Greater than or equal to

<= Less than or equal to

= Equal to

!= Not equal to

+ Add

Subtract

* Multiply

/ Divide

% Modulo

<< Bitwise shift left

>> Bitwise shift right Note: Triand, trior, wand, and wor are not supported. They are shown as Unknown blocks in the schematic diagram. Figure 15-4 on page 188 shows the abstracted RTL elements displayed by the Schematic Tracer for the following always block:
always @(posedge CLOCK or posedge RESET) if (RESET) Q <= 0 ; else Q <= D ;

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements Figure 15-4 Displaying Abstracted RTL Elements

Gate Primitives
Gate primitives are represented by standard gate schematic elements. The Schematic Tracer supports the Verilog primitives and the following VHDL logic primitives as dened in the IEEE std_logic_component package: ANDGATE NXORGATE WBUFGATE NANDGATE XNORGATE INVGATE ORGATE BUFGATE INV3S NORGATE BUF3S INV3SL XORGATE BUF3SL

Source
The Source schematic element, shown in Figure 15-5 on page 189, is used to terminate an unconnected output. You can select this schematic element to locate the output in the Source Browser.

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements Figure 15-5 Source Schematic Element

Source

Creating a Cell Map File

By default, ASIC library cells, such as AND gates and ip-ops, are displayed as simple boxes. A cell map le denes how you want these cells displayed in the Schematic Tracer. There are several ways to create a cell map le:
s s

Enter the cell map denitions in a text le. Generate a cell map le template with the Schematic Tracer, then edit the le to specify the shape of each cell type. Translate a Liberty (.lib) le into a cell map le with the Schematic Tracer.

Format of a Cell Map File

Each line of the map le denes one cell, using the following syntax:
cell cellname shape shape_type ports [port_list ]

cellname

Species the name of the cell. The name can contain the wildcard characters: * Matches any number of characters ? Matches a single character

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shape_type

Species one of the following types: flipflop latch mux bufif0 bufif1 and or xor nand nor xnor not alu

port_list

Species a list of ports in the cell, using the following syntax:

{ {name direction attribute } ... }

The name must match one of the formal ports in the cell. The valid values for direction are: input output inout The attribute value controls the appearance of the port in the Schematic Tracer. Valid values are: normal, nnormal set, nset reset, nreset clock , nclock enable, nenable selector, nselector Attributes that begin with the letter n are displayed with a bubble, to imply negation. If you do not specify a port list, all of the ports are assumed to be normal. You do not need to specify the width of ports; it is determined by the Schematic Tracer when it draws the schematic.

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements The cell map le can also contain an include directive, which species the name of a le you want to process along with the le that includes it. The included le can be a SimVision cell map le or a Debussy symlib le. For example, suppose you dene a module, and3, as follows:
module and3 (a, b, c, q); input a,b,c; output q; assign q = a & b &c; endmodule

Without cell mapping, instances of and3 would display as simple blocks in the Schematic Tracer, as shown in Figure 15-6 on page 191. Figure 15-6 and3 without Cell Mapping

In a cell map le, you can specify that instances of and3 should be displayed as AND gates, as follows:
cell and3 shape and ports {{a input normal} {b input normal} {c input normal} {q output normal}}

With cell mapping enabled, instances of and3 are displayed as AND gates, as shown in Figure 15-7 on page 191. Figure 15-7 and3 with Cell Mapping

Now suppose you have dened the modules, xor1 and xor2, as follows:
module xor1(a, b, q); input a, b; output q;
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assign q = a; module xor2(a, b, q); input [3:0] a; input [3:0] b; output [3:0] q; assign q = a^b;

You can use the * matching character to specify that instances of these modules (and any others that begin with xor) are displayed as XOR gates, as follows:
cell xor* shape xor ports {{a input normal} {b input normal} {q output normal}}

With cell mapping enabled, instances of xor1 and xor2 are displayed as shown in Figure 15-8 on page 192. Figure 15-8 xor1 and xor2 with Cell Mapping

Tip You do not need to specify all pins in a cell, only special pins, such as clock, set, and reset pins. If a pin is not specied in the cell map le, the Schematic Tracer assumes it is of type nnormal with the direction specied in the design.

Creating a Cell Map Template

To create a cell map template: 1. Choose Cells Generate Cell Template from the Schematic Tracer menu bar. The Schematic Tracer opens the Generate Cell Shapes Template form.
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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements 2. Enter the name that you want to give to the cell map le, or click Browse (...) and choose an existing le (this le will be overwritten). Then click OK to generate the template le. 3. Open the template le with any text editor. The template contains a cell denition for each cell type in the current snapshot, including the cell name and port list. 4. Remove the lines for any cells that you do not want to map. For each cell that you want to map, replace the string <<unknown>> with the appropriate shape. For example, the Schematic Tracer creates the following template cell denitions for the and3, xor1, and xor2 modules described in the previous section:
cell and3 shape <<unknown>> ports {{a input normal} {b input normal} {c input normal} {q output normal)) cell xor1 shape <<unknown>> ports {{a input normal} {b input normal} {q output normal}} cell xor2 shape <<unknown>> ports {{{a[3:0]} input normal} {{b[3:0]} input normal} {{q[3:0]} output normal}}

For and3, you would replace <<unknown>> with the and shape; for xor1 and xor2, you would specify the xor shape. In addition, because both xor1 and xor2 have the same call map denition, you can remove one of the denitions and use the * wildcard character in the name. This would give you the following cell map denitions:
cell and3 shape and ports {{a input normal} {b input normal} {c input normal} {q output normal}} cell xor* shape xor ports {{a input normal} {b input normal} {q output normal}}

Format of a Cell Map File on page 189 describes the syntax of a cell map denition, including the valid cell shapes that you can use.

Translating a Liberty File into Cell Map File

To translate a Liberty (.lib) le: 1. Choose Cells Translate .lib File from the Schematic Tracer menu bar. The Schematic Tracer opens the Translate .lib to cell map format form. 2. Enter the name of the .lib le and the translated cell map le, or use the Browse (...) buttons to choose these les. 3. Click OK . The Schematic Tracer does not translate all pins in a cell, only special pins, such as clock, set, and reset pins. If a pin is not specied in the cell map le, the Schematic Tracer assumes it is of type nnormal with the direction specied in the design.

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Viewing Mapped Cells in the Schematic

Figure 15-9 on page 194 shows a design whose cells are unmapped. The ip-ops, muxes, and other special gates are displayed as simple boxes. Figure 15-9 Unmapped Cells in a Design Schematic

To display these cells with a cell map le: 1. In the Schematic Tracer tab of the Preferences window, enable the Show Cell Shapes if available option, and specify the cell map le name in the Cell Shapes Mapfile eld. Then click Apply or OK . 2. In the Schematic Tracer window, enable View Show Cell Shapes in the Schematic Tracer menu bar. The schematic is redrawn with the new cell shapes, as shown in Figure 15-10 on page 195. Tip The View Show Cell Shapes setting in the Schematic Tracer window lets you turn cell mapping on and off in individual Schematic Tracer windows. However, you cannot turn on cell mapping in the window unless you have also enabled Show Cell Shapes in the Preferences tab.

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SimVision User Guide Controlling the Appearance of Schematic Elements Figure 15-10 Mapped Cells in the Design Schematic

Handling Errors in the Cell Map File

If the cell map le contains syntax errors, the Schematic Tracer renders the schematic diagram as best it can with the information available, as follows:
s s

If a cell name is missing, no mapping is done. If a shape is missing, or has an unknown type, it is displayed with the default RTL symbola circle. If the port list species the wrong type, the type defaults to normal. If the port list species the wrong direction, the direction defaults to the direction dened in the design.

s s

If your design does not appear to be using the shapes that you have specied in the map le, you may have an error in the cell map le. To locate an error in the map le:

Choose Cells Show Cell mapfile Warnings . The Schematic Tracer opens a Cell Shapes Warning window. For each error in the cell map le, this window displays the le name, line number, and a description of the problem in the cell map denition.

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Updating a Cell Map File

To apply a modied map le to your existing Schematic Tracer windows:

Toggle the View Show Cell Shapes option in the Schematic window off and on.

The map le changes take effect immediately in all existing Schematic Tracer windows that are open, and in any new ones that you create.

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16
Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar
After you have probed some signals and simulated for a period of time, you may see a value that is unexpected. When this happens, you can use the Trace Signals sidebar to trace the signal through the design to see where the value has come from, or to see what effect that value may have on the logic that it drives. The Trace Signals sidebar lets you trace the driving or loading logic for a signal, and it lets you automatically trace all paths for X values and active drivers to and through registers, cells, and module boundaries.

Accessing the Trace Signals Sidebar

To access the Trace Signals sidebar:

Click the Trace Signals tab.

Tip If the sidebar is not visible, rst enable the Sidebar option in the View menu, then click the Trace Signals tab. The Trace Signals sidebar is shown in Figure 16-1 on page 198.

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SimVision User Guide Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar Figure 16-1 Trace Signals Sidebar

The sidebar contains controls for tracing signals, a drop-down menu of the paths you have traced, and an area to display the signals in the current path, including their values at the current simulation time. If the value of a signal changes during the current point in time, the transition is displayed with the notation old-value -> new-value .

Tracing the Loading Logic

Video Tracing Loading Logic in the Trace Signals Sidebar To trace the loading logic for a signal:

With Trace Signals chosen in the Trace Signals toolbar, select a signal in any SimVision window and click Trace Loading Logic , .

SimVision traces a path one step at a time.

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Click the Trace button beside the entry, or double-click the entry label, to continue the trace to the next step. When it reaches a module boundary, you can either trace into the module or skip over the module, as follows: Click the Follow into scope button to descend into the module. When you descend into a module, the Trace Signals sidebar changes the background of the trace path to gray and indents the signals in the path. Click the Trace button beside the entry, or double-click the entry label, to skip over the module. When you trace a signal, SimVision adds the signal name to the drop-down list in the Trace eld. You can use the drop-down list to switch from one path to another. Buttons beside the Trace eld let you manage the contents of the list, as follows: Creates another instance of the path, and makes that path the current path. Deletes a path from the list of trace paths. Adds or removes signals in the containing window so that the window contains only the signals that appear in the current trace. See Sending Signals to the Containing Window on page 204 for more information. SimVision assigns a unique color to each path that you trace, and each object along the path is on a separate line. Traced signals are also highlighted in the other windows in which they appear. In the Source Browser, they are displayed in green. In other windows, they are underlined. Choose the View Clear Trace Highlights in any window to clear the highlights in all windows. When you have chosen the path that you want to trace, SimVision extends the connecting line in the Controls column, but keeps the other choices visible, so that you can easily choose a different path. The Collapse button in the Controls column shows where there are choice along the path. You can click this button to hide these choices and show only the path taken.

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Tracing the Driving Logic

Video Tracing Drivers in the Trace Signals Sidebar To trace the driving logic for a signal:

With Trace Signals chosen in the Trace Signals toolbar, select a signal in any SimVision window and click Trace Driving Logic , . SimVision traces the signal back through the logic. When it reaches a module boundary, it traces the signal into the module. When it nds more than one driver, it stops to let you choose which driver you want to trace.

When you trace the driving logic for a signal, SimVision assigns a grade to each driver to indicate the relative probability that the item in the list is the active driver. The higher the grade, the more likely it is that the driver is the active driver for the signal. SimVision uses the following methods to determine each drivers grade:
s

If the driver has been forced, SimVision displays the force command as a separate line and gives the force a high grade. SimVision still analyzes and grades the other drivers. If you believe that the force is not active, you can use the grades of the other drivers as an indicator of the active driver. Otherwise, SimVision analyzes the contributing logic values. If the logic values have contributed to the selected signal, it is most likely the active driver for the signal. If it cannot use logic values to determine the drivers grade, or if multiple drivers were found through logic value analysis, SimVision analyzes the timing of the signal. It assumes that the most likely driver is the one whose value has changed most recently.

Although tracing the driving logic is not an exact process, you can increase the accuracy of the trace results in several ways. The following methods will provide increasing levels of accuracy. However, each increase in accuracy comes with a decrease in simulator and database performance.
s

Probe the signals of interest. This method has the smallest impact on performance. It is well-suited for structural designs with delay information. You should try this method rst, and use the other methods only if it does not produce the result you are looking for. Use the -event option when creating the simulation database. This method provides sequence time information, which can help you locate timing problems. However, this method generates a larger simulation database.

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s

Enable statement tracing when you create the simulation database. This method makes it possible for SimVision to trace the signal back to the exact statement that caused the signal transition, but it slows simulation and creates a larger database.

When you trace the driving logic for a signal, SimVision adds a column, labeled % , to indicate the grade. The list is sorted so that the items with the highest grade are rst. The colored bar indicates the drivers grade. It is sized larger for the most likely drivers, and smaller for the less likely drivers. It is also color-coded, as follows:
s

RedSimVision has determined that the simulated value of the driver might have been overidden by a force command. BlueSimVision has determined that the driver might be active, based on timing and other considerations. GreenSimVision has a high level of condence that the driver is active.

When you trace drivers, the Trace Signals sidebar often follows a path back through simulation time. When the driving value changed at a previous time, SimVision adds a jagged line and a small red ag in the trace path where the time shift occurred, and it moves the time back. Above the time shift, the time remains unchanged. Below, the trace path displays the values of the signals at the new time. To see the times above and below the time shift, roll the mouse over the ag. SimVision pops up a tool tip. If SimVision has selected an unwanted simulation time, you can also manually shift the time, as described in Shifting Time in the Trace Path on page 204.

Tracing Active Drivers

If you want to trace the most likely path of the active drivers for a signal, you can continuously trace the drivers with the highest probability, or you can let the Trace Signals sidebar do this for you automatically. Video Tracing Active Drivers in the Trace Signals Sidebar To automatically trace the most likely active drivers: 1. Choose Trace Active from the Trace Signals toolbar. This adds the active driver trace options to the toolbar, as shown in Figure 16-2 on page 202.

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SimVision User Guide Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar Figure 16-2 Active Driver Trace Options
Maximum number of paths to trace

Trace to or through registers, cells, or modules

2. Specify the options that you want to use. For example, the options in Figure 16-2 on page 202 specify that SimVision should trace 10 paths through registers, cells, and modules. 3. Click Trace Driving Logic , .

Tracing X Values
It is often helpful to trace an X value, either back through the design hierarchy to its origin, or forward through the hierarchy to determine the effect it has on downstream logic. You can trace this X value in the Trace Signals sidebar, by using either the Trace Signal buttons or the Trace X buttons.

Tracing an X Value with the Trace Signal Buttons

To trace the cause of a signal value, you can use the Trace Signal buttons, as follows: 1. Expand the sidebar in the Waveform window and open the Trace Signals sidebar. 2. With the signal selected in the Waveform window, click Trace Loading Logic , , or Trace Driving Logic , . SimVision follows the signal until it nds multiple paths. Tip If there are many contributing signals, it can be difcult to nd the contributing signals with X values. In this case, enable Show only X values along path to remove from the display all signals except those with X values.

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SimVision User Guide Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar After you have found the signals that have contributed to the X value, you can use other SimVision tools, such as the Source Browser, to locate the cause of this value, or you can display the trace path in the Schematic Tracer or Register window.

Tracing an X Value with the Trace X Buttons

When you use the Trace Signal buttons, tracing stops when SimVision encounters multiple paths. When you use the Trace X buttons, SimVision traces all possible paths. That is, it creates one trace path for each possible path. In addition, the trace paths contain only those contributing signals that have X values. To trace an X value with the Trace X buttons: 1. In the containing window, select the signal whose value you want to trace, and open the Trace Signals sidebar. 2. Choose Trace X from the Trace Signals toolbar. This adds the X-tracing options to the toolbar, as shown in Figure 16-3 on page 203. Figure 16-3 X-Tracing Options
Maximum number of paths to trace Trace X back

Trace X forward Trace to or through registers, cells, modules

3. Specify the X-tracing options that you want to use. 4. Click Trace-X Backwards, , or Trace-X Forwards , . SimVision creates one trace for each possible path. For each trace path, the pull-down menu indicates the signal name, the trace direction, and the number of the path out of the total number of possible paths.

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Shifting Time in the Trace Path

Time shifting lets you examine the values of contributing signals at different times, while still maintaining the time of the signal you are tracing. This can be helpful, particularly with X values, to determine whether an incorrect signal value is caused by a timing problem. To shift time in a trace path:

Change the time of the primary cursor. There are several ways to do this. For example:

Click Next Edge ,

, in the containing window.

Enter a new time in the Time toolbar. In the Waveform window, drag the primary cursor to a new location. Use the Search toolbar to search by Value , Rising Edge , Falling Edge , Expression , or Marker.

When you change the time of the primary cursor, the Trace Signals sidebar adds a jagged line and a small red ag in the trace path where the time shift occurs. Above the time shift, the time remains unchanged. Below, the trace path displays the values of the signals at the new time. To see the times above and below the time shift, hover the mouse over the ag. SimVision pops up a tool tip. Tip You can insert a time shift at any entry in the trace path, and at as many entries as you want.

Sending Signals to the Containing Window

The Trace Signals sidebar lets you send all signals or individual signals in a trace path to the containing window. To send all of the signals in a trace path to the containing window:

Click Send Trace to Containing Window, . This button adds to the containing window all of the signals that appear in a trace, or removes from the containing window all of the signals that do not appear in the trace.

For example, suppose you have traced a signal in the Design Browser, and you would like to add those signals to a Waveform window. To do this: 1. Open a new Waveform window and display the trace in the Trace Signals sidebar.
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SimVision User Guide Tracing Paths with the Trace Signals Sidebar 2. Click Send Trace to Containing Window, . SimVision adds the signals to the Waveform window. These signals are labeled with a comment in the signal list and waveform area of the window, as shown in Figure 16-4 on page 205. Figure 16-4 Sending a Trace to a New Waveform Window

This feature can also be useful if you have used the Trace Signals sidebar to narrow your eld of interest to a few signals, and you want to remove the rest of the signals from the containing window. For example, you might display a large design in the Schematic Tracer, and use the Trace Signals sidebar to trace a path through one portion of the design. You can then click Send Trace to Containing Window to simplify the schematic and display only the portion of the design that relates to the traced path. To add individual signals in a trace path to the containing window:

Enable Click to Add . This button behaves as follows, depending on the window type: Design Browser Waveform window Source Browser Selects the signal. Adds the signal to the window. If the signal is already present, it adds a copy of the signal to the window. Scrolls the source area to where the signal is dened and highlights the signal. Otherwise, it highlights the signal but does not scroll the source area. Highlights the signal. Adds the signal to the window. If the signal is already present in the window, this button does nothing. Adds the signal to the window, or selects the signal if it is already present in the window.

Schematic Tracer Memory Viewer Register

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Using the Trace Signals Sidebar with the Schematic Tracer

You can use the Schematic Tracer and the Trace Signals sidebar to trace signals in the design. When you trace a path with the Trace Signals sidebar, each path is assigned a unique color, which is also used to display the path in the Schematic Tracer. You can display multiple paths in the Schematic Tracer. Each is displayed in the color assigned to it by the Trace Signals sidebar. To display multiple paths:

Enable the check mark in the Trace Signals drop-down menu for each path that you want to display. The Schematic Tracer displays all paths in their assigned colors. Important If the selected paths overlap, only one color is displayed for the overlapping area.

To change the color of a trace path: 1. In the Schematic Tracer, display the trace in the Trace Signals sidebar, then click the Color button to the right of the signal name. This opens the Colors palette. 2. Choose a color from the palette, or click More to open the Select a New Color form and mix your own color.

Performing Functions on Objects in the Sidebar

When you select an object, you can right-click to pop up a menu of functions that you can perform on the object, as follows: Follow (# drivers) Trace Driving Logic Lets you continue tracing from the selected signal. Traces the selected signal back to its module inputs.

Trace Loading Logic Traces the selected signal forward to its module outputs. Send to Lets you add the object to a window. If you choose one of the window types in the menu, SimVision adds the object to the target window of that type. If you choose Send to new, you can send the object to a new window of the type you choose.

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Break on Change

Creates a breakpoint on the object. See Chapter 9, Setting and Managing Breakpoints for more information on setting breakpoints. Opens the Force Value form, so that you can specify the value that you want to give to the object. See Forcing and Releasing a Signal Value on page 139. Releases any forces that you have set on the object and returns it to its original value. See Forcing and Releasing a Signal Value on page 139. Opens the Deposit Value form, so that you can specify the value that you want to deposit. See Depositing a Signal Value on page 141. Opens the Set Probe form, so that you can set a probe on the object. Chapter 8, Creating and Managing Probes for more information on setting probes. Displays the results of a describe command in the simulator Console window. That is, it displays the signal name, type, and current value.

Create Force

Release Force

Deposit Value

Create Probe

Describe

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17
Displaying Waveforms
The Waveform window lets you view waveforms that represent the signal transitions during simulation. SimVision lets you view these signal transitions while the simulation is runningthis is called watching live dataor it can save the transitions to a database that you load into SimVision in post-processing mode.

Opening a Waveform Window

To open a Waveform window:

In any SimVision window, click Waveform , , in the Send To toolbar, or choose Windows New Wavefrom from the menu bar.

If you select signals before clicking Waveform , , they are displayed in the signal list on the left side of the Waveform window. If simulation data is available, the signal transitions are displayed as waveforms on the right side of the window, as shown in Figure 17-1 on page 210.

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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms Figure 17-1 Waveform Window

The Signal List

The signal list displays the signals and their values, in two independently scrollable columns. The button below the Value column indicates whether the column is left-justied or right-justied. Click the button to toggle between the two choices, as follows: Indicates that the Value column is left-justied. Indicates that the Value column is right-justied.

A button sometimes appears below the Name column when the hierarchy becomes so deep that the expand and compress buttons (+ and -) reach the right side of the column. You can use this button to scroll the signal names, as follows: Click on the right or left side of the pyramid to shift the hierarchy to the left or right.
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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms This button does not appear often, but it may if you are displaying the full database and path names for signals in a deep hierarchy. You can change the size of the signal list and value list to use more or less space in the window. To resize the signal and value lists: 1. Place the cursor in the bar that separates the signal list from the value list or in the bar that separates the value list from the waveform area. The cursor changes to a double-arrow. 2. Drag the cursor to the right or left. The columns grow wider or thinner as you move the cursor.

The Waveform Area

The waveforms are displayed on the right side of the window. Above the waveforms, a timeline shows the beginning and ending times for the data currently displayed in the window. Below the waveforms, a scroll bar area shows the entire range of simulation time recorded in the database. The scroll bar itself indicates the current view of waveform data displayed in the window. To scroll the waveform data:

Drag the scroll bar to the left or right. Enable zoom mode, , then hold and drag the middle mouse button to the left or right.

Maximizing the Waveform Viewing Area

You can maximize the waveform viewing area by enabling and disabling the options in the View menu. For example, to change the window layout so that you can use the maximum amount of space for your waveform display: 1. Disable the Show Full Signal Names and Show Database Names to show only the simple names of signals in the waveform window. 2. Disable the View Sidebar option or click Hide Sidebar, of the sidebar to remove the sidebar from the window. , in the upper right corner

3. In the Toolbars menu, disable any toolbars that you do not need.

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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms 4. Click Show/Hide Search Toolbar, search toolbar from the window. , in the standard toolbar to add and remove the

Default Waveform Shapes and Color

The shape of a waveform is determined by the signal type or value, as follows: Buses and other aggregate signals Events Signals with the value 0 Signals with the value 1 Signals with the value X Signals with the value Z

Icons are sometimes used as special markers, such as when displaying error events. The color of the waveform is determined by the language in which the source code is written and the signal value. You can change these default colors in the Preferences window, as described in Chapter 25, Setting Preferences. These settings apply to all signals in all Waveform windows. To change the color of an individual signal: 1. Select the signal and choose Format Trace Color to change the color of the trace for that signal in the waveform area, or choose Format Name Color to change the color of the signal name in the signal list. 2. Select a color from the pop-up menu, choose More to create your own color, or choose Default to restore the trace or the name to its default color. This setting applies to only the individual signal in the current window. If you send that signal to another window or add it again to the same window, it is displayed in the default color.

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Adding Signals to the Waveform Window

There are several ways to add signals to a Waveform window.

Use the Design Search sidebar. Chapter 5, Accessing Design Objects describes how to use the sidebar. Use the Waveform button:

In another SimVision window, select the objects that you want to add to the Waveform window. Use the Waveform button, as follows:

Click Waveform , , or choose Send to target from the button menu to send the objects to the target window. Choose Send to new from the button menu to send the objects to a new Waveform window.

Drag and drop the signals and variables:

In another SimVision window, select the objects that you want to add to the Waveform window. Press and hold the middle mouse button, then drag the signals into any area of the Waveform windowsignal list, value pane, or waveform area. Release the mouse button to drop the signals into the window.

Use the Add button:

In another SimVision window, select the objects that you want to add to the Waveform window. Open a Waveform window , or bring the window to the foreground, then click Add , , in that window.

Probing Signals in the Waveform Window

When you add scopes to the Waveform window, SimVision creates a probe for all of the signals in those scopes. The signals are probed to the default database. To probe signals to a different database, use the Set Probe form, as described in Chapter 8, Creating and Managing Probes.

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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms If you have selected a scope and all of its child scopes, only the top-level scope is added to the Waveform window, because recursively adding scopes to the Waveform window could adversely affect performance.

Adding Contributing Signals to the Waveform Window

To add the contributing signals of an object in the Waveform window:

Right-click the object, such as a signal or an assertion, and choose Add Contributing Signals . SimVision creates a group that contains all of the contributing signals for the selected object, as shown in Figure 17-2 on page 214.

Figure 17-2 Contributing Signals in the Waveform Window

Displaying Aggregate Signals

When you view aggregate signals in the Waveform window, such as buses, VHDL records, and SystemVerilog packed structures and packed arrays, you can display the entire signal as a single waveform, or expand the signal to see its logic elements or bits. In addition, when you expand a large signal with many elements, the Waveform window lets you create a scrollable region, so that the object takes up less space in the window. Note: In this release, SystemVerilog queues, dynamic arrays, and associative arrays cannot be displayed in the Waveform window.

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Expanding and Collapsing Signals

To expand and collapse signals:

Click on the icon next to the signal name. The icon appears as a + sign when the object is collapsed and as a - sign when the object is expanded. Right-click the + or - button and choose Expand or Collapse .

Some aggregate data types, such as VHDL records or buses, give you different options for expanding objects of those types. For example, you can expand a VHDL record to Record Elements , and buses to Bus Elements . These choices simply indicate that you can expand these objects to their higher-level elements, rather than the individual bits that make up these objects.

Splitting a Signal
You can split an aggregate signal into groupings in the following widths, or a width that you dene. Bits Bytes Words 32-Bit Words Expands to show the individual bits in the signal Expands to show groups of eight bits Expands to show groups of 16 bits Expands to show groups of 32 bits

Whenever you choose a new width, it becomes the default width for all subsequent expand operations on that signal. To split a signal:

Right-click the + sign next to the signal and choose the width that you want.

To dene your own width: 1. Right-click the + button next to the signal, and choose User-Defined Width . SimVision opens the Enter Desired Width form.

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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms 2. Enter the width and click OK . SimVision splits the signal to the desired width, and also adds the new width to the pop-up menu.

Creating a Scrollable Region

Aggregates can be quite large, and you might not want to display an entire object at once. You can make an aggregate scrollable and display only a portion of it at a time. To make an aggregate scrollable:

Right-click the - button next to the object and choose Scrollable View from the pop-up menu. The Waveform viewer displays a portion of the aggregate.

To adjust the size of a scrollable region: 1. Move the cursor over the sizer in the lower left corner of the scrollable region, and the Waveform window displays a box around the region. 2. Drag the sizer up or down to increase or decrease the size of the scrollable region. To scroll a region: 1. Move the cursor to the left side of the scrollable region. The Waveform window displays a scroll bar. 2. Drag the cursor up and down within the scroll bar. Scrolling speeds up as the cursor moves toward the top or bottom of the scroll bar, and it slows down as the cursor moves closer to the middle of the scroll bar. Click on the arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar to scroll one line at a time.

Selecting the Format of Signal Names

You can choose how you want signal names to appear in the signal list, as follows:
s s s s

Name Displays only the signal name Path.Name Displays the full hierarchical signal name Db::Name Displays the database name and the signal name Db::Path.Name Displays the database name and the full hierarchical signal name

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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms To change the format of signal list names:

Select the desired format from the drop-down list above the signal names, as shown in Figure 17-3 on page 217.

Figure 17-3 Choosing a Signal Name Format

Changing a Signal Name

You can change the name of signal as it appears in the Waveform window. When you change the signal name, it is replaced with a named expression. As a result, its icon in the signal list also changes. You can expand the renamed signal to see the orginal signal. To change a signal name: 1. Select the signal, then click a second time to open the text eld, or choose Edit Text from the pop-up menu. 2. Edit the signal name, then press Return to close the text eld. The icon for the signal changes to the Expression Calculator icon, as shown in Figure 17-5 on page 218. Figure 17-4 Displaying a Signal Whose Name Has Changed

Note: When you add a structure or array to the Waveform window, the child nodes are shown within the context of that object. Therefore, you cannot change the name of a child node when it is in that context. You must move it out of the structure or array before you can rename it.
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Setting the Radix of Signal Values

By default, SimVision displays signal values in the radix in which they are recorded in the database. To change the radix: 1. Select one or more signals in the Waveform window. 2. Choose Format Radix/Mnemonic from the menu bar and enable the radix in which you want to display the signal value. You can also display a decimal or hexadecimal value as signed or unsigned. To display a signal value as signed:

Select the signal, then enable the Signed menu choice from the Format menu or from the signal value pop-up menu.

To display a signal value as unsigned:

Select the signal, then disable the Signed menu choice from the Format menu or from the signal value pop-up menu.

Figure 17-5 on page 218 shows a signal, dir, displayed twice in the Waveform window. The rst is displayed as signed decimal; the second as unsigned decimal. Figure 17-5 Displaying Signed and Unsigned Values

Note: When you convert a signal between signed and unsigned, you create an expression. This expression is added to the Waveform window in place of the signal. When you add a structure or array to the Waveform window, the child nodes are shown within the context of that object. Therefore, you cannot convert a child node between signed and unsigned when it is in that context. You must move it out of the structure or array before you can convert it.

Using Mnemonic Maps

Mnemonic maps associate signal values with strings, colors, line shapes, and icons. For example, you can dene a mnemonic map to associate a name with each state of a state machine, or you can dene a mnemonic map to display all x values with a red background.
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Video Creating a Mnemonic Map

Creating a Mnemonic Map

When you create a mnemonic map, you dene not only the text that is displayed for a particular signal value, but also the way that value is displayed in the Waveform window, including the shape of the waveform, the color, and icons for any special conditions associated with a value. To create a mnemonic map: 1. Choose Edit Create Mnemonic Map from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Mnemonic Maps tab of the Properties window. The Mnemonic Maps tab displays the names of all mnemonic maps and the mnemonic map entries for the selected map. 2. Click New Map to create a new mnemonic map. By default, mnemonic maps are named New map, New map #2, New map #3, and so on. You can assign a different name to the map by editing the Name eld. 3. For each entry, provide the following information: a. In the Values Matching column, choose the default radix from the drop-down list at the beginning of the entry row. When you choose a default radix for the rst entry, the same radix is used for all other entries that you add to the map. b. Double-click the Values Matching eld and enter the value that you want to map. Press Tab to move to the Relabel As eld. c. In the Relabel As eld, enter the ASCII string you want to associate with the value. Press Tab to move to the Values Matching eld of the next entry. d. The Preview eld shows what the entry will look like in the Waveform window. You can change its appearance by using the format editing area below the mnemonic map denition, as follows: Controls the color and shape of the lines drawn around the value.

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Controls the color and pattern of the lled area within the lines. Controls the color and font style of the mnemonic text. Species an icon to display to the left of the mnemonic text.

Tip You should dene all possible values for a signal; undened values are displayed using the default map.

Applying a Mnemonic Map

To apply a mnemonic map to a signal, use any of the following methods:

Select the signal in the Waveform window, then click Apply To Selected Signals in the Mnemonic Maps tab. Select the mnemonic map name from the list of maps, drag the map into the Waveform window and drop it over a signal. The mnemonic map is applied to that signal. Select the signal in the Waveform window and choose the mnemonic map from the Format Radix/Mnemonic menu.

Using a Mnemonic Map to Display Booleans as Logic Signals

Ordinarily, the Waveform window displays VHDL boolean signals as shown in Figure 17-6 on page 220. Figure 17-6 Displaying a Boolean Signal

However, there may be times when you want to view the boolean as a logic signal, as shown in Figure 17-7 on page 221.

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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms Figure 17-7 Displaying a Boolean as a Logic Signal

To display a boolean as a logic signal:

Select the signal in the Waveform window and choose Format Radix/Mmemonic Boolean as Logic .

When you use the Boolean as Logic mnemonic map, the values of the signal are displayed as TRUE and FALSE. If you would like to change the way those values are displayedfor example, as 1 and 0 edit the Boolean as Logic mnemonic map denition in the Mnemonic Maps tab of the Properties window.

Adding Comments to the Waveform Window

You can add comment lines to the Waveform window anywhere in the signal list and waveform area. Comments appear on a single line, and can contain any text that you specify, or can be a single blank line. There is no limit to the length of a comment. If a comment in the signal list is longer than that area of the window, you can use the scroll bar to see the entire string. If a comment in the waveform area is longer than that area of the window, the text is truncated in the window. However, you can open the text eld to see the entire string. Video Adding Comments to the Waveform Window To add a comment: 1. In the signal list, position the insertion bar where you want the comment to appear, or select a signal. 2. Right-click and choose Create Comment , or choose Edit Create Comment from the menu bar. A text eld opens above the insertion bar or selected signal. 3. Enter the text in the eld. 4. If you want the comment to appear in the waveform area, press Tab. This opens a text eld in the waveform area.
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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms 5. Press Return to close the text eld. To edit a comment in the signal list: 1. Select the comment, then click a second time to open the text eld, or right-click and choose Edit Text . 2. Edit the comment, then press Return to close the text eld. To edit the comment text in the waveform area: 1. Select the comment, then click a second time to open the text eld, or right-click and choose Edit Text . 2. Press Tab to open the text eld in the waveform area. 3. Edit the comment, then press Return to close the text eld. To move a comment: 1. Select the comment, then press and hold the middle mouse button. 2. Drag the insertion bar to the new location, and release the mouse button to drop the comment in that location. To delete a comment:

Select the comment and click Delete ,

, or right-click and choose Delete .

Rearranging Objects in the Waveform Window

To rearrange the signals and variables in the Waveform window: 1. In the signal list, select the objects that you want to move. 2. Press and hold the middle mouse button. As you move the cursor up and down the signal list, SimVision displays a horizontal insertion bar. 3. Place the insertion bar where you want the signal to appear, and release the mouse button. Tip You can use the insertion bar to determine where additional signals are added to the list. For example, if you want to add a signal in the middle of the list, drag the insertion bar or middle-click at the desired location, then select a signal in any SimVision window, and click Add , , in the Waveform window.
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Removing Objects from the Waveform Window

To remove objects from the Waveform window: 1. Select the object or objects and click Delete , Tip It can take some time to delete a large object because SimVision is saving Undo information. You can improve performance by holding down the Shift key while clicking Delete . However, when you do this, you cannot undo the delete operation. .

Zooming the Waveform Data

There are several ways to zoom the waveform datawith the scroll bar, the mouse, toolbar buttons, the View menu, and pop-up menus.

Zooming with the Scroll Bar

Position your cursor over the pointer at the end of the scroll bar slider, until it turns red. Drag the pointer to the left and right. The waveform data zooms in and out to display more or less detail.

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Zooming with the Mouse

The Waveform window has two modes for zooming and scrolling the waveform data with the mousecursor mode and zoom mode. You select the mode you want by enabling the mode in the Operating Mode toolbar. In cursor mode, you can zoom between a range of times, as follows:

Control-click and drag the mouse within the waveform area. This highlights a range of times. When you release the mouse, the Waveform Viewer zooms within the selected range. Or zoom between a range of times in this way: a. Left-click in the waveform area at the beginning of the range. This sets the location of the primary cursor. b. Click the middle mouse button at the end of the range. This sets the location of the baseline cursor. c. Right-click to zoom between those two times.

In zoom mode, the mouse performs the following zoom and scroll operations:

Click and drag the mouse horizontally within the waveform area. This highlights a range of times. When you release the mouse button, the Waveform Viewer zooms within the selected range. Click and drag the mouse up and to the right to zoom in on the waveform data. Click and drag the mouse down and to the left to zoom between the beginning and ending times. This is a zoom t operation.

Tip Press the Control key to toggle the behavior of the mouse. That is, in cursor mode, hold the Control key to perform zoom mode operations. In zoom mode, hold the Control key to perform cursor mode operations.

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Zooming with Toolbar Buttons and View Menu Choices

To zoom in and out with the zoom toolbar button cluster and View menu choices: Toolbar Menu Choice Button View Zoom In X View Zoom Out X View Zoom Previous View Zoom Full X View Zoom Full Y View Zoom Cursor-Baseline

Description Zoom in incrementally Zoom out incrementally Return to the previous zoom setting Display the waveform data for all simulation times Display all data along the Y axis (for analog signals) Display the waveform data between the primary cursor and the baseline cursor

The Zoom In function behaves differently, depending on the contents of the window:

If the active cursor and baseline are not displayed in the waveform area, the window zooms in toward the center of the waveform data that is currently displayed. If the active cursor is displayed, the window zooms in toward that cursor. If both the active cursor and the baseline are displayed, the window zooms in toward the center of the two cursors.

To zoom in and out with pop-up menus: Right-click within the waveform area to pop up the menu shown in Figure 17-8 on page 226. The shaded area represents the area currently displayed in the waveform window. As you select one of the choicesIn , Out , Full , C-B the pop-up menu displays the corresponding zoom icon. Zoom Last returns you to the previous zoom setting.

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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms Figure 17-8 Zoom Command Pop-Up Menu

To zoom between any two markers or cursors: Right-click a cursor or marker, then choose Zoom between and any marker or cursor in the pull-right menu.

To zoom in and out with hotkeys: Position the mouse inside the waveform area, then press one of the following hotkeys: Hotkeys I O = Zoom Command Zoom in Zoom out Zoom out full

Searching the Signal List and Waveform Area

The number of signals and the amount of simulation time displayed in the Waveform window can be large. The Waveform window provides two ways to search for signals and groups in the signal list, and to search for markers, expressions, and values in the waveform area. To search the signal list, use Search Names , as follows:

1. Select Signal or Group from the Search Names menu. 2. In the text eld, enter the name or partial name of a signal or group, including the wildcard characters, * and ?. The rst occurrence of the string is highlighted as you enter it in the text eld. The strings you enter are added to a drop-down list, so you can quickly perform the same search again later. Group names are added to the list as you create them. See Working with Groups on page 231 for information on creating groups.
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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms Because SimVision keeps a history of the search strings that you enter, you can enter a partial string and press Tab. If the history contains one matching string, SimVision seeds the Search eld with that string. If the history contains more than one matching string, it displays a list of those strings, and you can choose one. 3. Click Search Up, , and Search Down , name matches the string. , to nd the next or previous object whose

To search the waveform area, use Search Times , as follows:

1. Select the type of oject you want to search for from the Search Times menu, as follows:

Select Value to search for a signal value. Select Rising Edges or Falling Edges to search for a specied edge. Select Expression and choose an expression from the drop-down list to search for a specied condition. For information on creating expressions, see Working with Conditions and Virtual Signals on page 237. Select Marker and choose a marker from the drop-down list to search for the location of a marker. See Using Markers on page 249 for information on creating markers. Select Assertion State and choose a states from the drop-down menu to search for the specied assertion stateinactive, finished, failed, or disabled. See Assertion Checking in Simulation for information on assertions and assertion states.

When you choose Value or Marker, SimVision keeps a history of the search strings that you enter. Therefore, you can enter a partial string and press Tab. If the history contains one matching string, SimVision seeds the eld with that string. If the history contains more than one matching string, it displays a list of those strings, and you can choose one. 2. Click Search Next and Search Previous to move the primary cursor to the next or previous occurrence of the selected object within the waveform area.

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Time-Shifting Waveform Data

To shift a waveform: 1. Select the signal from the signal list, then choose Format Shift . This opens the Time Shift form. 2. Enter the amount of time by which you want to shift the waveform. 3. Enable Relative to shift the waveform relative to the current location; enable Absolute to shift the waveform relative to the original simulated location. 4. Click OK . A shifted waveform is indicated in the signal list with the notation:
shift(signal_name, total_time )

Dening and Displaying a Grid

You can display a grid along the X-axis of the waveform data. This can help you see whether signal value changes align as they should. When you rst open the Waveform window, the grid is off. You can turn the grid on and off, and dene the starting point and interval at which the grid appears.

Turning the Grid On and Off

To turn on the grid:

Enable Grid in the Waveform windows View menu.

To turn off the grid:

Disable Grid in the View menu.

The Waveform window can also display a y-axis grid for analog signals. See Displaying a Y-Axis Grid on page 276 for more information.

Dening the Grid

By default, grid marks begin at time 0, and they are placed along the X-axis at appropriate time intervals. The size of the interval is determined by how much waveform data you are displaying in the window at the time the grid is enabled. The more data, the larger the interval.

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SimVision User Guide Displaying Waveforms To change the grid settings: 1. Choose View Define Grid from the menu bar. SimVision opens the Grid Denition form. 2. Enter the time at which you want to begin displaying grid marks. 3. Enter the time interval you want to span between the grid marks. 4. Click OK .

Saving and Printing Waveforms

To save or print waveforms: 1. Choose File Print Window from the menu bar. The Waveform window opens the Print form. 2. In the Printer area of the form, choose Command to specify a print command. For example, you can enter the lpr command to print the data on the default printer. Choose Print to file to write the data to a postscript le. You can specify the name of a new le or select an existing le from a le selection form. 3. In the Print range area, select the variables and times that you want to print. By default, SimVision prints only those variables and times that are displayed in the Waveform window. However, you can also print selected variables or all variables, and you can specify a range of time, or all times. 4. In the Comments area, specify a heading that you want to appear on every page. This heading can include a Title , Designer Name , Company Name , and an additional Note . 5. In the Print paper area, specify the Paper size , Orientation , Colors , and Scale that you want to use. Each of these elds has a drop-down list of values from which you can choose. 6. Click OK when you are ready to print.

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Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons
SimVision gives you several ways to organize signals in the Waveform window:
s

A group gives a name to a collection of signals, so that you can manipulate the signals as a single entity. A group can also contain other groups. A bus concatenates the bits in any number of signals, or a range of bits in an array. A condition is dened by an expression that evaluates a set of signals and returns true or false. A virtual signal is dened by an expression that produces a value, such as arithmetic or trigonometric functions on a set of signals. A comparison combines two or more signals and marks the waveform where their values differ.

s s

Working with Groups

A group gives a name to a collection of signals, so that you can manipulate the signals as a single entity. A group can also contain other groups. There is no limit to the number of groups that can be contained within a group, and the same group can be a member of multiple groups.

Creating a Group in the Waveform Window

To create a group in the Waveform window:

Select the objects that you want to group, and click the Group button, Edit Create Group.

, or choose

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons By default, SimVision names groups sequentially, Group 1, Group 2, and so on. To change the name of a group: 1. Double-click on the group to open the text eld, or right-click the group and choose Edit Text . 2. Edit the group name, then press Return to close the text eld. You can also add a comment in the waveform area on the same line as the group name. To add a comment: 1. Open the text eld, then press the Tab key. This opens a text eld in the waveform area of the window. 2. Enter the text, and press Return. Figure 18-1 on page 232 shows a group made up of three signals: nickel_in, dime_in, and quarter_in. The group is expanded, so that the signals and their waveforms are displayed under the group name, Group 1. Figure 18-1 Creating a Group

Creating a Group in the Properties Window

To create a group in the Properties window: 1. In any SimVision window, select the signals that belong in the group. 2. Choose Windows Tools Groups from the menu bar. This opens the Groups tab of the Properties window. The Groups tab lists any groups that you have already dened and the contents of the currently selected group. 3. Click Create new group. selected signals. . SimVision creates a new group that contains your

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons 4. You can add more signals and groups to the group in any of the following ways:

Drag and drop them into the Groups tab. Select them in another window and click Add , , in the Groups tab.

Copy them in any SimVision window and paste them in the Groups tab.

When you create a group in the Properties window, it does not appear in any Waveform window. To add a group to a Waveform window:

Select the group in the Properties window and click the Waveform ,

, button.

To change the name of the group in the Properties window:

Select the group, and enter the new name in the Current Group eld. The name of the group is updated in all windows in which the group appears.

Creating Copies and Instances of Groups

Sometimes you might want to create a new group that contains some or all of the signals in another group. When you create a copy of a group, you can add and remove signals from that group without affecting the original group. At other times, you might want to create another instance of a group. Any change to an instance of a group affects all instances of that group. To copy a group: 1. In the Groups tab of the Properties window, select the group and click Copy, 2. Click Paste , , and a copy of the group is added to the Groups tab. .

The copy of the group contains the same signals as the original group. You can add and remove signals from the copy without changing the contents of the original group. To create an instance of a group: 1. In the Waveform window, select the group and click Copy, .

2. In the same or a different Waveform window, click Paste , . An instance of the group is added to that window. It has the same name and contains the same signals as the original group.

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons If you add or remove signals from an instance of a group, the signals are added or removed from all other instances of that group.

Splitting and Deleting a Group

When you split a group, you remove only the group designation; the signals remain in the window. When you delete a group, you remove the signals from the Waveform window. To split a group:

In the Waveform window, select the group you want to split, then click Ungroup, group name is removed from the window, but the signals remain.

. The

To delete a group:

In the Waveform window or in the Groups tab of the Properties window, select the group, then click Delete , .

Groups are dened globally; they can appear in multiple windows. Therefore, when you split or delete a group in a Waveform window, it is not deleted from the Properties window or from any other Waveform windows. When you delete a group from the Properties window, however, it is deleted in all Waveform windows in which the group appears.

Performing Other Operations on Groups

You can perform the following operations on groups:

Click the - button next to the group name to collapse the group and make the best use of the available space in the Waveform window; expand it by clicking the + button, to see the individual signals in the group. Select a group name and drag the group to a new position within the signal list. If you drop the group within another group, it is nested within that group. Select an individual signal within the group, and drag it to a new position within the group. This rearranges the signals in the group. Select a signal within the group and drag it outside of the group. This removes the signal from the group. Select a signal outside of the group and drag it into the group. This adds the signal to the group. Copy a signal or group and paste it into a group.

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons When working with analog designs, you can create analog overlay groups. For more information, see Creating an Overlay Group on page 273.

Working with Buses

A bus is the concatenation of all the bits in the signal that make up the bus. In the waveform area of the window, the signals that make up the bus are combined into a single waveform. You can expand the bus to see the waveforms for the individual signals.

Creating a Bus from Selected Signals

To create a bus: 1. In the Waveform window, select the signals that you want in the bus. You can include individual bits, other buses, or a combination of bits and buses. The order of the bus contents is the order in which the signals are selected. 2. Click Bus , ,or choose Edit Create Bus from the menu bar.

The bus appears at the location of the insertion bar, as shown in Figure 18-2 on page 235. This gure shows a bus made from two arrays, named nickels and dimes. Because a bus is the concatenation of all of its signals, all of the signals are combined into one waveform. Figure 18-2 Creating a Bus

Creating a Bus from an Array Range

If you have an array, you can create a bus from selected bits of the array. To create a bus from selected bits of an array: 1. Select the array and choose Edit Create Bus from range . This opens the Create Bus form. The default bus name, bus, is displayed in the Name eld. You can edit this eld to give the bus a different name.

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons The name of the array that you selected is displayed in the Super bus eld. 2. In the Comma separated bits and/or ranges eld, enter the bits that you want to include in the bus. For individual bits, enter each index into the array, separated by commas. For a range of bits, enter the starting and ending bits in the range, separated by a colon. For example, 2:8. 3. Click OK or Apply, and the bus is added to the Waveform window at the location of the insertion bar.

Naming a Bus
By default, a bus is given the default name, bus, with the signals that make up the bus enclosed in parenthesis, such as bus(signal1, signal2). To name a bus:

Double-click the bus in the signal list and enter the new name in the text eld.

Buses that you name appear in the Expressions tab of the Properties window, and you can operate on them as described in Accessing an Expression in the Properties Window on page 241. Buses with the default name are not displayed in the Properties window.

Splitting a Bus
A bus is made of several operands, and those operands, in turn, can be individual signals or arrays of signals. Therefore, when you split a bus, you have the option of splitting it into its operands or into the bits that make up each operand. To split a bus into the operands that make up the bus:

Select the bus, then click Ungroup, Operands from the menu bar.

, or choose Edit Ungroup or Edit Split into

To split a bus into individual bits:

Choose Edit Split into Bits from the menu bar or pop-up menu. Tip If you have time-shifted the bits of a bus, Ungroup or the Edit Split into Operands menu choice splits the bus into unshifted bits and the time operand; the Edit Split into Bits menu choice splits the bus into shifted bits.

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Moving a Bus
To move a bus:

Select the bus, click the middle mouse button, then drag the bus to a new position within the Waveform window. Important You cannot drop a signal into the middle of a bus or drag a signal out of a bus. To add or remove signals, you must edit the bus in the Expression Calculator.

Deleting a Bus
Buses that you name are global objects; if you delete a named bus from the Waveform window, it remains an expression in SimVision. That is, it shows up in the Expressions tab of the Properties window. To delete a named bus:

Choose Windows Tools Expressions , select the bus and click Delete ,

To delete an unnamed bus:

Select the bus in the Waveform window and click Delete ,

Working with Conditions and Virtual Signals

A condition is dened by an expression that performs a logical operation on signals; it always evaluates to true or false. It can appear as a digital waveform, which shows where the combination of values occurs during simulation. A virtual signal is dened by an expression that performs operations on signals, such as arithmetic or trigonometric functions, to produce a new signal value. The virtual signal appears as an analog waveform in the Waveform window, and you can treat it like any other signal. An expression that you use to create a condition or virtual signal can be named or unnamed. Named and unnamed expressions differ in the following ways:
s

A named expression is a denition of the expression, and you can create as many instances of it in as many Waveform windows as you want. When you change a named

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons expression, the change affects all instances of the expression. Named expressions also appear in the Expressions tab of the Properties window.
s

An unnamed expression is an instance of an expression. You can copy the instance as often as you want in as many Waveform windows as you want, but each instance is unique. That is, if you edit an unnamed expression, you change only that instance; the change does not affect other instances of the expression. Unnamed expressions do not appear in the Properties window. Important SimVision cannot display a waveform for an expression unless the signals that make up that expression are probed.

Creating an Expression
To create an expression: 1. Click Expression Calculator, , to open the Expression Calculator.

If you have selected signals in the Waveform window, they are displayed in the window. In between each signal, the Expression Calculator inserts operator placeholders for operators and tokens, labeled Op and token. 2. Edit the Name eld to give the expression a name, if you want the expression to show up in the Properties window. 3. To simplify the expression denition, enter a default scope in the Current Scope eld. For example, if you enter simulator:::dkm.top in the Current Scope eld, you can write an expression without including the path for the signals, as follows:
dispense === b1 && nickel_out === b1

4. Edit the expression to perform the desired operation. The Expression Calculator provides the following editing functions:

Activate a placeholder by clicking on it, or use the Tab key to move from one placeholder to the next. Active placeholders are blue. When placeholders are active, you can insert objects in the placeholders by using copy and paste, or by selecting the objects in one window and clicking Add , , in the Expression Calculator. If you select multiple objects, they are inserted into the placeholders from right to left. Position your cursor to the place where you want to insert an operator, and click the desired operator button. There are two tabs of operators, one for digital functions

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons and one for analog functions. You can also select operators from the Operations menu. If you do not want to see the operator buttons, disable the Palette button on the View menu. When you insert an operator, the Expression Calculator inserts placeholders for the arguments to the operator. Hover the cursor over a placeholder for more information about the valid values you can insert in that position in the expression.

Drag and drop signals, click Add, , or enter signal names and values for the arguments to operators, or choose another operator to nest a subexpression within an expression. Placeholders are inserted in each subexpression to help you create expressions that are syntactically correct. Position the cursor within a subexpression and use the navigation toolbar buttons, as follows: Select the higher level expression. Select the rst operand in the expression. Select the next operand in the expression.

The navigation buttons let you select any arbitrary subexpression without requiring you to select the precise range of characters within the expression. They can also help you debug complex expressions without requiring you to count parentheses or memorize operator precedence rules.

The Clear button erases the expression. to apply your edits, or click to cancel them.

5. Click Tip

If you want to create an expression that ANDs the values of a set of signals at the location of the primary cursor: 1. Select the signals that you want to include in the expression. 2. Click the Next Edge , , or Previous Edge , cursor until the signals have a particular value. , buttons or move the primary

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons 3. Choose Edit Create Condition , or right-click and choose Create Condition . SimVision opens the Expression Calculator and creates the expression from those signals and values. For example:
dispense == `b01 && dime_out == b1.

4. Edit the Name eld to give the expression a name, if you want the expression to show up in the Properties window. 5. Click to save the expression.

Adding an Expression to the Waveform Window

To add an expression to the Waveform window:

Drag and drop the expression or expression name from the Expression calculator to the Waveform window. Select the expression or expression name and click Waveform , . This sends the expression to the target Waveform window, or to a new window if there is no target.

Conditions appear as digital signals. Virtual signals appear as analog signals in the Waveform window. If you want to view a virtual signal as a digital signal, select the expression, then choose Format Trace Digital from the Waveform window menu bar, or right-click and choose Trace Digital .

Searching for an Expression

You do not need to display an expression as a waveform to search it in the waveform data. Its name appears in the drop-down list above the waveform area in the Waveform window. To search for an expression:

1. Select Expression from the Search Times menu, then select the condition or vitual signal from the drop-down list. 2. Click Next Condition and Previous Condition . The primary cursor moves from one occurrence of the condition to another. You must display an unnamed expression as a waveform to search for it.

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons To search for an unnamed expression:

Select the expression in the signal list, then click Next Edge, , and Previous Edge, . The cursor moves from one edge of the expression to another.

If you are connected to a simulation and the primary cursor is at the last recorded simulation time, Next Edge advances simulation to the next edge of the expression.

Editing an Expression in the Expression Calculator

Important You can edit an unnamed expression in the Expression Calculator, but you cannot apply those changes to an instance of the expression.You must drag and drop the expression from the Expression Calculator to the Waveform window and create a new unnamed expression. To edit an expression in the Expression Calculator: 1. Click Calculator, , to open the Expression Calculator window.

2. If the expression is not already displayed in the window, choose it from the drop-down list in the Name eld. 3. Edit the expression to perform the desired operation, as described in Creating an Expression on page 238.

Accessing an Expression in the Properties Window

Important Only named expressions appear in the Expressions tab of the Properties window. To access an expression in the Properties window:

Choose Windows Tools Expressions from the menu bar of any SimVision window. This opens the Expressions tab of the Properties window.

To create a new expression:

Click New, , and dene the expression, as described in Editing an Expression in the Expression Calculator on page 241.

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SimVision User Guide Organizing SignalsGroups, Buses, Conditions, Virtual Signals, and Comparisons To create a copy of an expression: 1. Select the expression and click Copy, .

2. Click Paste , . The new expression is named Copy_of_expression , where expression is the name of the original expression. To edit an expression:

Select the expression and click Edit , . This opens the Expression Calculator window, described in Editing an Expression in the Expression Calculator on page 241. You can also edit the expression directly within the Expressions tab of the Properties window.

To delete an expression:

Select the expression and click Delete ,

Comparing Waveforms
To perform a simple comparison of waveforms: 1. Select the signals whose waveforms you want to compare, and choose Edit Create Quick Diff. SimVision adds a new object to the signal list, named Compare, followed by the names of the signals you selected, and it adds a waveform that is the combination of the waveforms for the selected signals. 2. Click the + button for the comparison to see the individual signals. SimVision highlights in red the areas of the waveforms that differ, and it displays the values of the individual signals. To remove the comparison:

Select the comparison and click Ungroup, , or choose Edit Ungroup from the menu bar. The individual signals remain in the Waveform window, but the comparison is removed.

To perform complex comparisons on signal transitions, use SimCompare. See the SimCompare User Guide and Reference for information on that tool.

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Managing Time in the Waveform Window
Above the waveform data, the simulation timeline marks off time in increments, by the time units that you have selected. As you work with simulation data, you might want to return to a specic time, mark a range of times, track the current time, or expand sequence time. SimVision lets you mark points in simulation time, as follows:
s

A cursor is a ag that you can position within simulation time, and you can place as many cursors as you want within the waveform data. Every window has one primary cursor, which is used to track the current time and the values of objects at that time, to calculate measurements, and to change your view. You can link primary cursors in several Waveform windows, so that the windows track simulation data together. Every window has one baseline, which is used for measurement purposes. In this way, a baseline is like a cursor, but it cannot be linked to cursors or baselines in other windows. A marker is a ag that you can position at any point in simulation time. You can place markers anywhere in your waveform data and return to them whenever you want, and you can use them for measurement purposes. A time range is a span of simulation time that can be displayed at once in the Waveform window. You can create any number of time ranges. If you save event information during simulation, you can expand sequence time to view all events that occur during a time slice.

Using Cursors and the Baseline

A cursor is a ag that you can position at any point in simulation time. A window can have as many cursors as you want, but one cursor in each window is the primary cursor. The primary

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SimVision User Guide Managing Time in the Waveform Window cursor is red, and its name and current simulation time appear in the ag and in the text eld above the signal list. When a cursor is not the primary cursor, it is gray. This icon indicates the number of windows in which a cursor is the primary cursor.

Every window also has a baseline. Like the primary cursor, the baseline is red, but you cannot redene it. The baseline is used in conjunction with the primary cursor for measurement purposes. Cursors and the baseline appear in three tiers above the waveform area, as shown in Figure 19-1 on page 244. Non-primary cursors are in the top tier. The baseline is in the middle tier. The primary cursor is in the bottom tier. Figure 19-1 Three Tiers of Cursors

The primary cursor and baseline are used in several ways:

s

Setting viewsThe primary cursor is a focal point for zoom commands. For example, you can set the primary cursor to one point, set the baseline to another point, and zoom the window to display the data between those two points. TrackingAs you move the primary cursor, signal values get updated to show their values at the time indicated by the cursor. When you move any of the other cursors, signal values are not updated. MeasuringThe upper-left corner of the Waveform window shows the cursor time, baseline time, and the distance between them. LinkingA cursor can be the primary cursor in more than one window. In this way, you can link Waveform windows together so that they track the same simulation time. When you move the primary cursor in one window, it moves in the other windows to which it is linked.
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Synchronizing the Primary Cursor with the Simulation or Database

In the time toolbar, you can synchronize the primary cursor, as follows: The Watch Live Data button indicates whether the primary cursor is synchronized with the simulator or database. When synchronization is on, this button shows a green arrow and the cursor location updates in the Waveform window as simulation time progresses. The button has a drop-down menu from which you can choose the simulator or database that you want to track when synchronization is on. When synchronization is off, the Watch Live Data button shows a red X and the cursor location does not change. Waveforms get updated periodically, but the view remains stationary.

Important If you move the primary cursor when Watch Live Data is enabled, synchronization is turned off in all windows that share the primary cursor. To turn synchronization on and off in the Properties window: 1. Place your mouse over the cursor and choose Properties from the pop-up menu, or choose Windows Tools Cursors from the menu bar. This opens the Cursors tab. 2. Click the button in the Watch Live Data column. 3. When Watch Live Data is enabled and the simulator is writing to multiple databases, you must pick the database or simulator to track during simulation. To associate the primary cursor with a particular live database, double-click on the database in the Database column and enter the database name, or select a database from the drop-down list. You can pick either the primary cursor or the baseline to track the values of signals. To pick the cursor that tracks signal values:

Select Cursor or Baseline from the drop-down list above the signal value.

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Creating a Cursor
To create a cursor:

In the Waveform window, choose New Cursor from the drop-down list beside the Primary Cursor eld. SimVision creates a new cursor with the default name, TimeX , where X is the next available letter in the alphabet.

Changing a Cursor Name

To change the cursor name in the Waveform window:

Double-click on the name in the cursor ag, or right-click the ag and choose Rename This Cursor, then enter a new name.

To edit the cursor name in the Properties window: 1. Place your mouse over the cursor and choose Properties from the pop-up menu, or choose Windows Tools Cursors from the menu bar. This opens the Cursors tab. 2. Double-click on the name in the Cursor Name column and enter the new name.

Choosing a Primary Cursor

To choose a primary cursor:

Choose the cursor from the drop-down next to the Primary Cursor eld. The location of that cursor appears in the Cursor Location eld. Tip If the cursor you have chosen is not visible in the waveform area, choose View Center on Cursor from the menu bar.

Setting the Location of a Cursor

To set the location of a cursor in the Waveform window:

For the primary cursor, click within the waveform area at the new location. For the baseline, click the middle mouse button. Drag the cursor to the new location. When you drag a cursor beyond the edge of the Waveform window, the window scrolls in that direction.
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Double-click on the time in the the cursor ag, or right-click the ag and choose Set This Cursor Time , then enter the time. Enter a simulation time in the Cursor Location eld. Cursor times that you enter are added to the drop-down list, so you can return to that time by selecting it from the list. Because SimVision keeps a history of the times that you enter, you can enter a partial time and press Tab. If the history contains one matching time, SimVision seeds the Cursor Location eld with that time. If the history contains more than one matching time, it displays a list of those times, and you can choose one.

To set the location of a cursor in the Properties window: 1. Place your mouse over the cursor and choose Properties from the pop-up menu, or choose Windows Tools Cursors from the menu bar. This opens the Cursors tab. 2. Double-click on the time in the Value column and enter a new time.

Tracking Signal Changes with the Primary Cursor

You can move the primary cursor from edge to edge of one or more signals, as follows:

Select one or more signals in the Waveform window, then click Next Edge , ,to move to the next rising or falling edge; click Previous Edge , , to move to the previous rising or falling edge of the selected signal or signals. If you have selected multiple signals, the cursor jumps to the next or previous edge of all the selected signals.

When you are connected to a simulation and the primary cursor is at the last recorded simulation time, Next Edge can advance simulation to the next change for the selected signals, if you have enabled Watch Live Data , , in the Time toolbar. If you try to advance beyond this point when this button is disabled, SimVision returns the following message:
To advance simulation to the next edge of the selected signals, you must enable the watching of live data from the simulator.

To move the primary cursor from edge to edge of a condition:

1. Select Expression from the Search Times menu, then select the condition from the drop-down list. 2. Click Next Condition and Previous Condition . The primary cursor moves from one occurrence of the condition to another.

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Finding a Cursor
Sometimes a cursor may be outside of the displayed waveform area. At other times, you might place more than one cursor at the same location. In this case, the cursors are stacked on top of each other, and you might have trouble nding the cursor you are looking for. To nd a cursor that is no longer visible, use any of the following methods:

Choose Marker from the Search Times menu, then choose a cursor from the drop-down list of markers and cursors. If the list of cursors and markers is long, and you know the name of the cursor you are looking for, enter its name; or enter a partial name and press Tab. SimVision displays a list of the cursors and markers that match the string, and you can choose one. Choose Marker from the Search Times menu, then click Next Marker and Previous Marker. Choose View Center on Cursor from the menu bar to display the area that contains the primary cursor. If the cursor appears in the Delta area above the signal list, click the button beside its name. Every cursor appears in the scroll bar below the waveform data as a red line. Position the slider over the red line.

Linking a Waveform Window to a Cursor

You can link a Waveform window to a cursor, so that if the cursor moves in one Waveform window, it will remain visible in all linked windows. To link a Waveform window to a cursor:

Choose the cursor name from the drop-down menu attached to the Link button in the Time eld, . Tip If you do not see the Link button, choose View Toolbars Customize , select the Zoom toolbar and enable link .

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Using Markers
Like a cursor, a marker is a ag that you can position at any point in simulation time. Unlike a cursor, the values of the signals are not updated as you move a marker along the simulation timeline, and you cannot use the marker for measurement purposes. However, you can set several markers along the timeline and jump from marker to marker. Markers can also be locked, so that they are xed at a particular simulation time.

Creating a Marker
To create a marker: 1. Place your mouse in the waveform area where you want the marker to appear, then right-click and choose Create Marker, or choose Edit Create Marker from the menu bar. The marker is named Marker N by default, where N is the next consecutive number. Markers are blue, and their names and locations appear in the ags over the waveform area, as shown in Figure 19-2 on page 249. Figure 19-2 Creating a Marker

Changing the Name of a Marker

To change the name of a marker in the Waveform window:

Double-click on the name in the marker ag, or right-click the marker and choose Rename This Marker, then enter a new name.

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SimVision User Guide Managing Time in the Waveform Window To edit the name of a marker in the Properties window: 1. Choose Windows Tools Markers from any menu bar, or right-click the marker and choose Properties . This opens the Markers tab of the Properties window. 2. Double-click in the Marker Name column and enter a new name.

Changing the Location of a Marker

To change the location of a marker in the Waveform window:

Double-click on the time in the marker ag, or right-click the marker ag and choose Set This Marker Time, then enter a new time value

To change the location of a marker in the Properties window: 1. Choose Windows Tools Markers from any menu bar, or right-click the marker and choose Properties . This opens the Markers tab of the Properties window. 2. Double-click in the Time column and enter a simulation time.

Changing the Color of a Marker

To change the color of a marker in the Waveform window:

Right-click the marker ag and choose Marker Color, then choose a color from the pull-right menu, or choose More to create a custom color. You can also change the marker color in the Markers tab of the Properties window.

To change the color of a marker in the Properties window: 1. Choose Windows Tools Markers from any menu bar, or right-click the marker and choose Properties . This opens the Markers tab of the Properties window. 2. Click

and set the color, in one of the following ways:

Choose a color from the menu. Click Default to reset the marker to the default color, blue. Click More to create a custom color.

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Finding a Marker
To nd a marker in the Waveform window, use any of the following methods:

Choose Marker from the Search Times menu, then choose a marker name from the drop-down list to jump to a specic marker. Click the Next Marker and Previous Marker buttons to jump from marker to marker. Markers appear in the scroll bar below the waveform as a blue line. Position the slider over the blue line to go to the location of the marker.

Linking a Waveform Window to a Marker

You can link a Waveform window to a marker, so that if the marker moves in one Waveform window, it will remain visible in all linked windows. To link a Waveform window to a marker:

Choose the marker name from the drop-down menu attached to the Link button in the Time eld, . Tip If you do not see the Link button, choose View Toolbars Customize , select the Zoom toolbar and enable link .

Locking and Unlocking a Marker

When a marker is unlocked, you can move it to any location in simulation time. When you lock a marker, it is xed at the locked time and cannot be moved. To lock and unlock a marker in the Waveform window:

Right-click the marker ag and choose Lock Marker.

To lock and unlock a marker in the Properties window: 1. Choose Windows Tools Markers from any menu bar, or right-click the marker ag and choose Properties . This opens the Markers tab of the Properties window.
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SimVision User Guide Managing Time in the Waveform Window 2. Click the lock in the left column of the Markers table. The button changes to indicate when it is locked, , and when it is unlocked, .

Measuring Time in the Cursor Delta Area

Above the signal list is an area in which you can track the location of any cursor or marker, and measure the time between any two cursors or markers. This is called the Cursor Delta area. By default, it shows the location of the baseline and the difference between the primary cursor time and the baseline time, as shown in Figure 19-3 on page 252. Figure 19-3 Cursor Delta Area of the Waveform Window

You can select any cursor or any two cursors to track in this area. Each measurement appears on a separate line. Video Measuring Time in the Cursor Delta Area To add, change, or delete a line in the Cursor Delta area: 1. Open the drop-down menu for one of the lines:

Choose Cursor or Baseline to track the location of the primary cursor or the baseline. Choose Delta to open the Setup Delta form, and select two cursors or markers from the drop-down menus. SimVision uses those two cursors or markers to measure the time between them. Choose a cursor name to track that cursor in the Cursor Delta area. Choose New Line to add a cursor or marker measurement to the Cursor Delta area.
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Choose Delete This Line to remove a cursor or marker measurement from the Cursor Delta area.

Click the buttons next to a delta line to change the waveform display, as follows: Centers the waveform area on the specied cursor or marker. Zooms the waveforms between the two cursors or markers.

Using Time Ranges

After you have zoomed in or out to display a particular range of times, you can save that range, so that you can quickly return to it at any time. You can also link other Waveform windows to a time range, so that each linked window tracks the same range. Time ranges appear in a separate tab of the Properties window, where you can create, edit, and delete them. Video Using Time Ranges

Saving a Time Range

To save a time range: 1. Choose Keep this range from the Time drop-down menu. SimVision opens the Create a Time Range form. 2. If you want, you can change the default name, which is made up of the start and end times separated by a colon, and you can change the start and end times. 3. Click OK to create the time range. SimVision adds the range to the Time menu, so that you can return to it at any time by choosing it from the menu.

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Linking Waveform Windows to a Time Range

You can link two or more Waveform windows, so that they always display the same range of simulation data. Initially, all windows are unlocked, and each displays its own range of simulation data. The Time toolbar shows a broken Link icon.

Tip If you do not see the Link icon, choose View Toolbars Customize , select the Zoom toolbar and enable link . To link one Waveform window to another: 1. Click the Lock/Unlock icon to display a list of Waveform windows. (The list also shows the cursors and markers that you have created. However, you cannot simultaneously link a window to another window and also to a cursor or marker.) 2. Select the window to which you want to link. When you do this, the Time toolbar in the linked windows show an unbroken Link icon. Now, when you change the range of simulation data displayed in one window, the range also changes in the other windows.

Managing Time Ranges in the Properties Window

Time ranges that you save in the Time menu are added to the Time Ranges tab of the Properties window. You can create, edit, and delete ranges in that window. To open the Time Ranges tab of the Properties window:

Click Properties , , in the toolbar and choose Time Ranges from the list of tabs, or choose Windows Tools Time Ranges from the main menu, or Edit time ranges from the Time menu.

To create a time range:

Click New Time Range , . SimVision adds a range to the list with the default name 0:0, and start and end times set to 0. You can edit any of these values.

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SimVision User Guide Managing Time in the Waveform Window To edit a range:

Click on the value that you want to change, then enter the new value.

To delete a range:

Select the range that you want to delete, then click Delete ,

Viewing Events in Sequence Time

Ordinarily, the simulation timeline is collapsed so that it appears as if all events in a single clock cycle occur simultaneously. However, this is not how the simulator operates. It lumps together events that occur during the same clock cycle into a single time slice, and it executes those events one at a time. You see only the nal state of the signals and variables at the end of a time slice. If you save event information during simulation, you can expand sequence time and see the order of events that occur during each time slice. Viewing sequence time is useful when you want to determine whether a signal or variable is assigned a value more than once during the same time slice, or when you need to debug a race condition. Important Expanding sequence time shows you the order of events, not the delta cycles in which the events occur. For example, if two signals change within the same delta cycle, they are numbered 1 and 2, in the order in which they changed. These numbers do not indicate the delta cycle in which the events occurred. Viewing events in delta time can also be helpful, especially when you are debugging VHDL designs. For information on delta cycles, see Chapter 12, Debugging at the Delta Cycle Level. Video Viewing Events in Sequence Time You can view the events that occur in sequence time only if you rst save event information in the database during simulation, as follows: 1. Compile and elaborate your design, as you ordinarily would, and invoke SimVision. 2. Choose File Create Database from any SimVision window.

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SimVision User Guide Managing Time in the Waveform Window 3. In the Open Database form, enter the database logical name and database lename, and then enable the record all events button. Enabling this button indicates that you want to include event information in the simulation database. 4. Set your probes and run the simulation to create the simulation database. To view sequence time in the Waveform window: 1. Populate a Waveform window with the signals you want to observe. Initially, sequence time is collapsed, and you see all events as if they occurred simultaneously. However, if a signal or variable has multiple values assigned to it during the same time slice, SimVision displays a yellow dot at the time where the multiple assignments occur. For example, in Figure 19-4 on page 256, you can see a dot where a variable changes from fifty to idle. The dot indicates that the variable has multiple values during that time slice. Figure 19-4 Locating Multi-Value Variables in the Waveform Window

2. Place the primary cursor over the yellow dot, and choose Expand Time Sequence At Time from the pop-up menu. The expanded area is colored blue, and numbers are added to the timeline inside the area. These numbers indicate the order in which the signals are assigned values.

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SimVision User Guide Managing Time in the Waveform Window Figure 19-5 Displaying Sequence Time

Notice that the events are numbered (1), (2), (3), (5), (6), (7), and (8). This indicates that the signal transition associated with event (4) is not displayed in the Waveform window. You can also see that the variable with the yellow dot is assigned a value three times: idle at event (5), five at event (6), and idle at event (7). 3. Pop up the menu over the waveform area of the window and choose Collapse Sequence Time All Times . The sequence time information is removed from the waveform. To expand sequence time for a selected area of the waveform display: 1. Right-click over the waveform at the beginning of the simulation time that you want to expand. This places the primary cursor at that time. 2. Click the middle mouse button over the end of the simulation time that you want to expand. This places the baseline at that time. 3. Pop-up the menu over the waveform area and choose Expand Sequence Time Cursor-Baseline . You can also expand sequence time for the entire simulation, by choosing Expand Sequence Time All Time .
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Debugging Memories
The Memory Viewer lets you observe changes in the internal state of a memory, such as Verilog arrays, and VHDL and SystemC memory constructs. Important To view SystemC memories, you need to create a derived class and probe the memories with the probe command. For more information, see Chapter 9, Using the Memory Viewer, in the NC-SC Simulator Reference . In addition, Memory Viewer support for SystemC has the following limitations:

You cannot stop on a breakpoint in the memory module, or deposit new values to the memory module. Probing memory to the screen (probe -screen) is not supported. You must instantiate debuggable memory within SystemC; it may not be instantiated directly in HDL. The right-click pop-up menu command Send to Schematic Tracer is not supported for SystemC memories. The menu commands Edit Modify, File Save Memory, and File Load Memory are not supported for SystemC memories.

The Memory Viewer can display the value of each memory cell during simulation. During simulation, you can set breakpoints, and force and deposit values to memory cells. When you probe the memory, the simulator writes these values to a simulation database. Later, you can run SimVision in post-processing mode and view the memory values in the database, but you cannot set breakpoints, or deposit or force values to the memories. Note: You must probe the memory if you want to be able to view its contents at times prior to the current simulation time. That is, if you move the primary cursor back in time, no values are available to display unless the memory has been probed.

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Video Debugging Memories

Opening a Memory Viewer Window

To open a Memory Viewer window:

In the Send To toolbar of any SimVision window, click Memory Viewer, Windows New Memory Viewer from the menu bar.

, or choose

If you select a memory before opening the window, the memory is displayed in the window, as shown in Figure 20-1 on page 261. If you do not select a memory rst, the window is empty.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging Memories Figure 20-1 Memory Viewer Window

In this gure, the Simulation Control toolbar is visible because the memory is being viewed during simulation. When you run in post-processing mode, the Simulation Control toolbar is not visible.

Adding Memories to the Window

There are several ways to add a memory to the window:

Expand the sidebar to select the objects you want to add to the window. See Chapter 5, Accessing Design Objects for information on using the sidebar. Drag them from another SimVision window and drop them into the window. Select the objects in another window and click Add , , in the Memory Viewer window.

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Click Copy, , to copy selected objects in one window, then click Paste , Memory Viewer window.

, in the

The Memory Viewer displays only one memory at a time. However, SimVision keeps a history of the memories that you view. Therefore, you can enter a partial memory name and press Tab. If the history contains one matching instance, SimVision seeds the Instance eld with that instance. If the history contains more than one matching instance, it displays a list of those instances, and you can choose one. To see more than one memory at the same time, open several Memory Viewer windows and view one in each window.

Color Coding Memory Value Changes

The Memory Viewer color codes the memory cells to show how their values change over time, as follows: Black on a white background indicates that the value is stable during the current sampled time. White on a gold background indicates that the value is changing in the current sampled time. White on a light blue background indicates that the value changed during the current sample time, but its value is the same as its starting value. White on a dark blue background indicates that the value changed during the current sample time, and its ending value is different from its starting value. You can change these colors in the Memory Viewer Colors tab of the Preferences window. For more information, see Memory Viewer Colors on page 323.

Viewing a Range of Memory Cells

To view a range of memory cells:

Expand the memory in a Design Browser or Waveform window, and select the range that you want to view, then add the range to the Memory Viewer window. Edit the Instance eld. For example, if the memory module has the range 0:1023, and you want to view the values between 0 to 511, you edit the subrange in the Instance eld. For example:

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my_mem[0:511]

The range is added to the Instance menu. Because SimVision keeps a history of the ranges that you enter, you can enter a partial range and press Tab. If the history contains one matching range, SimVision seeds the Instance eld with that range. If the history contains more than one matching range, it displays a list of those ranges, and you can choose one.

Changing the Order of Memory Addresses

To change the order in which memory addresses are displayed, toggle the LSB/MSB button, as follows: Displays cells from most signicant to least signicant bit. Displays cells from the least signicant to the most signicant bit.

Changing the Radix of Addresses and Cell Values

To change the radix of memory addresses:

Choose a radix from the Address drop-down menu.

To change the radix of cell values:

Choose a radix from the Value drop-down menu.

Changing the Number of Columns

To change the number of columns:

Choose View Size to Fit , and the Memory Viewer adjusts the number of columns according to the size of the window. If you make the window wider, the Memory Viewer adds more columns; if you make the window narrower, it removes columns. If the size of the window is narrower than the number of columns in your memory, the Memory Viewer wraps each row, so that you can see all of the memory cells.

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Choose View Number of Columns , and specify the number of columns you want to display in the window. The Memory Viewer displays the xed number of columns that you have specied. If you make the window wider, the Memory Viewer increases the size of the columns. If you make it narrower, it decreases the size. If you make the window too narrow for the memory, the Memory Viewer adds a scroll bar, and you can scroll to see the memory cells that are beyond the display area.

Searching for a Value in Memory

To search for a value in memory: 1. Choose Edit Search from the Memory Viewer menu bar. This opens the Text Search form. 2. Enter the value in the Search for eld, then click Up or Down to indicate the direction of the search. Tip Hover the mouse over the Search for eld to see examples of valid search constructs. 3. Click Search to highlight occurrences of the string one at a time; click Find All to highlight all occurrences of the string.

Going to a Memory Cell

To go to a memory cell: 1. Choose Edit Go To Address from the Memory Viewer menu bar. This opens the Go To Address form. 2. Enter the address and click OK . The Memory Viewer highlights the address in red.

Viewing a Memory during Simulation

During simulation, there are additional functions that you can perform on memories:
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Probing Memories

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s s s

Setting Breakpoints Setting the Value of a Memory Cell Saving and Restoring a Memory State

Probing Memories
When you probe a memory, its value changes are written to a database during simulation. You can later load this database into SimVision and view the memory in post-processing mode. Memories are automatically probed when you send them to the Waveform window, and you can probe a memory from the Design Browser window or sidebar. See Chapter 8, Creating and Managing Probes for information on creating probes.

Setting Breakpoints
To create an object breakpoint on a memory cell or range:

Select a memory cell or range, then click Breakpoint , or select Break on Change from the pop-up menu.

, in the Memory Viewer toolbar

To set a breakpoint on a memory cell based on its value:

Select the memory cell and choose Simulation Set Breakpoint Condition from the menu bar. See Setting a Condition Breakpoint on page 135 for more information.

The breakpoints that you set appear in the Breakpoints tab of the Properties window. To open the Breakpoints tab:

Choose Simulation Show Breakpoints from the menu bar in any SimVision window.

Setting the Value of a Memory Cell

You can set the value of a memory cell with either a force or a deposit command. To set the value of a memory cell: 1. Choose Edit Modify from the menu bar. The Memory Viewer opens the Modify Memory form.

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SimVision User Guide Debugging Memories 2. In the Address Range area, you can choose to modify all addresses or a range of addresses. 3. In the Fill Data area, specify the way you want to modify the memory, as follows:

Enter a value in the Value eld. Enable Increment and specify the amount by which you want to increment the selected addresses. Enable Decrement and specify the amount by which you want to decrement the memory addresses. Enable Random to change the seed value, so that you can generate new memory values. Enable Load from File to load values into memory from a le. Enter a lename, or click Browse to locate and select the le that you want to load. See Saving and Restoring a Memory State on page 266 for information on how to create a le that contains memory values.

4. In the Type area, choose whether you want to set the memory value with a deposit or a force command. For more information on forcing and depositing values, see Chapter 10, Changing and Monitoring the Value of an Object during Simulation.

Saving and Restoring a Memory State

The Memory Viewer lets you save and restore the contents of a memory at a particular simulation time. Note: You cannot save and restore SystemC memories. The memory contents are stored in a text le, which you can later load into the memory during another simulation run. This can help you to restore a memory to a predetermined state during a debugging session. The memory is saved in a memory image le using the simulators memory command. The le contains directives for specifying the address and data formats, and for specifying a default value for unspecied addresses. The memory and its values are written in address/data format. For example, the following le contains the contents of a saved memory. The memory is represented in two columns. The rst column shows the address of the memory cell, and the

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SimVision User Guide Debugging Memories second column shows the value of the cell. The memory in this example is 16 bits, and the values are in hexadecimal:
# Memory Dump. # Version - TOOL: ncsim 05.83-d002 # Memory Object - test_mod.l1.mem_2 $ADDRESSFMT H $DATAFMT h f/7 e/6 d/5 c/4 b/3 a/2 9/1 8/0 7/f 6/e 5/d 4/c 3/b 2/e 1/f 0/0 # End of Memory Dump

For more information on the format of a memory image le, see the documentation of the memory command in your simulator Help. To save a memory: 1. Choose the memory that you want to save from the Memory Viewers Instance drop-down menu. 2. Choose File Save Memory from the Memory Viewer menu bar. This opens the Save Memory form. 3. In the Address Range area, specify whether you want to save all addresses or a range of addresses within the memory. 4. In the Output Format area, choose the radix in which you want to save the memory addresses and values. 5. In the Save File eld, enter the name for the le. By default, the le has the same name as the memory element, plus the .txt le extension. If you want to overwrite an existing memory le, click Browse to locate and select the le. To restore a memory state: 1. Choose File Load Memory from the Memory Viewer menu bar. This opens the Load Memory form.
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SimVision User Guide Debugging Memories 2. In the Address Range area, specify whether you want to save all addresses or a range of addresses within the memory. 3. In the Load File eld, enter the name for the memory image le. By default, the le has the same name as the memory element, plus the .txt le extension. If you want to load a different le, enter the lename in the text eld or click Browse to locate and select the le.

Printing a Memory
To print the Memory Viewer window: 1. Choose File Print Window from the Memory Viewer menu bar. This opens the Print form. 2. In the Printer area, choose Command to print the memory, then enter the appropriate print command. Choose Print to file to save the memory as a postscript le, then enter a lename or click Browse (...) to choose a le. You do not need to enter a le extension; the le is given the .ps extension by default. 3. In the Print range area, choose to print all memory values or only the values that are visible in the window. 4. In the Comments area, enter a title and any other information that you want to appear on the top of the page. 5. In the Print paper area, choose your paper size, orientation, and color options. Each option has a drop-down list of choices. If you click Fit to page , the memory is enlarged or reduced to t within the margins of the selected paper size.

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Viewing Analog Data
When you open a database that contains analog data, the analog signals appear in the Design Browser and Design Search sidebars. You add analog signals to the Waveform window in the same way that you add digital signals. However, you have more options for viewing analog signals. These additional options are added to the menu bar, pop-up menus, and waveform display when you work with analog designs. For information on simulating an analog design, see the Virtuoso AMS Designer Simulator User Guide .

Displaying Analog Signals in the Waveform Window

To add an analog signal to the Waveform window, select them in the Design Browser or Design Search sidebar, as described in Chapter 5, Accessing Design Objects. When you add an analog signal to the Waveform window, the waveform area contains Y-axis markers, in addition to the X-axis markers displayed for digital signals. The Y-axis is added to the left side of the waveform area within the region occupied by each analog signal.

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Tip If it takes a long time to display the analog waveform, you might have a large number of data points occurring at the same simulation time. To reduce the number of data points used for drawing the waveform, enable the Use data sampling preference in the Analog Waveforms tab of the Preferences window. For more information, see Analog Waveform on page 315. By default, each analog signal that you add to the window is assigned a unique color. You can change this default behavior in the Preferences window, as described in Analog Waveform on page 315. Figure 21-1 on page 270 shows a Waveform window with three analog signals. Figure 21-1 Displaying Analog Signals in the Waveform Window

A row of navigation buttons is added to the right side of the window within each analog signal area.

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Tip If the trace area is small, you might not see all of the navigation buttons. Drag the red slider to increase the height until you can access the buttons. When you position the cursor over one of these buttons, it is highlighted and becomes active. The navigation buttons let you move around within an analog signal, as follows: Click or drag to adjust the upper limit. Click and drag to pan in all directions within the signal area. Click to zoom out and ll the vertical area. Click to zoom in on the Y-axis by increments. Click to zoom out on the Y-axis by increments. Click or drag to adjust the lower limit.

In addition to the Y-axis zoom commands, the X-axis commands are available for analog signals, as follows: Toolbar Button

Menu Choice View Zoom In X View Zoom Out X View Zoom Previous View Zoom Full X View Zoom Full Y View Zoom Cursor-Baseline

Description Zoom in incrementally Zoom out incrementally Return to the previous zoom setting Display the waveform data for all simulation times Display all data along the Y axis (for analog signals) Display the waveform data between the primary cursor and the baseline cursor

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Analog Data These commands also appear on the pop-up menu over the waveform area, as shown in Figure 21-2 on page 272. The shaded area in the pop-up menu shows the area that is currently displayed in the waveform window. Figure 21-2 Analog Zoom Command Pop-Up Menu

Zoom commands that affect the X-axis are displayed along the bottom of the menu; Y-axis zoom commands are displayed on the left. As you hold your cursor over a command, its corresponding icon is displayed in the menu.

Displaying Real Values with Full Precision

When you hover the mouse cursor over a real value in the signal list of the Waveform window, SimVision pops up a tooltip that shows the real value with full precision. However, by default, the value displayed in the signal list is limited to ve decimal places. To display real values with full precision in the signal list:

Choose Edit Preferences , open Signal Options , and enable Display Real values with full precision .

Displaying wrealXState and wrealZState Values

When a wreal signal has an X or Z value, the signal values are displayed as X and Z in the values pane. The waveforms are displayed as rectangles. X values are colored red; Z values are colored orange, as shown in Figure 21-3 on page 273.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Analog Data Figure 21-3 wrealXState and wrealZState Values in the Waveform Window

Values are displayed as x and z

Waveforms are red for x and orange for z states

Creating an Overlay Group

An overlay group is a group of signals that are displayed together within the same signal area. Overlay groups can help you visualize the relationships between signals during simulation. To create an overlay group:

Select the signals that you want to combine, then choose Edit Create Analog Overlay from the menu bar or right-click and choose Create Analog Overlay. The overlay group is named Group N , where N is a sequential number.

Figure 21-4 on page 273 shows an overlay group. The waveform shows the combined waveforms of the signals in the group. Figure 21-4 Expanded Overlay Group

Initially, the group is expanded to show the individual names of the signals in the group. You can click the - button next to the group name to collapse the group. When the group is collapsed, you see the combined waveforms next to the group name, as shown in Figure 21-5 on page 274.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Analog Data Figure 21-5 Collapsed Overlay Group

Tip In the Groups tab of the Properties window, you can make any group an overlay group by enabling the Analog Overlay button next to the Current Group eld. This adds the combined waveform to the Waveform window. When you disable the Analog Overlay button, SimVision splits the group into its individual waveforms.

Creating a Bus with Analog Signals

When you create a bus that contains analog signals, SimVision converts the analog signals to digital signals. You must specify the threshold at which the analog signal is converted to a 0 or 1. To create a bus with analog signals: 1. Select the signals that you want to include in the bus, and choose Edit Create Bus from the menu bar of the Waveform window. SimVision opens the Create Bus With Analog Signal(s) form. 2. Enter the Analog to digital thresholds , in one or both elds. If you enter a value in only one eld, signal values above that threshold are converted to 1, and values below the threshold are converted to 0. If you enter values in both elds, signal values that match the lower threshold are converted to 0, signal values that match the higher threshold are converted to 1, and any other values are converted to the unknown value, X. You do not need to specify the units for threshold values. SimVision extracts the correct threshold units either from the database or from the simulator, depending on the mode in which SimVision is running. If you split a group that contains analog signals, the analog signals are not converted back to analog values; they remain digital signals.

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Changing the Colors of Waveforms

When you display several analog waveforms in an overlay group, it can be difcult to determine which waveform belongs to which signal. SimVision lets you choose colors for each analog signal that you display. To change the color of a waveform: 1. Select an analog signal in the signal list, then choose Format Color from the menu bar. SimVision displays a menu of colors to choose from. 2. Select the color that you want to use. 3. If you do not see the color you want, click More to open the Select a New Color form and mix your own color. 4. Click OK to apply the color to the waveform.

Changing the Format of the Waveform Lines

By default, analog waveforms are drawn as solid lines. To change the waveform format:

Select the signal whose format you want to change, then choose Format Symbol from the menu bar. The menu shown in Figure 21-6 on page 275. On the right side of the menu, choose the symbol used to mark points along the waveform. Enable how you want to connect the points.

Figure 21-6 Format Symbol Menu Choices

Figure 21-7 on page 276 shows two analog signals. The rst is displayed as points and lines. The second is displayed as a solid line.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Analog Data Figure 21-7 Setting the Waveform Format

Tip If you cannot see the symbols that you have chosen, zoom in until they are clearly visible.

Displaying a Y-Axis Grid

To turn on the y-axis grid: 1. Enable View Y Grid in the menu bar. SimVision places a grid within the analog signal waveforms, as shown in Figure 21-8 on page 276. The grid does not appear in any digital signals that are in the Waveform window. Figure 21-8 The Y-Axis Grid

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Creating a Reference Line

When analyzing analog data, you may want to place a reference marker along the Y-axis, so that you can see the deviation of a signal above and below that point. To set a reference line: 1. Choose Create Reference Line from the pop-up menu over the waveform area. SimVision opens the Reference Line Create form. 2. Enter a number in the Value eld, or move the slider up and down the scale until you reach the point where you want to place the reference line, then click OK . The reference line is a solid gray line, as shown in Figure 21-9 on page 277. Use the cross-hatch at the far right end of the line to adjust the location of the line along the Y-axis. Figure 21-9 Displaying a Reference Line

Setting the Scale

The signals within an overlay can have different scales, such as current and voltage, but each analog overlay can display only one scale at a time. To change the scale of an overlay: 1. Right-click the analog trace and choose Activate for the scale that you want to use. You can also activate the scale associated with a particular signal by clicking on the style sample icon on the right side of the signal values area.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Analog Data To set the minimum and maximum range of the scale you have chosen: 1. Right-click the analog trace and choose Scale Modify Range to open the Range Modication form. 2. Adjust the slider or set the Maximum and Minimum elds with the values you want to use for the minimum and maximum range, or click Automatic Fit to adjust the range to the highest and lowest values in the waveform display, then click OK .

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Viewing Transactions
Transaction-based verication lets you simulate and debug your design at a higher level of abstraction than when simulating at the signal level. For example, you can dene a transaction to read a value, supply an address, and return a result. In this way, you can construct large-scale tests by dening transactions rather than by dening large numbers of test vectors. You can create testbenches that generate transactions. If you simulate with SystemC, you can use a testbench written using the SystemC Verication (SCV) library and the Cadence Verication Extensions (CVE) to specify transactions to record. If you include assertions in your simulation, you can view sequential assertions as transactions. You can also dene transactions by embedding commands in your design models: SDI2 for C++ models, SDI-Verilog for Verilog models, and SDI-VHDL for VHDL models. The simulator gathers information about your design transactions and stores the information in a simulation database. You can view the resulting transactions in the Waveform window, along with the lower-level signal waveforms. If you have Transaction Explorer (TxE), you can interactively query transaction information stored in simulation databases. For information about TxE, see the Transaction Explorer User Guide and the Transaction Explorer Reference Manual .

Viewing Transaction Streams

Important In IUS 5.6 and prior versions, SimVision displayed transactions that could not overlap on bers. As of IUS 5.7, the Waveform window can display overlapping transactions. The term fiber has been replaced by stream , to reect this change. The two terms are synonymous. Transactions are displayed in the SimVision Waveform window on streams , shown as purple lines. One row of transactions corresponds to a transaction stream. Each transaction in the row is drawn as a rectangle with rounded corners, as shown in Figure 22-1 on
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SimVision User Guide Viewing Transactions page 280. Assertion transactions in the Finished state are green, and Failed transactions are red. Figure 22-1 Transactions on a Stream

An overlap occurs when any part of a transaction is contained between the start and end of another transaction. As shown in Figure 22-1 on page 280, whenever an overlap occurs, the transaction heading is dimmed. For more information about overlapping transactions, see Viewing Overlapping Transactions on page 284.

Finding Streams using the Design Search Sidebar Tab

The simplest way to nd all transaction streams and error signals in your simulation database is by using the Design Search sidebar, because it can search all scopes in all open databases at the same time. To nd all streams in the Design Search tab of the sidebar: 1. In the Consider eld, choose Only Signals/Variables . 2. Disable all but Streams (or Fibers ), 3. Click Search Now. SimVision returns a list of all transaction streams and error signals in the database. Attributes are classied as begin attributes, end attributes, and special attributes. A transaction attribute is similar to a variableit has a type and a value. To see the attributes for the transactions in each stream, you can double-click on a stream in the signal list and expand it. For more information about transaction attributes, see Viewing Attributes on page 283. , and Error Signals , .

Finding Streams in the Design Browser Signal List

To search for streams and error signals in the Design Browser signal list: 1. Deselect all but Show/Hide Fibers , .

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Transactions 2. Select a scope in the sidebar. The streams dened in that scope are displayed in the signal tree. For more information about using the sidebars, see Chapter 5, Accessing Design Objects.

Viewing Transaction Information

The Waveform window displays transactions as rectangular areas that span periods of simulation time. These areas contain information about the values of transaction attributes during that time period. Initially, the waveform displays only the name of the transaction. Use the vertical slider to display the transaction attributes. For detailed information about viewing attributes, see Viewing Attributes on page 283. You can view transaction information within the waveform area in the following ways:

Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the waveform area to scroll through the stream, from time 0 to the end of simulation time. Transactions can be nested in substreams of a stream. To expand and collapse the transaction hierarchy, click on the + and - buttons next to the stream names. Sometimes there are too many lines of attribute information to t in the waveform area. To enlarge the vertical space allowed for the transaction, drag the vertical slider down. Sometimes the attribute values do not t within the transaction. In this case, zoom in to enlarge the width of the transaction. To move the primary cursor to the next or previous edge of the transaction, click to select a stream in the signal list, then click Next Edge , , and Previous Edge , . Shift-click or double-click within a transaction waveform to select it. All instances of the transaction are highlighted. To determine the sequence time at which a transaction begins, select the stream and click Next Edge , , until you nd the transaction you are interested in. The sequence time for the start of the transaction appears in the primary cursor ag. For example, time 13,300(4) ns indicates sequence 4 at time 13,300 ns. For more information about sequence time, see Viewing Events in Sequence Time on page 255.

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Viewing Error Information in the Waveform Window

For transactions on a stream, error transactions are marked with an icon at the start time of the error. When the transaction verication model detects errors that occur in the simulation, the errors show up in the waveform as sequence time markers, as shown in Figure 22-2 on page 282. Figure 22-2 Error Markers in a Transaction

The simulator also increments a signal named error_count whenever a transaction error occurs. You can display the error_count signal in the Waveform window, as shown in Figure 22-3 on page 282. Figure 22-3 Displaying the error_count Signal

The error_count signal keeps a running count of the error transactions recorded in the database up to the current point in the simulation. When an error is recorded in the past, the error count increments in the past at the time at which the error transaction was recorded, and all subsequent counts are also incremented. In the Waveform window for a live simulation, recording an error in the past alters the existing waveform. If the database was split up into simulation time segments because of a save, restart, or reset, the error count reects only errors that were recorded within segments of the simulation timeline for database les that are currently open. The error count marks only the beginning of an error transaction and not its end.

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Viewing Attributes
If all of a transactions attributes do not t in its rectangle, a single vertical line is shown along the right edge of the block. You can roll over this line to activate a scroller that brings other attributes into view, similar to the way you can view portions of buses. You can right-click on any attribute in the transaction block to display a pop-up menu. In addition to the zoom, sequence time, and marker menu choices, the following operations are available:
s

Break Out Attribute: attribute_name Places attribute_name into a new trace. The trace displays the single attributes value in a sample-and-hold manner. In time spans where there are no transactions with that specic attribute, the trace is left blank. During a transaction that does contain the attribute, the value is displayed in the same way that any other digital value is displayed. If another transaction starts and it also contains the specic attribute, the trace transitions to the new value. Note: The stacking_priority value (see Viewing Overlapping Transactions on page 284) is not used in deciding what to draw in this trace. For more information about using this option, see Viewing Transactions with a Given Attribute or Attribute Value on page 286.

attribute_name Radix Controls the radix that is used to display attribute values within the transaction blocks. A pull-right menu provides the following choices:

As Recorded Binary Octal Decimal Hexadecimal ASCII

Note: The radix changes for the transaction display only. If you break out an attribute, it maintains the original radix.

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s

Expand Stream By attribute_name Expand Stream Collapse Stream For more information about using this option, see Viewing Transactions with a Given Attribute or Attribute Value on page 286.

Viewing Overlapping Transactions

For overlapping transactions, the end of the rst transaction is not visible because the second transaction is drawn over it. The overlap region is called a stack. The second transaction is on top of the stack, and the rst transaction is on the bottom of the stack.

Changing the Stacking Order

Transactions in a stream are drawn from left to right, based on their start times. If a new transaction starts before a previous one ends, the previous one is obscured, because the new transaction is drawn over itthat is, the default stacking order is determined by the start times, so that later in time is higher in the stack. You can change the stacking order in several ways. Use the stacking_priority Attribute When you write your transaction recording code, you can specify a reserved attribute called stacking_priority on each transaction.
s

A positive stacking_priority value raises the transaction above other transactions that might otherwise obscure it. For example, a value of 2 raises this transaction above all others with a lower stacking_priority. Similarly, a negative stacking_priority value lowers the transaction. If no stacking_priority is recorded, the value is 0.

s s

Note: The stacking order might not be obvious from the waveform display. To check the stacking order, use Re-order on the pop-up menu on a given transaction. Override the Stacking Priority in TxE In TxE, you can override the stacking_priority value on each individual transaction.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Transactions You can create TxE scripts that control stacking order in a variety of waysfor instance, based on ranges of attribute values. For more information, see the Transaction Explorer Reference . Interactive Control of the Stacking Order You can interactively control the stacking order in the Waveform window. Interactive stack adjustments override any recorded stacking_priority attribute values. Note: Interactively modied stacking_priority values are not saved in the SST2 database. To manipulate the transaction stack, do the following: 1. Right-click on the heading of any transaction and choose Re-order. This displays a cross-section of the stack, as shown in Figure 22-4 on page 285. Figure 22-4 Transaction Stack Cross-Section

You can do the following:

Left-click a stream indicator to raise it to the top of the stack. Right-click a stream indicator to lower it to the bottom of the stack. Click anywhere outside the dialog box to close the stacking order window and save your changes. Press Esc to close the dialog box without changing the stacking order.

2. Choose Raise attribute_name or Lower attribute_name to send the transaction to the top or bottom of the stack. Remove Stacking To simultaneously view all of the transactions unobstructed, right-click the stream and choose Expand Stream . This changes how transactions are drawn in the trace. The expanded view
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SimVision User Guide Viewing Transactions does not represent the stacking_priority in any way. In the expanded view, the top portion of the transaction stream is drawn as usual, but the overlapping transactions are drawn below it in one or more additional rows, so that none of the transactions overlap. The exact position of transactions will change, depending on zooming or scrolling. The Collapse Stream menu item undoes the expand operation.

Filtering Streams
You might have a stream with many transactions, only a few of which interest you. There are several ways for you to look at the transaction information you want:
s s s

Creating a new stream of transactions that have a given attribute or attribute value Expanding a stream by depth Creating a new stream that matches one or more specied conditions

Viewing Transactions with a Given Attribute or Attribute Value

You can display all of the transactions on a stream that have a specic attribute and value, as follows:

Right-click any attribute in the transaction block and choose Expand Stream By attribute_name . SimVision displays new traces for each value of the attribute. Tip To display all transactions of a given type, you can expand on the trans_type attribute.

If there are many different values for the selected attribute, a limited number of traces are added. A single vertical line is shown along the right edge of the signal list area. You can roll over the right edge of this area to reveal a scroller that can be used to bring the other traces into view. To create more trace subsets:

Right-click again to select another attribute to subset on, as described earlier.

The display adds new traces for each value of the new attribute.

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Expanding Streams by Depth

Transactions are automatically assigned a depth attribute that species its level in the stream. A depth of 0 indicates the top level, 1 is the rst level under the top level, and so on. Note: Assertion transaction do not use the depth attribute. When you left-click on the + button next to a stream name, a trace is added for each unique depth value on the stream. For example:
rw_stream[[depth==0]] rw_stream[[depth==1]] rw_stream[[depth==2]]

When you expand a trace that has already been expanded on depth, it is expanded on the attribute named trans_type. For example:
rw_stream[[depth==0 ]][[trans_type==bus_tx]] rw_stream[[depth==0 ]][[trans_type==dphase]]

If there is no trans_type attribute in the stream, this expansion is skipped. Thereafter, the default expansions are on additional attributes based on the recent history of other expansions. When you right-click a + /- button, a pop-up provides other expansion choices, as follows:
s

The attribute_name of the most recently selected attribute, then the attribute_name of the next most recently selected attribute, and so on. Transaction Attribute Presents the Select Expand Attribute form with a pull-down menu that lets you select which attribute to expand on. Click OK to expand the trace on the attribute, and add the attribute name to the top of the list of most recently selected attributes.

All Attributes Adds a new trace for each attribute on the stream. Unlike the previous expansion operations, these traces each have the attribute broken out as described for Break Out attribute_name in Viewing Attributes on page 283.

The transaction depth represents the number of parent relationship links above a transaction. However, if a parent is on another stream, or a transaction has multiple parents, or the parent/child relationship is circular, the transaction depth is unclear, and dened to be 0.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Transactions Because a child transaction is not required to t within the time range of its parent, the relationship is not visually obvious. You can use the following techniques to view parent/child relationships:
s s

Use the TxE View menu to highlight all parent/child transactions. Use the depth attribute. See Viewing Transactions with a Given Attribute or Attribute Value on page 286 for the technique to use to view transactions with a given attribute.

Filtering a Stream Based on a Condition

SimVision provides functions that you can call from the Expression Calculator to lter streams and generate a new stream that contains only the transactions that you want to view. The stream lter function lters a stream such that only those transactions where a specied condition is true are included in a new stream. Using the Stream Filter The stream ltering operation has the following syntax:
stream_name [[condition ]]

The condition argument is any Boolean expression that you create with the Expression Calculator. The stream lter operation lters the stream so that only those transactions where the condition is true are included. You can use the name of an attribute directly in a comparison, or with the exists function inside the condition. For example, stream[[change > 0]] creates a derived stream that includes only those transactions of stream where the change attribute has a value greater than zero, and stream[[exists(change)]] includes those transactions that have a change attribute. A comparison involving an attribute that does not exist in the transaction is false for that transaction. Conditions can be combined with the &&, ||, and ! logical operators. To start the Expression Calculator, you can do one of the following:

Right-click the stream displayed in the Waveform window and choose Create Condition . Select the stream in the Waveform window and click Expression Calculator, .

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Transactions Either of these methods inserts the stream name into the Expression Calculator expression area. You can then enter the condition on which to lter the stream. For example, if you want to display a derived stream that contains the transactions of the Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test stream where the Coin_In_Order attribute is equal to the value qdq, enter the following into the expression area:
TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test[[Coin_In_Order == "qdq"]]

When you click Waveform , Waveform window.

, in the Expression Calculator, the new stream is added to the

Note: If you have not entered a current scope, you need to use the full hierarchical name of the stream. Figure 22-5 on page 289 shows two streams. The rst contains all transactions. The second lters all but the transactions with the Coin_In_Order attribute equal to qdq. Figure 22-5 Filtered Transaction Stream

If you want to refer to the expression later, you can enter a name in the Name eld of the Expression Calculator and click Check , , to save the expression to the specied name. The expression will then show up on the Expressions tab of the Properties window. Using the genevents Function The condition argument can also call the genevents function. The genevents function species one or more simulation sequence times. A transaction that begins at any of the specied times is included in the generated stream.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Transactions The genevents function has the following syntax:
genevents(Time (Sequence )Units , ...)

Tip One way to determine the Time(Sequence) of a transaction is to select the transaction (shift-click the left mouse button), then click the TxE Next or Previous Transaction button. The Time(Sequence) is displayed in the cursor ag. Suppose you have a stream that has several transactions, but you want to look at only those transactions that occur at specic times. You can write an expression to display only those transactions. For example:
TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test[[genevents(8500(7)ns, 13300(4)ns)]]

The streamoverlay Function

The streamoverlay function creates a stream from any number of input streams. The new stream contains all transactions from the input streams. This function has the following syntax:
streamoverlay( stream1[N], stream2[N], ... )

For example, the following expression uses the streamoverlay function to analyze two transaction streams. The second stream is a child of the rst. Therefore, portions of these streams overlap:
streamoverlay(TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test[1], TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test[2] )

Overlapping areas of the overlaid transactions are displayed as described in Viewing Transaction Streams on page 279.

The format, match, and rematch Functions

The format, match, and rematch functions can perform pattern matching operations on transaction attribute values. You can use these functions alone or as arguments to the stream ltering function to lter streams by matching string values. With the format function, you dene a format string and specify one or more signals. The function substitutes the signal values into the format string. The format function has the following syntax:

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format( format_string , signal [,signal2 , ...] )

The format_string can contain any of the format speciers listed in Table 22-1 on page 291. Table 22-1 Format Speciers Format Specier %c %s %b %d %o %x or %h %f %e %g %t %v Format Character String Binary Decimal Octal Unsigned hexadecimal Floating-point number Real number in mantissa-exponent form %e or %f, whichever is shorter Decimal time scaled from the timescale of the objects module to the simulations timescale Strength value, wires only

For example, you can write a format expression to display an error count in decimal format, as follows:
format ("Error Count is %d", TBDatabase::trans_global.error_count )

This expression creates a waveform such as the one shown in Figure 22-6 on page 291. Figure 22-6 Waveform Created by the format Function

You can use the format function to format multiple attributes. For example:
format ("Value of num_drinks is %d , Coin_In_Order = %s", TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test.buy_drinks.num_drinks,

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TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test.buy_one_drink.Coin_In_ Order)

The match function determines whether an input signal matches a glob-style pattern. The rematch function determines whether an input signal matches a regular expression. Regular expressions are more expressive than glob-style patterns, but they are more complicated to write. Table 22-2 on page 292 shows the special characters you can use to specify glob-style patterns and regular expressions. Table 22-2 Special Characters for Glob-Style Patterns and Regular Expressions Search Criteria Match any single character Match character c Match 0 or more characters Match 0 or more occurrences of regexp Match 1 or more occurrences of regexp Match 0 or 1 occurrence of regexp Match a set of characters Match a range of characters Match any characters except those in a set Match any characters except those in a range Match any character or regexp in a set Match the beginning of a string Match the end of a string {a,b,c} [abc ] Glob Rule ? \c * Regular Expression Rule . \c .* regexp * regexp + regexp ? [abc ] [a -z ] [^abc ] [^a -z ] regexp | regexp ^ $

The following expression uses rematch to return 0 when the error count is 1, and 1 when the error count is 0:
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rematch("^[0]$", format("%d", TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test.Change))

You can use the match function to produce the same results, as follows:
match("0", format("%d", TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test.Change))

These expressions return waveforms such as those shown in Figure 22-7 on page 293. Figure 22-7 Waveforms Created by the match and rematch Functions

You can use the match and rematch functions with the stream ltering operation to lter streams by matching string values. For example, the following expression creates a new stream of the transactions whose Coin_In_Order attribute contains the value qdq.
TBDatabase::test_drink.drink_test.Fiber_In_Tvm_drink_test[[match("qdq", Coin_In_Order)]]

Figure 22-8 on page 293 shows the stream that is created by this expression. Figure 22-8 Transaction Created by the Stream Filter and match Functions

Using the Transaction Explorer Toolbar

You can use the Transaction Explorer (TxE) to interactively explore information in your simulation database.

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SimVision User Guide Viewing Transactions If Transaction Explore is installed on your system, the Waveform window contains the following additional button: Click to show or hide the Transaction Explorer toolbar, shown in Figure 22-9 on page 294. Figure 22-9 Transaction Explorer Toolbar
Show related transactions Open TxE Manager Select previous error signal Select previous transaction Select previous result

Show all attributes

Select next transaction

Select next error signal

Select next result

For more information about the Transaction Explorer, see the Transaction Explorer User Guide and Transaction Explorer Reference .

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Creating Custom Views of Simulation Data
The Register window lets you create custom views of simulation data. These views can contain simulation objects and their values, plus graphical elements, such as rectangles, lines, and arrows. You can use the Register window to monitor data from a running simulation or to view data stored in a simulation database. The Register window is made up of pages, where each page contains one view of the data. The Register window displays one page at a time, but you can easily switch from page to page. You can create multiple Register windows. Although each window is made up of the same collection of register pages, you can display a different page in each window. By using multiple Register windows, you can monitor different views simultaneously.

Opening a Register Window

To open the Register window:

Select some signals and click Register Window, , or choose Windows New Register from the menu bar of any SimVision window.

If you do not preselect any signals, a blank Register window opens, as shown in Figure 23-1 on page 296. You can then use the Design Browser or Design Search sidebar to pick the signals you want to add to the Register window. Initially, the Register window contains the default set of toolbars. You can control which toolbars are displayed by enabling or disabling them in the View menu. Disabling a toolbar gives you more room for data in the Register window.

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SimVision User Guide Creating Custom Views of Simulation Data Figure 23-1 Register Window

Managing Register Pages

When you open a Register window for the rst time, it has one register page, named Page-1. As you add pages, their names are added to the drop-down list of pages. To create additional pages:

Click New Page , , or choose Page New from the menu bar. The Register window opens the New Page form. By default, new pages are named Page-N , where N is a sequential number. Use this form if you want to give the page a different name.

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SimVision User Guide Creating Custom Views of Simulation Data To create a duplicate of an existing page:

Choose Page Clone from the menu bar.

To rename a register page: 1. Choose Page Rename from the menu bar. This opens the Rename Page form. 2. Enter the new name for the page and click OK . The name is updated in the current Register window, and in any other Register windows that you have opened. To switch from one page to another:

Select a page from the drop-down list of pages.

Using the Target Icon in Register Windows

Every Register window has a target icon, , located in the lower left corner of the window. You can enable this icon in only one Register window at a time. When you enable the target icon, you make the currently visible page the target of any operation that is aimed at Register windows. For example, when you send the object to the current page of the target Register window, that page also exists in every other Register window. Therefore, the object is also added to the same page in the other Register windows.

Adding Objects to a Register Page

The register page can display signals and variables in your design, as well as expressions that you have dened with the Expression Calculator. There are several ways to add objects to a register page:

Expand the sidebar to select the objects you want to add to the window. See Chapter 5, Accessing Design Objects for information on using the sidebar. Drag them from another SimVision window and drop them into the Register window. Select the objects in another window and click Add , , in the Register window. , in the

Click Copy, , to copy selected objects in one window, then click Paste , Register window. Add one signal, select it in the Register window, then choose Explore Add Contributing Signals or Explore Add Module Inputs from the menu.

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SimVision User Guide Creating Custom Views of Simulation Data Note: If you copy and a paste a signal in the same Register page, the signal is pasted on top of the original signal. After you paste the signal, you must move it to another location in the page.

Display Format of Signals and Variables

Signals and variables are displayed in the following format:
type name = value

The type is an icon that indicates whether the signal is an input, output, inout, internal signal, or ber. The name is the objects simple name. Editing the name in the Register window does not change the objects name in the simulation database. The value is the value of the signal or variable at the current simulation time. If you have copied the object from the Design Browser sidebar, the value is displayed in the radix specied in the database for that object. If you have copied the object from any other window, the value is displayed in the radix displayed by the Source Browser. And if the signal value changes during the current clock cycle, the transition is displayed with the notation old-value -> new-value .

Changing the Radix of a Signal

To change the radix of a signal:

Select the object, then enable a radix in the Format Radix menu.

You may want to display a value shifted by a certain amount of time. Time-shifting can occur relative to the current cursor position, or in absolute terms.

Shifting a Signal in Time

To time-shift a signal value: 1. Select the signal, then choose Format Shift from the menu. This opens the Time Shift form. 2. Enter the amount of time by which you want to shift the value. 3. Enable Relative to shift the value relative to the current location; enable Absolute to shift the value relative to the beginning of simulation. Then click OK .

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Annotating Register Pages

The drawing toolbar lets you add lines, arrows, rectangles, ellipses, and text to your register pages. You use the mouse to indicate the beginning and ending points of lines and arrows, the diagonally opposing points of rectangles and ellipses, and the beginning of a line of text. For example, to draw an arrow: 1. Click the arrow button. 2. Click and drag the mouse in the Register window. The arrow begins at the point where you press the mouse button and ends at the point where you release the mouse button. 3. Click and drag the mouse again to draw another arrow at a new location. You can continue to draw arrows in this way until you select another operation in the drawing toolbar, shown in Figure 23-1 on page 296.

Figure 23-2 Annotation Toolbar Select objects Draw a line Draw an arrow Draw a box Draw an ellipse Add text Group objects Ungroup objects Raise objects Lower objects Figure 23-3 on page 300 shows a register page that contains several signals. Arrows and rectangles show the relationship between the signals.

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SimVision User Guide Creating Custom Views of Simulation Data Figure 23-3 Annotated Register Window

Changing the Appearance of Objects

The Format menu lets you specify the appearance of objects in the window, including the signals that you add to the window, as well as the graphical objects that you create. To change the color of an object: 1. Select the object, then choose Format Color. 2. Select the color you want to apply to the object from the color menu. 3. If you do not see the color you want, click More . This opens the Select a New Color form, where you can mix your own color or enter the hex value for the color. To change the size of the font for signal names, values, and text that you have created:

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Select the text object, then choose a font size from the Format Font menu.

Grouping and Ungrouping Objects

Sometimes it is easier to manipulate several objectssuch as signals, rectangles, and arrowsif you treat them as a single entity. To group objects in the Register window:

Select the objects, then click Group,

, in the drawing toolbar.

Important A group that you create in this way is simply a set of graphical objects that you can treat as a single entity. It has no relationship to the groups that can appear in the Waveform window. To split a group into its individual objects:

Select the group and click Ungroup,

When you add a signal to the Register window, its type , name , and value are treated as a group. You can split a value from its type and name , but you cannot split the type and name .

Navigating through Simulation Time

The values of signals in the Register window are determined by the location of the primary cursor. As you move the cursor, the values are updated in the window. The primary cursor in the Register window is linked to the cursors in the other SimVision windows. That is, if you change the location of the cursor in the Register window, it changes in the other SimVision windows. If you change the cursor in another SimVision window, it changes in the Register window. When Watch Live Data is enabled, simulation pauses or stops. , values in the Register window are not updated until

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Printing and Saving Register Pages

To print the target register page: 1. Choose File Print from the Register window menu. This opens the Print form. 2. In the Printer area, choose Command to print the register page, then enter the appropriate print command. Choose Print to file to save the register page as a postscript le, then enter a lename or click the browse button to choose a le. You do not need to enter a le extension; the le is given the .ps extension by default. 3. In the Comments area, enter a title and any other information that you want to appear at the top of the page. 4. In the Print paper area, choose your paper size, orientation, and color options. Each option has a drop-down list of choices. If you click Fit to page , the register page is enlarged or reduced to t within the margins of the selected paper size.

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Measuring Signal Values
The Measurement window lets you create tables of waveform measurements. You can perform the following measurements on the waveform data between the baseline and the primary cursor: Value At Cursor Value At Baseline Baseline - Cursor Slope Between Cursors Minimum Value Maximum Value Average Value Peak-to-Peak RMS Value Rise/Fall Time Displays the value of the signal at the primary cursor. Displays the value of the signal at the baseline. Displays the difference between those two values. Displays the slope of the signal. Displays the minimum value of the signal. Displays the maximum value of the signal. Displays the average value of the signal. Displays the difference between the peak values. Displays the root mean square value. Displays the rise or fall time, using value and threshold parameters that you specify.

Note: Many of these measurements are relevant only for analog data.

Opening a Measurement Window

To open a Measurement window: 1. In the Waveform window, set the baseline and the primary cursor to the beginning and ending simulation times that you want to measure, then select the signals that you want to measure. 2. Choose Windows New Measurement . By default, the Measurement window contains a single column labeled Variable Name .
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SimVision User Guide Measuring Signal Values 3. In the Measurement window, click Add , to add the selected signals to the window.

4. From the Add Column drop-down menu, select the measurements that you want to display. When no insertion point is set, columns are added to the far right side of the window. To set the insertion point, click on a column heading with the middle mouse button. This turns the column heading blue to indicate that the selected column the insertion point. Columns that you add are placed to the right of the insertion point. Click the middle mouse button again to remove the insertion point from the column. As you add columns, the Measurement window performs the requested measurements and displays the results in the table. Table cells can contain the following values: n units x N/A ERROR Shows the result of the measurement and the units of measure. The result is the unknown value. The measurement cannot be performed. An invalid result was obtained.

Tip Use the Preferences window to choose the columns that you want to appear by default in new Measurement windows, as described in Measurement Window on page 320.

Setting the Location of the Cursors

You can take measurements at different simulation times, by setting the baseline and primary cursor. To set the baseline and primary cursor: 1. Select the primary cursor from the list of cursors. When you change the primary cursor, it also changes in the Waveform windows. 2. Set the simulation time for the primary cursor and baseline. SimVision keeps a history of the times you enter, so you can quickly return to a time by choosing it from the drop-down menu. You can also enter a partial time and press Tab. If the history contains one matching time, SimVision seeds the eld with that string. If the
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SimVision User Guide Measuring Signal Values history contains more than one matching time, it displays a list of those times, and you can choose one. All measurements are recalculated with the new locations, and the Measurement window is updated with the new results.

Moving Rows and Columns

You can move rows and columns to rearrange the contents of the Measurement window. To move a column: 1. Click the middle mouse button within the column heading that you want to move. 2. Drag the column heading to the new location. Important You can move only one column at a time. To move one or more rows: 1. Select the rows that you want to move, as follows:

Click on a single row to select it. Shift-click to select contiguous rows. Control-click to select non-contiguous rows.

2. Hold down the middle mouse button and drag the row to the desired location. When you release the mouse button, the rows are inserted at that new location. When you move a column, its title is displayed in blue, indicating that it is the insertion point. Any columns that you add are placed to the right of the insertion point. You can remove the insertion point by clicking on the column with the middle mouse button.

Sorting the Contents of the Window

To sort the window: 1. Place the cursor anywhere within the column that you want to sort. 2. Right-click and choose Arrange Sort to sort the measurements in ascending order, or choose Arrange Reverse Order to sort the measurements in descending order.
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SimVision User Guide Measuring Signal Values An arrow is added to the column heading. The direction of the arrow indicates whether the values are in ascending or descending order.

Setting Rise/Fall Time Parameters

When an analog signal represents binary data, it has a low value and a high value, and you dene the range of values that represent those low and high values. Rise/Fall Time at Cursor measures how long it takes to go from low to high, or high to low. The Rise/Fall Time at Cursor column uses the following parameters when calculating this measurement:
s

Low value represents the bottom of the range of values that the signal can have. The default low value is 0.0. High value represents the top of the range of values that the signal can have. The default high value is 3.3. Low threshold represents the lowest percentage of the low or high value that a signal can have and still be considered low or high. The default low threshold is 10.0%. High threshold represents the highest percentage of the low or high value that a signal can have and still be considered low or high. The default high threshold is 90.0%.

To set these parameters: 1. Right-click the Rise/Fall Time column heading and choose Edit Parameters . This opens the Rise/Fall Time Parameters form. 2. Enter the new parameter values and click OK . Whenever you enter a new parameter, it is added to that parameters drop-down list. You can easily go back to a previous setting by choosing it from the list.

Saving Measurements
To save the results of your measurements: 1. Choose File Save Window Contents from the menu bar. The Export Measurement Window form opens. 2. Enter a lename and click Save . This creates a le in ASCII format.

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Setting Preferences
You can set the following preferences to customize SimVision windows. Preference settings take effect in all open windows when you apply them, except where noted.
s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s

General Options Signal Options VHDL Signal Options Verilog Signal Options Verilog AMS Signal Options Keyboard Shortcuts Toolnet Cross-Probing Simulation Settings Waveform Window Waveform Display Analog Waveform Waveform Keyboard Shortcuts Design Browser Scope View Signal List Source Browser Source Browser Colors Source Browser Files Measurement Window

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s s s s s s

Schematic Tracer Schematic Tracer Colors Memory Viewer Memory Viewer Colors Simulation Cycle Debug Transaction Explorer

General Options
To customize the general appearance and behavior of SimVision: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar and select General Options in the left column of the Preferences form. 2. Select the toolbar style that you prefer. You can choose to display only the icons, only the icon labels, or both icons and labels. By default, SimVision displays only the icons. 3. Enable Limit the number of lines kept in the console window, if you want to set the size of the Console window buffer. The default size is 5000 lines. 4. Enable the Restore Application State button if you want SimVision to automatically restore any settings that were saved during a previous session. Note: The automatic restore feature will not be supported in the next release of SimVision. You should save and restore your simulation environment with a command script, as described in Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment on page 53. 5. Choose the behavior you want SimVision to have when it exits:

Enable Save Application State if you want SimVision to save any settings that you dene during a session. When used in combination with Restore Application State , you can restore all of the windows, groups, and cursors in subsequent sessions. Note: The automatic save feature will not be supported in the next release of SimVision. You should save and restore your simulation environment with a command script, as described in Saving and Restoring Your Debugging Environment on page 53.

By default, SimVision deletes all unused cursors and groups when it exits. When you start up SimVision again (without the -norestore option), it does not restore the

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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences unused objects. Disable Delete Unused Groups and Delete Unused Cursors if you do not want these things deleted.

By default, SimVision prompts you on exit. You must click Yes to exit the tool. Disable Prompt in the Preferences form to exit without displaying the Exit form.

6. Choose startup defaults for the following options:

Enable Show Full Signal Names if you want to display the full hierarchical names of signals, not including the database name. Enable Show Database Names if you want to include the database name in signal names.

Note: You might need to scroll the Preferences window to see the following options. 7. Enable Watch live data enabled with creating cursor, if you want the SimVision windows to update as simulation progresses. This is the default when you are connected to a simulation. 8. Enable Create Cursor for each New Window, if you want each window to have its own primary cursor. By default, windows share cursors, so that as you move a cursor in one window, all windows update to show the same cursor view. When you enable this option, each window maintains its own view. 9. When Create Cursor for each New Window is enabled, you can specify the time units for those cursors. 10. By default, SimVision displays a warning message when you try to save a command script that that may not restore properly. This can happend if you have used an input le to set up the simulation environment. If you do not want to see this warning message, disable the Warn me when saving scripts that may be problematic due to input files option.

Signal Options
To customize the signal list: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, and select Signal Options from the list on the left. 2. When you enable Display signal transition values , SimVision displays two values when the value of an object changes during the current clock cycle. For example, if a signal transitions from 0 to 1 in the current clock cycle, SimVision displays the transition as b0 -> b1.

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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences 3. Enable Display signal value underscores to display an underscore between every eight characters of an octal, hexadecimal, or binary value. Disable this option to display the value with no underscores. 4. Enable Display Real values with full precision if you want to display real values with full precision in the signal list. Ordinarily, real values are limited to ve decimal places. 5. Use Display signal type icons to enable or disable the signal type icons. You can disable icons if you need to conserve space in your Waveform windows. 6. When you enable Highlight signal names that have been traced with Trace Sidebar, signals that you have traced are highlighted in all windows in which they are displayed. In the Source Browser, they are displayed in green. In the other windows, they are underlined. Choose the View Clear Trace Highlights in any window to clear the highlights in all windows. 7. Enable Color signal names according to type to use different colors for each signal type, then select the colors that you want to assign to those signal types. 8. Click Default colors at any time to return to the default color scheme.

VHDL Signal Options

To change the colors of waveforms: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, expand Signal Options in the list on the left, and select VHDL . The Preferences form displays the VHDL color map. 2. To change a color setting, click on the color that you want to change, and choose the new color from the pop-up menu. If you want to mix your own color, click More in the pop-up menu. This opens the Select a New Color form. Slide the pointers to the left and right to adjust the amount of red, green, and blue that you want to use. The Selection elds show the hexadecimal number for the color and a color sample. 3. Click OK when you are satised with the color.

Verilog Signal Options

To change the colors of waveforms: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, expand Signal Options in the list on the left, and select Verilog .

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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences 2. Enable Show Signal Strength in Values if you want the Waveform window to display the strength along with the signal values. Note: This setting does not affect windows that are already open, only new Waveform windows that you create. 3. Enable Show colors by value to color waveforms according to their values, and to choose the colors for each value. 4. Enable Show colors by strength to color waveforms according to their strength, and to choose the colors for each strength. 5. To change a color setting, click on the color that you want to change, and choose the new color from the pop-up menu. If you want to mix your own color, click More in the pop-up menu. This opens the Select a New Color form. Slide the pointers to the left and right to adjust the amount of red, green, and blue that you want to use. The Selection elds show the hexadecimal number for the color and a color sample. 6. Click OK when you are satised with the color.

Verilog AMS Signal Options

To customize Verilog AMS waveforms: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, expand Signal Options in the list on the left, and select Verilog AMS . 2. Choose how you want to display AMS branches, as follows:

Enable Show Potential to display potential quantities. Enable Show Flow (if available) to display ow quantities.

3. Choose how you want to format potential and ow values, as follows:

Enable Show Scale Factor and Unit to use scalar multipliers and nature units, such as -30.646mV. Enable Show Floating Point to use oating-point format, such as -0.0306461.

Keyboard Shortcuts
You can execute every SimVision command by using the menus and buttons, or by pressing a keyboard shortcut. For example, in the Waveform window, you can select a set of signals
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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences and create a group by clicking Group, , or by choosing Edit Create Group. However, you can also use the keyboard shortcut, Control-G, to create the group. SimVision comes with two sets of keyboard shortcut denitions: a default set and a set that mimics Signalscan key bindings. However, you can dene your own set of shortcuts and bind your own key sequences to any SimVision command. Tip To see a list of your current keyboard shortcuts, choose Help Keyboard Shortcuts . Whenever you change the shortcut denitions, the new denitions appear in the Help display. To create your own keyboard shortcuts: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, expand Signal Options in the list on the left side of the Preferences form, then select Keyboard Shortcuts . 2. Select the name of the menu in the Menus area of the window. When you choose a menu, its menu entries are listed in the Commands area of the window. 3. In the Commands area, select the menu entry for which you want to dene a shortcut. 4. In the Keyboard shortcut eld, enter the key sequence that you want to bind to the command. 5. At any time, you can click Reset to default bindings to remove the shortcuts that you have dened, or click Reset to Signalscan bindings to dene shortcuts that mimic Signalscan.

Toolnet Cross-Probing
If you are using the Synplicity Synplify tool, you can use Toolnet to cross-select objects in SimVision and Synplify windows. Note: Toolnet cross probing is not supported in Verilog-XL. To enable Toolnet cross probing: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, expand Signal Options in the list on the left side of the Preferences form, then select Toolnet Cross Probing . 2. Enable Enable cross probing of Synplicity Tools to turn on cross probing. 3. For Verilog designs, enter the path to the design snapshot that you have loaded into SimVision.
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Simulation Settings
To specify simulator settings: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window, then choose Simulation settings from the list on the left side of the window. 2. Enable Prompt before Reinvoke if you want SimVision to prompt you for command-line options when you reinvoke the simulation. If this button is disabled, SimVision reinvokes the simulator with the original command-line options that you used. 3. Enable Respond to simvision commands sent from a simulator if you want to accept commands sent to SimVision from the simulator. When this command is disabled, SimVision ignores commands sent by the simulator. You might want to disable a command for security reasons if you are accessing a simulation that is running on another system. 4. By default, SimVision lters objects from methodology libraries, such as OVM. Disable the Enable Standard Methodology Filtering option if you want to see this objects. 5. By default, SimVision displays the class hierarchy from the top of the class hierarchy. Enable the Display Class Hierarchy starting from derived classes option if you do not want to see the top level of the hierarchy. 6. From the SystemC Debugger drop-down menu, choose the debugging mode that you want to use, either DDD integration or native SimVision gdb debugger. 7. From the Quick Thread Debugging menu, choose whether you always want to use Quick Threads with the PLI Debugger, or whether you want to use Quick Threads only when SystemC is present. 8. By default, SimVision continues running in post-processing mode when you type exit at the simulator prompt in the Console window. Enable Exit SimVision when exiting simulator if you do not want to continue running SimVision when you exit the simulator.

Waveform Window
To customize the display of waveforms: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar and select Waveform Window from the list on the left side of the Preferences window. 2. Enable Waveform banding if you want the background of the Waveform window to alternate between bands of gray and black. Waveform banding can help you visually

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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences align signal names and values with their corresponding waveforms. Disable this option if you want the background to be all black. 3. Enable Search Toolbar on by default if you want to display the toolbar that lets you search for signal names, groups, markers, expressions, and values. 4. Enable Show Times on Markers if you want the current simulation time to appear in markers. You can choose not to display simulation times if you want to keep the size of markers as small as possible. 5. Enable Show Times on Cursors if you want the current simulation time to appear in cursors. You can choose not to display simulation times if you want to keep the size of cursors as small as possible. 6. Disable Snap Cursor to Signal Transition if you do not want the cursor to jump to the nearest signal transition as you move it through simulation time. 7. Enable Zoom Out Full on Initial Add if you want the initial view of the simulation database to include the entire simulation timeline. By default, SimVision displays a portion of the timeline. The amount of time displayed depends on the total amount of simulation time. 8. Enable Enable Undo When Adding Signals if you want to be able to click Undo to remove any signals that you have just added. This button is disabled by default, because an undo operation after you have added many signals can take a long time. 9. From the Signal Radix drop-down menu, choose the radix that you want to use when adding signals to the Waveform window. By default, the Waveform window displays values in the radix in which they were recorded to the simulation database. 10. Select one of the following actions to take when you double-click on a waveform:

No action Go to Cause Display in Trace Signals Sidebar Trace X in Trace Signals Sidebar Tcl Command in the SimVision Console Tcl Command in the Simulator Console

If you choose Tcl Command in the SimVision Console , you must specify a SimVision command to execute. If you choose Tcl Command in the Simulator Console , you must specify a simulator command to execute.

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Waveform Display
To set display options in the Waveform window: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, expand Waveform Window in the list on the left side of the Preferences form, and choose Display. 2. Set the Sequence Time Width to the number of pixels you want to use between ticks when you expand sequence time. The default is 30 pixels. 3. Set the Waveform height for the number of pixels you want to use for the height of a digital waveform. The default is 12 pixels. 4. Set the Waveform space to the number of pixels you want to use between waveforms. The default is 6 pixels. 5. Set the Transaction height to the initial height of a transaction. The default is 3 times the height of a digital trace. The height of transactions is adjustable after they are displayed. 6. Set Dynamic Arrays height to the number of elements you inititally want to see when displaying dynamic arrays. By default, no elements are displayed. The height is adjustable after they are displayed.

Analog Waveform
To set the height of analog waveforms: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, expand Waveform Window in the list on the left side of the Preferences form, then choose Analog . 2. Set the Analog height to the initial height of an analog waveform. The default is 3 times the height of a digital trace. The height of analog waveforms is adjustable after the waveform is displayed. 3. From the Analog Format menu, choose the format that you want to use when displaying analog signal valueseither Linear interpolation or Sample/Hold . 4. Set the Analog to digital threshold low and Analog to digital threshold high elds to specify how analog signals are converted to digital signals. The low threshold species the value at which a signal is converted to 0; the high threshold species the value at which a signal is converted to 1. 5. Enable Use data sampling to reduce the number of data points when drawing analog waveforms. This improves performance but can remove interesting features of the waveform, such as spikes, when waveforms are zoomed out. This option is disabled by
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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences default, and analog waveforms are drawn at each data point. This provides the most accuracy at all zoom levels, but can be slow when drawing waveforms with many data points. 6. Disable Use automatic colors for Analog signals if you do not want SimVision to assign a unique color to each analog signal that you add to the Waveform window.

Waveform Keyboard Shortcuts

SimVision denes a set of keyboard shortcuts for the buttons and menu choices that manage the waveform display, such as zooming in and out, and scrolling the display. You can dene your own keyboard shortcuts for these commands. Tip To see a list of your current keyboard shortcuts, choose Help Keyboard Shortcuts . Whenever you change these shortcut denitions, the new denitions appear in the Help display. To dene keyboard shortcuts for waveform commands: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, expand Waveform Window in the list on the left side of the Preferences form, then choose Keyboard Shortcuts . 2. Place the cursor anywhere in the text eld for the denition you want to change, and press the Del or Back Space key. This removes the old denition. 3. With the cursor still in the text eld, press the desired key combination. The names of the keys that you press appear in the text eld. 4. At any time, you can revert back to the default key bindings by clicking Reset to default bindings , or replace the key bindings with the Signalscan bindings by clicking Reset to Signalscan bindings .

Design Browser
To set general Design Browser preferences: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window, then choose Design Browser from the list on the left side of the window. 2. Disable Incremental Signal Filtering if you do not want the Design Browser window to update the signal list incrementally. When this option is enabled, the signal list updates

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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences each time you enter a character of the search string in the signal list Filter eld. When this option is disabled, the signal list is updated only after you press Return in the Filter eld. 3. Enable Show Module/Unit Names if you want to display the module or design unit name next to each scope. By default, this option is off, and only the scope name is displayed. Note: Show Module/Unit Names does not apply to the e unit tree. The e unit tree displays the short names for units at all times. 4. Disalbe Show OVM Verification Hierarchy if you do not want to see OVM objects in the Design Browser. This option is enabled by default. 5. Choose when you want to display signal values: Never, Always , and When connected to simulator.

Scope View
To set scope view preferences: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window, expand Design Browser from the list on the left side of the window, then choose Scope View. 2. Choose the types of Verilog, VHDL, and SystemC, and e objects you want to display in the scope view. 3. Enable Icons to display icons that indicate object type, or disable this option to display only the object name. 4. Enable Tree View to display the scopes of the design hierarchically. Disable this option to display only the objects at the current level of hierarchy. 5. Choose whether you want to sort the objects in the scope view by Name or Declaration type . Note: You might need to scroll the Preferences window to see the following option. 6. Enable Track between target source browser and target watch list if you want the Source Browser to display the source code for the scope that you select in the Design Browser sidebar.

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Signal List
To set signal list preferences: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window, expand Design Browser from the list on the left side of the window, then choose Signal List . 2. Set the signal lter defaults for your design language by choosing the types of objects you want to display in the signal list. You can override these defaults by enabling and disabling the signal list lter buttons in the Design Browser window. 3. Select the radix that you want to use when displaying signal values. 4. Enable Show Strength in Values if you want to display the signal strength with the signal values. 5. Enable Filter using regular expressions if you want to include wildcard characters in the lter string.

Source Browser
To set Source Browser options: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window, and choose Source Browser from the list on the left side of the window. 2. Enter the command to invoke the editor in the Editor Command eld, using substitution strings to specify a le (%F) and a line number (%L), if your editor accepts those arguments. For example, to set vi as your editor, enter the following command:
xterm -e vi %F

Click Default Editor to reset the editor to the default. 3. Enter values for the following preferences:

In the Source Browser Tab Size eld, enter the size of a tab stop. In the Maximum History Count eld, enter the number of scopes you want to save in the history list. See Navigating the Design Hierarchy on page 65 for information on using the history list.

These settings take effect when you click OK or Apply. 4. In the On Signal Double Click eld, choose the behavior you want when you double-click on a signal in the Source Browser. The drop-down menu provides several

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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences options, such as displaying the signal denition, or sending the signal to a specic window. If you choose Run a Tcl Command in the SimVision Console , you must specify a SimVision command to execute. If you choose Run a Tcl Command in the Simulator Console , you must specify a simulator command to execute. 5. In the Drag and Drop eld, choose the behavior you want when you drop a signal into the Source Browser. The drop-down menu provides several options, such as displaying the signal denition, or sending the signal to a specic window. If you choose Run a Tcl Command in the SimVision Console , you must specify a SimVision command to execute. If you choose Run a Tcl Command in the Simulator Console , you must specify a simulator command to execute. 6. Disable the Show Popup Tooltips on Signals in the Source Code if you do not want the Source Browser to display the signal name, value, and probe status when you hover the cursor over a signal name. This information appears in a tooltip in the source area of the window. 7. Disable Highlight Syntax in the Source Browser if you do not want to display keywords, comments, and output strings in different colors. You can specify these colors in the Source Browser Colors Preferences tab. Note: You may need to scroll or resize the window to see the following options. 8. Disable Show Signal Strength in Values if you do not want to see the strength of a signal value. 9. From the Value Radix drop-down list, select a radix for values displayed when you place the cursor over a signal. By default, the Source Browser displays values in the radix in which they were recorded.

Source Browser Colors

You can change the colors used by the Source Browser to display text elements such as comments, keywords, and strings in the source code. To change the colors used by the Source Browser: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, then select Colors from the list on the left side of the Preferences form, below Source Browser. 2. From the Item drop-down menu, select the text element whose color you want to change.

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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences 3. Click Color to open the Color menu. Choose a color from the menu, click Default to reset the text element to its default value, or click More to create a custom color with the Select a New Color form. When you select the new color, SimVision updates the sample in the Preferences form to show how the Source Browser will look when you apply your changes. 4. At any time, if you decide that you do not want to use the preferences you have set, click Revert to Default Colors .

Source Browser Files

You can specify the le types that the Source Browser recognizes when highlighting syntax. To specify Source Browser le types: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, then select Files from the list on the left side of the Preferences form, below Source Browser. 2. Click a row in the Extensions column, then add or remove a le extension.

Measurement Window
The Measurement window displays a table of measurements for selected signals. By default, the Measurement window includes no measurements, only the signal or variable name. To choose the types of measurements displayed by default in a Measurement window: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from the menu bar, then select Measurement Window from the list on the left side of the Preferences form. A list of Available measurement types is shown on the left, and a list of Default measurements is shown on the right. 2. Select the type of measurement you want to include in your Measurement window from the list of Available measurements , then click the right arrow to add your selections to the list of Default measurements . Select the type of measurement you want to remove from the list of Default measurements , then click the cross-hatch button. Buttons to the right of the Default measurements list let you rearrange the list, as follows: Move the selected measurement up in the list.

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Move the selected measurement down in the list. Remove the selected measurement from the list of Default measurements . In the Measurement window, Default measurements are displayed from left to right, beginning with the rst measurement in the list. Therefore, moving a measurement up in the list has the effect of moving it to the left in the Measurement window. Conversely, moving the measurement down in the list, has the effect of moving it to the right in the window.

Schematic Tracer
To set Schematic Tracer options: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window, and choose Schematic Tracer from the list on the left side of the window. 2. Choose when you want the Schematic Tracer to show signal values, as follows:

When connected to simulator Always Never

3. Enable Show RTL Logic when available to display logic elements in all new Schematic Tracer windows, by default. 4. Enable Show Cell Shapes, if available , to display ASIC library cells using the shapes that you have specied in a cell map le. If you enable this option, you must also specify a lename in the Cell Shapes Mapfile eld. 5. Enable Fill instances added to the schematic if you want the Schematic Tracer to automatically add any subscopes, blocks, and internal signals for the instances that you add to the schematic. 6. Enable Fill parent module after an Ascend operation if you want the Schematic Tracer to automatically add the subscopes, blocks, and internal signals of any parent modules encountered during an ascend operation. 7. By default, the Schematic Tracer highlights any logic it has added as the result of a ll operation. Disable Highlight new logic after a fill operation if you do not want this logic highlighted.

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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences 8. Enable Show selected scope in the status bar area if you want the Schematic Tracer to display the full name of the selected scope in the status area of the window. 9. Enable Show internal pins when using cell mapping if you want the Schematic Tracer to display these pins. 10. Disable Show thumbnail image of schematic in panner if you do not want to see the thumbnail image in the panner. When you disable this preference, the panner is blank, except for the control box. You can still resize the box to zoom in and out, and move the box to scroll the display. 11. Disable Center and Zoom after adding objects if you do not want the Schematic Tracer to zoom in on the objects that you add. 12. In the Cell Shapes Mapfile eld, specify the name of an ASIC library cell map le. This le denes the shapes that the Schematic Tracer uses when displaying library cells. 13. From the Double Click menu, choose the action you want to take when you double-click on a schematic element. If you choose Tcl Command in the SimVision Console , you must specify a SimVision command to execute. If you choose Tcl Command in the Simulator Console , you must specify a simulator command to execute.

Schematic Tracer Colors

To choose the colors used in the Schematic Tracer window: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window. If necessary, expand the Schematic Tracer entry on the left side of the window, then choose Colors . 2. From the Item drop-down list, choose the type of schematic element whose color you want to change. 3. Click Color to open the Color menu. Choose a color from the menu, click Default to reset the text element to its default value, or click More to create a custom color with the Select a New Color form. When you select the new color, SimVision updates the sample in the Preferences form to show how the SchematicTracer will look when you apply your changes. 4. At any time, if you decide that you do not want to use the preferences you have set, click Revert to Default Colors .

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Memory Viewer
To set the Memory Viewer preferences: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window, and choose Memory Viewer on the left side of the window. 2. From the Radix drop-down menus, choose the radix that you want the Memory Viewer to use when displaying values and addresses. Choose As Recorded to display the values and addresses in the radix in which they were recorded in the simulation database. 3. Enable Size to fit to let the Memory Viewer adjust the width and number of columns used to display memories, or disable that button and specify a xed number of columns. 4. From the Font Size menu, choose to display the memory values in Small , Medium , or Large font. 5. In the Double Click eld, specify the action that you want the Memory Viewer to take when you double-click on a memory element. The Edit Deposit action is the default, which lets you specify a value to deposit at the memory location. If you choose Tcl Command in the SimVision Console , you must specify a SimVision command to execute. If you choose Tcl Command in the Simulator Console , you must specify a simulator command to execute.

Memory Viewer Colors

To choose the colors used in Memory Viewer windows: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window. If necessary, expand the Memory Viewer entry on the left side of the window, then choose Colors . 2. From the Item drop-down menu, select the type of value whose color you want to change:

Value has changed Choose the foreground and background colors to indicate that the value changed during the current sample time, but its ending value is the same as its starting value. Value is changing Choose the foreground and background colors to indicate that the value is changing during the current sampled time. Value is different Choose the foreground and background colors to indicate that the value changed during the current sample time, and its ending value is different from its starting value.
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SimVision User Guide Setting Preferences 3. Click Color to open the Color menu. Choose a color from the menu, click Default to reset the text element to its default value, or click More to create a custom color with the Select a New Color form. When you select the new color, SimVision updates the sample in the Preferences form to show how the Memory Viewer will look when you apply your changes. 4. At any time, if you decide that you do not want to use the preferences you have set, click Revert to Default Colors .

Simulation Cycle Debug

Note: The Simulation Cycle Debugger is not available in Verilog-XL. To set Simulation Cycle Debugger preferences: 1. Choose Edit Preferences from any SimVision window, and choose Simulation Cycle Debug Options from the list on the left side of the window. 2. Specify the number of process or behavioral blocks you want to display in the Simulation Cycle Debugger. The maximum number is 100, because displaying more items can result in poor performance.

Transaction Explorer
The Transaction Explorer preferences tabs let you customize the behavior of the TxE graphical user interface. For more information, see Chapter 4, Graphical User Interface, in the Transaction Explorer Reference Manual .

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26
Customizing Toolbars
SimVision lets you choose the toolbars and buttons that you want to display in any SimVision window. You can also create new toolbars and buttons to perform functions that are not already available through the SimVision toolbars.

Adding and Removing Toolbars and Buttons

Each window type has its own set of toolbars and buttons. However, the basic procedure for adding and removing toolbars and buttons is the same, regardless of the window type. Video Adding and Removing Toolbars and Buttons To add or remove a toolbar or button: 1. Choose View Toolbars Customize from any SimVision window. This opens the Customize Toolbars form. Enable or disable the check mark for a toolbar to add or remove it in the window. Tip You can also add and remove toolbars by right-clicking over a blank space or separator in the toolbar area, and then enabling and disabling toolbars in the pop-up menu. 2. Highlight a toolbar in the Toolbars list, and the Customize Toolbars form displays the commands available in that toolbar, including the buttons that represent those commands. Enable or disable the check mark for a command to add or remove its button in the toolbar for that window. At any time, you can return the toolbars button settings to their default values by clicking the Restore Default button.
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SimVision User Guide Customizing Toolbars 3. At any time, you can restore all toolbars to their default settings by clicking Restore all Toolbars . If a toolbar that you have dened is in one of the default toolbar locations, your toolbar will be moved. When you modify the toolbars and buttons for a window type, SimVision applies those changes to the current window and to any new windows of that type. Any other windows of that type that are already opened are not affected by your changes.

Creating a Custom Toolbar

The amount of customization that you can perform on the SimVision toolbars is limited. That is, you can enable and disable buttons on the toolbar, but you cannot add or delete buttons and you cannot rearrange their order in the toolbar. However, you do have complete control over the contents and layout of the toolbars that you create. Video Creating Toolbars and Buttons To create a toolbar: 1. Click New Toolbar, and SimVision adds a User Toolbar to the list of toolbars. At this point, the toolbar is empty; no commands have been dened. You can create additional toolbars by clicking New Toolbar. Additional toolbars are assigned the names User Toolbar_1 , User Toolbar_2 , and so on. 2. Click New Button to dene a button for the toolbar. This opens the Create a New Button form. 3. Click Icon . This displays a menu of icons. Choose an icon in one of the following ways:

Choose an icon from the menu. Click No Icon to specify that you do not want to use an icon for the button. In this case, the label is used for the button. Click More to use your own GIF le for an icon. If you use your own GIF le, SimVision sizes the icon for you.

4. In the Label eld, enter the string you want to display below the icon when the Toolbar Style is set to Text only or Both in the General Options tab of the Preferences form.

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SimVision User Guide Customizing Toolbars 5. In the Help Text eld, enter the string you want to display in the status area of the window and in a tooltip when the mouse cursor hovers over the button. 6. Enable Button is sensitive to selection if this button is enabled when objects have been selected in a SimVision window. Otherwise, the button is disabled. 7. Enable Button is a toggle button if you want this button to toggle. That is, the button appears to push in when the user clicks it once, then appears to pop out when the user clicks it again. Otherwise, this button appears to push in and pop out with a single mouse click. Note: You can set this option only at the time the button is created. After that, you cannot change this option setting. 8. In the Script drop-down list, choose the console that you want to send the button commands to, as follows: SimVision Sends the commands to the SimVision console, which accepts SimVision commands, described in the SimVision Command Language Reference . Sends the commands to the simulator console, which accepts simulator commands, described in the Help for your simulator. Sends commands to the gdb console, which accepts gdb debugger commands. See the NC-SC Simulator User Guide for information on GDB support.

Simulator gdb

Tip You can send Tcl/Tk commands to the SimVision console and to the simulator console for the Incisive simulator. You cannot send Tcl/Tk commands to the gdb console or to the simulator console for the Verilog-XL simulator. 9. In the text area for the Script eld, enter the commands that you want to send to the specied console. For example, if you want to send a describe command to the simulator when you click the button, enter the following command in the text area:
describe test_drink.top.dispense test_drink.top.vending.current_state

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SimVision User Guide Customizing Toolbars You can use the substitution strings listed in Table 26-1 on page 328 to pass arguments to your commands. Table 26-1 Substitution Strings for Command Scripts %b %c %i %n %s %t Button name All selected scopes All selected signals Window name All selected items Window type

%{prompt string } Opens a dialog box and prompts the user for a string. The string is passed as an argument to the command. For example, the following Tcl command uses %n to pass the window name to the puts command:
puts "%n"

You could also prompt the user for the name of a signal, then pass that name to the describe command, as follows:
describe %{prompt Signal}

10. Click OK to add the button to the Commands area of the Customize Toolbars form. 11. Click Close . The button is added to the toolbar. Tip If the toolbar does not appear in the window, open the Customize Toolbars form again, and make sure the toolbar is enabled in the list of toolbars.

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Adding a Custom Toolbar to Other Windows

The toolbars that you create can be added to any SimVision window. To add your toolbars to other SimVision windows: 1. In the window to which you want to add the toolbar, choose View Toolbars Customize . This opens the Customize Toolbars form for that window type. 2. Click New Toolbar, and SimVision adds the user toolbars that you have created to the Toolbars list. 3. Select the user toolbar that you want to add to the window. The buttons that you created for that toolbar are listed in the Commands area of the form. 4. Enable the check mark for the buttons that you want to display in the toolbar, then click Close . The toolbar and buttons now appear in the window.

Writing a Window-Independent Script

SimVision commands are window-specic. That is, a command to invoke a SimVision menu entry must be invoked from a particular window, such as a Design Browser or Waveform window. For example, suppose you want to create a button to save the user environment and then reinvoke the simulator. If you wrote the script in the following way, it would be tied to a particular window:
browser invoke -using Design Browser 1 File>SaveCommandScript browser invoke -using Design Browser 1 Simulation>ReinvokeSimulator

As written, this script will work only if a Design Browser window named Design Browser 1 exists. However, there is no way to guarantee that a particular window exists when the user runs the script. You need to write the script so that it can run in any window. Here are two ways to do this:
s

You can use the Tcl set command to return the type of the current window, as follows:
set type [window type %n]

The %n argument passes the name of the current window to the window type command. This command returns the type of the window, such as browser or waveform.

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SimVision User Guide Customizing Toolbars The window type is also the name of the command that you use to invoke the Save Command Script and Reinvoke Simulator commands. You can use the value of the type variable as the command name. For example:
$type invoke -using %n "File>SaveCommandScript" $type invoke -using %n "Simulation>ReinvokeSimulator" s

You can use the window command, as follows:

window invoke %n -type menu "File>SaveCommandScript" window invoke %n -type menu "Simulation>ReinvokeSimulator"

The window command can invoke a command for any window type, specied by the %n argument.

Modifying Custom Toolbars

You can modify the toolbars that you create, as follows:

Remove the check mark for a button to remove it from the toolbar. This does not delete the button denition. The button is still available to other windows that contain this toolbar. Click Delete Button to delete a button, if it does not appear in another toolbar. If the button is enabled and it appears in other toolbars, Delete Button disables the button. If you try to delete a disabled button that appears in other toolbars, SimVision displays an error message. Select a button and click Edit Button to modify the button denition in the Edit Button form. When you edit a button, it is changed in every window in which it appears. Select a button and click Move Up or Move Down to rearrange the order in which the buttons appear in the toolbar.

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Index
Numerics
0-delay error locating with Simulation Cycle Debugger 153 -64BIT simvisdbutil command option 118 simvision command option 44 changing color of waveforms 275 navigation buttons 271 overlay group 273 signal depositing a value 141 forcing the value of 140 in Waveform window 269 to ?? measuring values 303 AND gate, in Schematic Tracer abstracted RTL element 186 gate primitive 188 annotation toolbar, in Register window 299 API applications, debugging 159 to 168 API source file name in the Source Browser 162 -APPEND_KEY, simvision command option 44 -APPEND_LOG simvisdbutil command option 118 simvision command option 44 Arrange menu Reverse Order 305 Sort 305 ASIC library cells viewing in Schematic window 194 Assertion Browser 20 assertion, show or hide button in the sidebar 90 in the signal list 101 attributes, of transaction streams 280 automatic save and restore 54 Average Value measurement 303

A
abstracted RTL, schematic elements 186 -access +w, elaborator option forcing and depositing values 139 active drivers, tracing in Trace Signals sidebar 201 Add a Bookmark button in the Design Browser 107 in the Schematic Tracer 180 in the Source Browser 77 Add button 33 Create Force form 140 Create Monitor form 144 Create Probe form NC simulator 126 Verilog-XL 126 in containing window from Design Browser sidebar 89 from Design Search sidebar 95 Properties window, Groups tab 233 Register window 261, 297 Waveform window 213 Add Variables button 166 -ADDINDICES, simvisdbutil command option 118 addition operator (+), in Schematic Tracer 187 aggregate signal expanding and collapsing in Design Browser window 102 in Waveform window 214 alias 150 always statement, in Schematic Tracer 184 analog
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B
Baseline - Cursor measurement 303 baseline cursor 243 behavior exection phase 153 bit-select, forcing the value of 140 Bitwise shift left operator (<<), in Schematic Tracer 187 Bitwise shift right operator (>>), in Schematic Tracer 187 block schematic element 183

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scope view icon 84 bookmarks in the Design Browser 106 in the Schematic Tracer 180 in the Source Browser 77 Bookmarks sidebar 29 opening in the Design Browser 107 opening in the Schematic Tracer 180 opening in the Source Browser 77 Bookmarks tab, Properties window 21 breakpoint 129 in the debugging environment 53 deleting, in Properties window 138 enabling and disabling in Properties window 138 with Source Browser 72 function setting in API code 162 line setting in API code 162 setting with NC simulator 133 setting with the Source Browser 71 setting with Verilog-XL 133 memory object 265 options 137 setting in API code 162 setting in Properties window 138 signal setting with NC simulator 134 setting with Verilog-XL 134 time setting with NC simulator 129 setting with Verilog-XL 131 BUF3S, in Schematic Tracer 188 BUF3SL, in Schematic Tracer 188 BUFGATE, in Schematic Tracer 188 bus 235 creating 235 with analog signals 274 button adding and removing 325 user-defined 27, 326

C
call stack viewing in the Source Browser 74 viewing SystemC/C++/C 165 Call Stack sidebar 29 for API debugging 75
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CDS_SHM_COMPATIBILITY environment variable 110 cell map file creating 189 format of 189 handling errors in 195 translating .lib file 193 Cells menu Generate Cell Template 192 Show Cell mapfile Warnings 195 Translate .lib File 193 Class Hierarchy sidebar 29 class, scope view icon 83 Click to Add button 205 Close Database button 123 Close Panner button 175 Collapse Modules button 172 Collapse Sidebar button 29 Color menu Register window 300 Source Browser preference 320 colormap, specifying on the simvision command 46 command script contents of 59 for simulator connection 56 for post-processing 57 .simvisionrc 61 specifying on the simvision command line 45 comments, in the Waveform window 221 Comparison Results sidebar 29 comparison, creating in the Waveform window 242 component instance, scope view icon 84 component instantiation statement, in Schematic Tracer 184 -COMPRESS simvisdbutil command option 118 simvision command option 45 concurrent assertion scope view icon 84 procedure call in Schematic Tracer 184 scope view icon 84 signal assignment in Schematic Tracer 184 scope view icon 84 condition breakpoint 135 condition expression 237 -CONNECT, simvision command
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option 45 connectivity information, in simulation database 49 Console window 20, 25, 42 sourcing a command script 59 continuous assignment, in Schematic Tracer 184 contributing signals, adding to Waveform window 214 Create a New Button form 326 Create Force form 140 Create Monitor form 144 Create new group button 232 CSV database batch conversion 117 format 115 -CSV, simvisdbutil command option 118 current execution point, in Source Browser 74 cursor 243 to 250 in the debugging environment 53 delta time 252 setting the location of in Measurement window 304 Cursor Control toolbar 27 cursor mode, in Waveform window 224 Cursors tab, Properties window 20 Customer Service, Help menu 35 -CVTMVL9, simvisdbutil command option 118

D
database batch translation utility 117 closing 123 converting to SST2 format 113 creating with NC simulator 111 with Verilog-XL 112 in the debugging environment 54 in Design Browser sidebar 81 displaying information about 121 exporting 115 formats 109 open command in SimVision command script 61 opening 48, 113 require command in SimVision command script 61
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statement trace information in 76 Databases tab, Properties window 20 debugging environment, saving and restoring 53 define macros, in the Source Browser 69 -DELAY, simvisdbutil command option delay, simvisdbutil command option] 118 Delete button Properties window Aliases tab 150 Breakpoints tab 138 Forces tab 141 Probes tab 128 Schematic Tracer 172 Waveform window deleting comments 222 deleting groups 234 deleting time ranges 255 delta cycle 153 phases 153 running the simulation 157 delta time, in the Waveform window 252 deposit in the debugging environment 53 in Memory Viewer 265 Design Browser button 19, 97 Design Browser sidebar 28, 81 to 90 finding transaction streams in 280 Design Browser tab, Preferences form scope view 317 signal list 318 Design Browser window 19, 97 to 108 closing a database in 123 design file (.dsn) 109 design hierarchy accessing when connecting to a simulation 47 when invoking the simulator with SimVision 40 when opening a simulation database 49 navigating in the Design Browser sidebar 81 in the Source Browser 65 Design Search sidebar 29, 92 to 95 adding signals to the Waveform window 213 finding transaction streams 280 Disconnect and Terminate from C/C++ Debugger button 160
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Disconnect button 42 Display Parent Module button 171 Display Values button 69 -DISPLAY, simvision command option 45 division operator (/), in Schematic Tracer 187 drag and drop operation 33 driving logic tracing in the Schematic Tracer 176 tracing in the Trace Signals sidebar 200 active drivers 201 .dsn file 109

E
e language objects, scope view icon 84 Edit menu 31 Ascend 171 Collapse Modules 172 Create Analog Overlay 273 Bus 235 analog signals 274 Comment 221 Comparison 242 Condition 240 Marker 249 Mnemonic Map 219 Delete Modules 172 Explode 87 Fill Modules 171 Go To Address 264 Go To Line 68 Modify in Memory Viewer 265 Preferences Design Browser 108, 316 Scope View 317 Signal List 318 General Options 55, 308 Measurement window 320 Memory Viewer 323 Schematic Tracer 321 Colors 322, 323 Signal Options 309 Keyboard Shortcuts 312 Toolnet Cross Probing 312 Verilog 310 VHDL 310 Simulation Cycle Debug 324
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Simulation Settings 313 Source Browser 318 Colors 319 Files 320 Waveform window 313 Keyboard Shortcuts 315, 316 Search Memory Viewer 264 Schematic Tracer 176 Select All 27 Text Search Console window 26 Source Browser 67 Edit Source button 78 end of time phase 154 environment variable CDS_SHM_COMPATIBILITY 110 LDV_SIMVISION_CONNECTIONS 51 LDV_SIMVISION_PASSWORD_FILE 52 SIMVISION_HOME 55 SIMVISION_WORKDIR 48, 59, 66, 113, 114 SIMVISIONOPTS 47 Epic database 20 batch conversion 117 opening 114 Equal to operator (=), in Schematic Tracer 187 error information, transaction viewing in Waveform window 282 event locating ordering error 153 in sequence time 255 source code 157 execution phase 153 Expand Sidebar button 29 Explore menu Add Contributing Signals 297 Add Module Inputs 297 Go To Cause 77 expression schematic element 185 Expression Calculator editing an expression in 241 Expression Calculator button 19 Expression Calculator window 19 -EXPRESSION, simvisdbutil command option 118 Expressions tab
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Properties window 241 Expressions tab, Properties window

21

F
File menu Close Database/Simulation to close a database 123 Close Window 24 Create Database NC simulator 111 to save event information 255 Verilog-XL 112 Export 115 Export Window 306 Load Memory 267 New 24 Assertion Browser 20 Clone 23 Measurement 20 Open Database 48, 113 to convert a database to SST2 format 114 Open Simulation 47 Open Source File 66, 162 to set a breakpoint 161 Print Window Memory Viewer 268 Register window 302 Schematic Tracer 181 Simulation Cycle Debugger 158 Waveform window 229 Rename Window 25 Save Command Script for post-processing 58 for simulator connection 56 Save Memory 267 Source Command Script 59 for simulator connection 57 -FILE, simvisdbutil command option 118 Fill Modules button 171 flip-flop, in Schematic Tracer 186 Follow into scope button, in Trace Signals sidebar 199 force in the debugging environment 53 deleting from Properties window 141 releasing 141 setting 139 from Memory Viewer 265
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from Properties window 140 format function 290 Format menu Color for analog waveforms 275 in Register window 300 Radix, in Schematic Tracer 174 Radix/Mnemonic, in Waveform window 218, 220 Shift 228 Symbol 275 Trace 240 function breakpoint 162 function, scope view icon 84

G
gate primitive, schematic element 188 gdb command, in user-defined button 327 gdb debugger, native-mode 160 to 167 General Options tab, Preferences form 308 generate statement in Schematic Tracer 184 scope view icon 84 genevents function 288 glob rule 292 Go button, Source Browser 67 Greater than operator (>), in Schematic Tracer 186 Greater than or equal to operator (>=), in Schematic Tracer 187 grid, Waveform window 228 group 231 to 234 analog overlay 273 in the debugging environment 53 in Register window 301 Groups tab, Properties window 21

H
handle, GDB command 168 -HELP simvisdbutil command option 118 simvision command option 45 Help button 34 Help menu About SimVision 35 Cadence Help Library 35
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Customer Service 35 Keyboard Shortcuts 33, 35, 312 KPNS 35 Related Products 35 SimVision Command Language Reference 35 SimVision User Guide 35 SimVision Windows 35 Tutorials 35 Whats New 35 Hide Panner button 175 Hide Search button 67 Hide Sidebar button 30, 211 Hide Values button 69 high threshold, rise/fall time parameter 306 high value, rise/fall time parameter 306 hotkey 33 zoom functions, Waveform window 226 HSPICE list database 20 batch conversion 117 opening 113 HSPICE transient output database 20 batch conversion 117 opening 113

Interrupt C/C++ Debugger button 160 INV3S, in Schematic Tracer 188 INV3SL, in Schematic Tracer 188 INVGATE, in Schematic Tracer 188 irun compiling and linking an API application 159 elaborator options to use with SimVision 38 invoking with SimVision 38 options to use with SimVision 37

K
Keyboard Shortcuts tab, Preferences form 311, 316 -KEYFILE, simvision command option 45

L
latch, in Schematic Tracer 186 LDV_SIMVISION_CONNECTIONS environment variable 51 LDV_SIMVISION_PASSWORD_FILE environment variable 52 Less than operator (<), in Schematic Tracer 186 Less than or equal to operator (<=), in Schematic Tracer 187 Liberty file, translating to cell map format 193 line breakpoint 132 line number searching for in Source Browser 67 -linedebug compiler option for process breakpoints 136 Link button 248, 251 Load Local Variables button 166 Load Parameters button 166 loading logic tracing in the Schematic Tracer 176 tracing in Trace Signals sidebar 198 Lock button 30 -LOGFILE simvisdbutil command option 118 simvision command option 45 logic cone, tracing in Schematic Tracer 177 Logical AND, in Schematic Tracer 186
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I
ignore, DBX command 168 inout port filtering in Design Browser window 101 show or hide button in the sidebar 90 signal list 101 input port filtering in Design Browser window 101 show or hide button in signal list 101 in the sidebar 90 -INPUT, simvision command option 45 insertion bar, Waveform window 222 insertion point, Measurement window 304 interface in Schematic Tracer 184 scope view icon 83 internal signal filtering in Design Browser window 101 show or hide button in signal list 101 in the sidebar 90 Interrupt C Debugger window 165
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Logical NOT, in Schematic Tracer 186 Logical OR, in Schematic Tracer 186 low threshold, rise/fall time parameter 306 low value, rise/fall time parameter 306

M
marker 249 changing in the Properties window 250 in the Waveform window 250 creating 249 finding 251 linking a Waveform window to 251 new command in SimVision command script 61 searching for 227 Markers tab Properies window 20 match function 290 Maximum Value measurement 303 Measurement window 20, 303 to 306 customizing 320 Measurement Window tab, Preferences form 320 Memory Viewer 19, 259 to 268 customizing 323 color 323 Memory Viewer button 19, 260 Memory Viewer Colors tab, Preferences form 323 Memory Viewer tab, Preferences form 323 memory, forcing the value of 139 Minimum Value measurement 303 -MISSING, simvisdbutil command option 118 mnemonic map 218 applying to a signal 220 creating 219 Mnemonic Maps tab, Properties window 21 modport in Schematic Tracer 184 scope view icon 83 module SystemC scope view icon 84 Verilog scope view icon 83 module instance
June 2009 337

in Schematic Tracer 184 modulo operator (%), in Schematic Tracer 187 multiplication operator (*), in Schematic Tracer 187 mux, in Schematic Tracer 186

N
named block, scope view icon 84 NANDGATE, in Schematic Tracer 188 navigation buttons for analog waveforms 271 ncelab options to use with SimVision 38 ncsim invoking in post-processing mode 50 invoking with SimVision 38 ncvhdl options to use with SimVision 37 ncvlog options to use with SimVision 37 New Page form 297 Next Condition button 240, 247 Next Edge button Schematic Tracer 173 for transactions 281 Waveform window 241, 247 Next Scope button 65, 162 -NOCOPYRIGHT simvisdbutil command option 119 simvision command option 46 -NOLOG, simvisdbutil command option 119 -NOPLUGINS, simvision command option 46 NOR gate, in Schematic Tracer abstracted RTL 186 gate primitive 188 -NORC, simvision command option 46 -NORESTORE, simvision command option 46 Not equal to operator (!=), in Schematic Tracer 187 NOT gate, in Schematic Tracer 186 Nutmeg database 20 batch conversion 117 opening 113 NXOR gate, in Schematic Tracer abstracted RTL 186
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gate primitive 188

O
Open Database button 48, 113 to convert non-SST2 database 114 Open Database form 113 Open File button 160, 161, 162 Open Simulation button 47 Open Source button 66 Options button, Design Browser sidebar scope view 91 signal list 91 OR gate, in Schematic Tracer abstracted RTL 186 gate primitive 188 output port filtering in Design Browser window 101 show or hide button in the sidebar 90 signal list 101 -OUTPUT, simvisdbutil command option 119 overlay group 273 -OVERWRITE, simvisdbutil command option 119

P
package instance, scope view icon 84 Page menu Clone 297 Rename 297 page, Register window See register page panner, Schematic Tracer 175 part-select, forcing the value of 140 password, for simulation processes 51 Peak-to-Peak measurement 303 -PERIOD, simvisdbutil command option 119 plug-in application 34 disabling 46 plugin::application command in .simvisionrc file 61 Point To Point Tracing form for a pin and a cell 179 for a pin and a scope 178 for two pins 178
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pop-up menu 32 post-processing mode 22, 37 Design Browser scope view 85 invoking SimVision in 50 saving and restoring a command script for 57 switching to 43 Power sidebar 29 Preferences form Design Browser Scope View 317 Signal List 318 General Options 308 Keyboard Shortcuts 311 Measurement window 320 Memory Viewer 323 Colors 323 Schematic Tracer 321 Colors 322 Signal Options Toolnet Cross Probing 312 Verilog AMS 311 Simulation Cycle Debug 324 Simulation Settings 313 Source Browser 318 Colors 319 Files 320 Transaction Explorer 324 Waveform window Keyboard Shortcuts 316 preferences set command, in SimVision command script 60 Previous Condition button 240, 247 Previous Edge button Schematic Tracer 173 for transactions 281 Waveform window 241, 247 Previous Scope button 65, 162 primary cursor 244 choosing in Waveform window 246 setting in the time toolbar 30 tracking signal changes with 247 Print form Memory Viewer 268 Register window 302 Schematic Tracer 181 Simulation Cycle Debugger 158 Waveform window 229 -PRIVATE, simvision command option 46 probe creating in the Waveform window 213
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in the debugging environment 53 enabling and disabling 127 in Properties window 127 memories 265 setting 125 with NC simulator 125 with Source Browser 73 with Verilog-XL 126 statement trace information 76 Probe button 128 probed signals, show or hide button in the Design Browser sidebar 90 in the Design Browser signal list 102 procedure statement, scope view icon 84 process breakpoint 136 execution phase 153 statement in Schematic Tracer 184 program block, scope view icon 83 Properties button 19, 21 Properties window 19 Aliases tab 150 Bookmarks tab opening in the Design Browser 107 opening in the Schematic Browser 181 opening in the Source Browser 78 Breakpoints tab 138 Databases tab closing a database in 123 Expressions tab 241

in Source Browser Preferences form 319 in Waveform window 218 -RANGE, simvisdbutil command option 119 reference line 277 register, forcing the value of 140 Register button 19 register page 295 adding objects to 297 annotating 299 managing 296 printing 302 Register window 19, 295 to 302 displaying at startup 46 -REGISTER, simvision command option 46 regular expression 292 rematch function 290 restore.tcl command script 56 restore.tcl.svcf command script 56 Rise/Fall Time measurement 303 Rise/Fall Time parameters 306 RMS Value measurement 303 Run button 146 run-time driver, VHDL 143

S
scale, of analog waveforms 277 Schematic Tracer 19, 169 to 181 customizing 321 customizing color 322 displaying at startup 46 mapping ASIC library cells 189 to 196 tracing paths from point to point 177 with theTrace Signals sidebar 206 Schematic Tracer button 19, 169 Schematic Tracer Colors tab, Preferences form 322 Schematic Tracer tab, Preferences form 321 -SCHEMATIC, simvision command option 46 scope searching for 92 selecting 89 Scope Up button 65 scope view
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Q
Qsim database 20 batch conversion 117 opening 114 -QUIET, simvisdbutil command option 119

R
-RADIX simvisdbutil command option 119 radix in Create Monitor form 144 in Design Browser 101 in Register window 298 in Schematic Tracer 173 in Signal List Preferences form 318
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Design Browser Sidebar Options SystemC 91 filtering 87 icons 83 options 90 preferences 108 Scope View Design Browser tab, Preferences form 317 scrollable region in Design Browser window 105 in Waveform window 216 Search Down button Console window 26 Source Browser 67, 88 Waveform window 227 Search Up button Console window 26 Source Browser 67, 88 Waveform window 227 security of simulation processes 51 Select a New Color form 275 Register window 300 select operation 32 Send To toolbar 23, 27 Send Trace to Containing Window button 204 -SEQUENCE simvisdbutil command option 119 simvision command option 46 sequence time including in simulation database 46 viewing events in 255 Set Driver form 143 Set Function Breakpoint button 163 Set Function Breakpoint form 163 Set Watchpoint button 160, 164 -SHM, simvisdbutil command option 119 shortcut, keyboard 33 Show only X values along path button, in Trace Signals sidebar 202 Show Panner button 175 Show Search button Design Browser sidebar 88 Source Browser 67 Show/Hide Fibers button 280 sidebar 28 Design Browser 81 to 90 Design Search 92 to 95 Source Navigation 74 Trace Signals 197 to 207
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Sidebar Options form Scope View SystemC 91 SIGBUS 167 SIGEMT 167 SIGFPE 167 SIGILL 167 SIGINT 167 signal changing the name of in Waveform window 217 creating a scrollable region in Design Browser window 105 in Waveform window 216 displaying in Design Browser sidebar 89 in Design Browser window 99 in Design Search sidebar 95 in Register window 298 in Source Browser 68 in Waveform window contributing 214 expanding and collapsing in Design Browser window 102 in Waveform window 215 rearranging in Waveform window 222 searching for in Design Search sidebar 92 sending to containing window in Design Browser sidebar 90 in Design Search sidebar 95 splitting in Design Browser window 104 in Waveform window 215 tracing the path of 197 to 207 signal breakpoint 133 signal evaluation phase 153 signal list in Design Browser window filtering 101 preferences 108 sorting 100 options 91 in Waveform window 210 searching 226 Signal List Design Browser tab, Preferences form 318 Signal List Search toolbar 27 signal name format in Design Browser window 100
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in Waveform window 216 signal transition, tracing in Source Browser 76 signal value applying mnemonic map to 220 changing and monitoring during simulation 139 depositing 141 in Design Browser window choosing the radix of 101 justifying 101 monitoring 97 in Verilog-XL 143 -SIGNAL, simvisdbutil command option 119 SIGPROF 167 SIGSEGV 167 simulation 145 connecting to 47 disconnecting 42 preparing your design for 37 reinvoking 147 resetting 147 running 145 in Source Browser 74 saving and restoring checkpoint 148 terminating and disconnecting 43 terminating and post-processing 43 Simulation Cycle Debug tab, Preferences form 324 Simulation Cycle Debugger 20, 153 customizing 324 invoking 155 Print form 158 saving and printing contents of 157 simulation database 109 to 123 See also database Simulation menu Advance 146 Delta Cycle 157 Process 157 Simulation Phase 157 Timepoint 157 Create Command Alias 150 Create Debug Variable 151 Create Driver 143 Create Force 140 Create Monitor 144 Create Probe 73 NC simulator 125 Verilog-XL 126
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Next 146 Next in Scope 146 Reinvoke Simulator 147 in Source Browser 79 Restart from Checkpoint 149 Return 146 Run 146 Save Checkpoint 148 Set Breakpoint Condition 135 Line NC simulator 133 Verilog-XL 133 Process 136 Signal NC simulator 134 Verilog-XL 134 Subprogram 137 Time NC simulator 129 Verilog-XL 131 Show Aliases 150 Breakpoints 138 in Memory Viewer 265 Forces 140 Probes 127 Variables 151 Step 146 Stop 146 SystemC/C++/C Debug 161 Terminate & Disconnect 43 Terminate & Post-Process 43 Simulation Settings tab, Preferences form 313 simulation time toolbar 31 simulation toolbar 145 simulator command in user-defined button 327 command script 60 debugging environment 53 Simulator tab, Properties window 21 -SIMVISARG, ncsim option 38 simvisdbutil, batch database translation utility 117 SimVision command in user-defined button 327 command script 60 debugging environment 53 simvision command 44 specifying default options 47
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simvision.svcf command script 57 .simvision/passwd file 51 SIMVISION_HOME environment variable 55 SIMVISION_WORKDIR environment variable 48, 59, 66, 113, 114 SIMVISIONOPTS environment variable 47 .simvisionrc file 46, 61 Slope Between Cursors measurement 303 -SNAPSHOT, simvision command option 46 Source Browser 19, 63 to 79 customizing 318 displaying at startup 46 viewing event source code 157 Source Browser button 19, 63 Source Browser tab, Preferences form 318 Colors 319 Files 320 Source Navigation sidebar viewing API call stack 165 -SOURCE, simvision command option 46 -SST, simvision command option 46 SST2 database 20, 109 creating with NC simulator 111 with Verilog-XL 112 exporting 115 importing 113 opening 113 -SST2, simvisdbutil command option 120 Standard toolbar 27 statement trace file (.stc) 109 saving information 76 .stc file 109 stream function 288 stream, filtering 286 to 293 streamoverlay function 290 subprogram breakpoint 136 Subprogram Breakpoint form 137 subtraction operator (-), in Schematic Tracer 187 synchronization, of simulation data and windows 31 SystemC scope view icon module 84 thread process 84 Scope View Options form 91 SystemC/C++/C Variables sidebar 29, 166
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SystemVerilog scope view icon class 83 interface 83 modport 83 program block 83

T
Target button 23 target icon, in Register window 297 target window 23 task, scope view icon 84 Tcl/Tk command in user-defined button 327 expression in condition breakpoint 135 Terminate & Disconnect button 43 Terminate & Post-Process button 43 thread process scope view icon 84 threshold, rise/fall time parameter 306 time breakpoint 129 navigating in Register window 301 range in Properties window 254 saving 253 shift in Register window 298 in Trace Signals sidebar 204 in Waveform window 228 units 31 Time Ranges tab, Properties window 21 Time Search toolbar 28 Time toolbar 30 -TIMEUNITS simvisdbutil command option 120 -TITLE simvision command option 47 toolbar 27 adding and removing 325 annotation, Register window 299 choosing to display 28 Cursor Control 27 moving 28 Send To 23 Signal List Search 27 Time 30 Time Search 28 user-defined 27
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adding to other SimVision windows 329 creating 326 modifying 330 writing a window-independent script 329 Zoom 28 zoom Schematic Tracer 174 Toolnet Cross-Probing tab, Preferences form 312 Trace Active option, in Trace Signals sidebar 201 Trace button, in Trace Signals sidebar 199 Trace Driving Logic button 200 Trace Loading Logic button 198 Trace menu Driving Logic 176 Follow-X Forwards 176 Loading Logic 176 Logic Cone Backwards 177 Logic Cone Fowards 177 Point to Point between a pin and a cell 179 between a pin and a scope 178 between two pins 178 Trace Signal Through Hiererarchy 177 X Backwards 176 trace path, changing the color of 206 Trace Signals sidebar 29, 197 performing functions on objects in 206 sending signals to the containing window 204 shifting time in 204 tracing X values 202 using with the Schematic Tracer 206 Trace-X Backwards button 203 Trace-X Forwards button 203 transaction 279 error information 282 overlapping 284 stream filtering in Design Browser window 101 in Waveform window 286 finding in simulation database 279 viewing in the Waveform window 281 Transaction Explorer tab, Prefernces form 324 Transaction Explorer toolbar 293 transaction stream
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show or hide button in the sidebar 90 signal list 101 transition file (.trn) 109 Translate .lib to cellmap format form .trn file 109

193

U
Unlock button 30 user-defined button 27 adding to other SimVision windows 329 creating 326 user-defined toolbar 27 creating 326 modifying 330

V
Value At Baseline measurement 303 Value At Cursor measurement 303 variable debug 150 displaying in Design Browser sidebar 89 in Design Browser window 99 in Design Search sidebar 95 in Register window 298 in Source Browser 68 forcing the value of 140 rearranging in Waveform window 222 searching for in Design Search sidebar 92 sending to containing window in Design Browser sidebar 90 in Design Search sidebar 95 VHDL depositing a value 141 forcing the value of 140 VCD database 20 batch conversion 117 exporting to 115 opening 113 -VCD, simvisdbutil command option 120 Verilog AMS Signal Options tab, Preferences form 311 verilog command invoking in post-processing mode 50
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invoking with SimVision 38 Verilog-XL creating a database 112 invoking in post-processing mode 50 invoking with SimVision 38 setting line breakpoint 133 setting signal breakpoint 134 setting time breakpoint 131 -VERSION simvisdbutil command option 120 simvision command option 47 View menu Center on Cursor 248 Define Grid 229 Display Values 69 Lock/Unlock Scope 87 Manage Bookmarks Source Browser 77 Number of Columns 264 Panner 175 Regenerate 172 RTL 186 Show Cell Shapes 194, 196 Show Full Signal Names 173 Show Values 108, 173 Sidebar 30, 197, 211 Size to Fit 263 Sort By Declaration 100 By Name 100 Toolbars 28 Customize 325, 329 Zoom Cursor-Baseline 225, 271 Fit 174 Full X 225, 271 Full Y 225, 271 In 174 In X 225, 271 Out 174 Out X 225, 271 Previous 225, 271 virtual signal 237

W
Watch Live Data button 31 Schematic Tracer 173 Source Browser 69 Waveform window 245
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Watch window 106 watchpoint, C/C++ variable 164 waveform add command, in .simvisionrc file 61 new command, in .simvisionrc file 61 Waveform button 19, 213 Waveform window 19 displaying at startup 47 displaying waveforms 209 to 229 keyboard shortcuts 316 managing time in 243 to 257 organizing signals 231 to 242 viewing analog data 269 to 278 viewing transactions 279 to 294 -WAVES, simvision command option 47 waves.shm file 110 WBUFGATE, in Schematic Tracer 188 where, C++ debugging command 168 window iconfiying and activating 24 managing multiple 23 opening and closing 23 renaming 25 tiling 25 Windows menu Cascade 25 Iconify All 25 New 24 Assertion Browser 20 Measurement 20, 303 Register 295 Schematic Tracer 97, 169 Tile Horizontally 25 Tile Vertically 25 Tools 24 Console 20 Cursors 245, 246, 247 Databases 122 Expressions 237, 241 Groups 232 Markers 250, 251 property type 21 SimCompare Manager 20 Simulation Cycle Debug 20, 155 Simulator 148 Databases 121 Time Ranges 254 Windows 24 wire forcing the value of unexpanded 140 in Schematic Tracer 186
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resolution phase 153

X
X value tracing in Schematic Tracer 176 tracing in Trace Signals sidebar 202, 203 X-axis grid 228 marker in analog waveforms 269 XNOR gate, in Schematic Tracer abstracted RTL 186 gate primitive 188 XOR gate, in Schematic Tracer abstracted RTL 186 gate primitive 188 -XSUB, simvisdbutil command option 120

Y
Y-axis grid 276 marker 269

Z
zoom mode, in Waveform window Zoom toolbar 28 224

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