Constraints

Tejal Adake
Agenda
 Bidirectional constraint
 Solve before constraint
 Inline constraint
 Soft constraint
 Disable constraint
 Static constraint
 Inheritance constraint
 Rand case constraint
Bidirectional constraint:
 which means constraints on all random variables will be
solved in parallel.
 As constraints are considered from all the aspects,
System Verilog constraints are called bidirectional
constraints.
Example:
class MyClass;
rand int a;
rand int b;
constraint bidirectional_c { a + b == 10; }
endclass

class MyClass;
rand int a;
rand int b;
constraint range_c { a + b == 10;
a inside {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
b inside {5, 6, 7, 8, 9};
}
endclass
Solve Before Constraint
 solve before is used inside the constraint block to
specify the order of constraint solving.
 If the variables are dependent, due to the bidirectional
nature of constraints value of one variable will influence
the value of another variable
 solve before constraints are used to force the constraint
solver to choose the order in which constraints are
solved.
 The dependency order of variables should not be
bidirectional
 Change the probability of distribution
class MyClass; class MyClass;
rand int unsigned a; rand int unsigned a;
randc int unsigned b; rand int unsigned b;
constraint bidirectional_c { a <b; constraint bidirectional_c { a <b;
b< 10; b< 10;
solve a before b; solve a before b;
} solve b before a;
endclass }
endclass
Rules :

• In solve-before we cannot use randc keyword for randomization

• Two solve before for same variables cannot be written.
• Only integers are allowed (ex: string)
• The dependency order of variables should not be bidirectional
solve x before y and solve b before x;
Probability
constraint c_name { {(a==0) -> (b==0);};
solve a before b;}
Priority before solve-before priority after solve-
before
a=0 b=0 1/3 a=0 b=0 ½
a=1 b=0 1/3 a=1 b=0 ¼
a=1 b=1 1/3 a=1 b=1 ¼

constraint c_name { {(a==0) -> (b==0);};

solve b before a;}
b=0 a=0 ¼
b=0 a=1 ¼
b=1 a=0 ½
Example:

class MyClass;
rand int a;
rand int b; here a is
priority than b
constraint c1 { a + b == 10; }
solve a before b;
endclass
Inline constraint
 Till now, what we have seen about writing a constraint in
class. There is a possibility that constraints need to be
modified during randomization.
 The important thing to note is that inline constraints do not
override constraints written inside the class.
 Any conflict in these constraints leads to randomization
failure.
 An inline constraint is written on calling
a randomize() method using the “with” keyword.
Example:
class MyClass;
rand bit [3:0] a;
rand bit [3:0] b;
rand int c; if we try to override the
constraint o/p will be:
constraint c1 { a + b == 10; }
endclass

module test;
MyClass cx;
initial begin
repeat(5) begin
cx=new();
cx.randomize() with {cx.c inside {[1:5]}; cx.a <=10;}; // c.randomize() with {cx.a>10;};
$display("a=%0d b=%0d c=%0d a+b=%0d",cx.a,cx.b,cx.c,cx.a+cx.b);
end
end
endmodule
Soft constraint
 sometimes there is a requirement to change constraints in
such a way that it may conflict with constraints inside the
class.
 By default, constraints are hard constraints in nature. To
mention constraints as a soft, specifically “soft” keyword has
to be used.
Example: class MyClass;
rand bit [3:0] a;
class MyClass; rand bit [3:0] b;
rand int a; rand int c;
rand int b; constraint c1 { soft a + b == 10; }
rand int c; endclass
constraint c1 { soft a <=10; b>=15; }
module test;
endclass
MyClass cx;
module test; initial begin
Myclass cx; repeat(5) begin
Initial begin cx=new();
cx=new(); cx.randomize() with {cx.c inside {[1:5]}; cx.a >10;};
repeat(5) begin $display("a=%0d b=%0d c=%0d a+b=
cx.randomize() with {cx.c inside {1:5;} %0d",cx.a,cx.b,cx.c,cx.a+cx.b);
cx.a>=10;}; end
$display(“a=%0b b=%0d c= end
%0d”,cx.a,cx.b,cx.c); endmodule
end
end
endmodule
Disable constraint
 Constraints in a class can be disabled using the
constraint_mode method call
 By default, constraint mode is enabled i.e.
constraint_mode(1)
 To disable constraint, constraint_mode(0) is used.
 A Constraint needs to be disabled or enabled (if disabled
before) before calling the randomize() method
Syntax:
object.constraint_name.constraint_mode()
class pkt;
randc bit [7:0] addr;
rand bit [31:0] data;
rand bit wr;
constraint c_pkt {addr[7]==1; data>0; wr==1;}
endclass

module ex;
pkt p1;
initial begin
p1=new();
if(p1.c_pkt.constraint_mode()) begin
$display("packet randomization is ON");
repeat(5) begin
p1.randomize();
$display("addr=%0d data=%0dwr=%0d",p1.addr,p1.data,p1.wr);
end
end
p1.c_pkt.constraint_mode(0);
$display("current state of randomization is
%0d",p1.c_pkt.constraint_mode());
end
endmodule
Static constraint
 A static constraint is shared across all class instances. It
is similar to a static variable in a class.
 Static constraints are useful when you want the
constraint to be applied across all instances of the
class, not just a particular object.

Syntax:
static constraint <constraint name>
{. . .;}
class seq_item;
rand bit [7:0] value1;
rand bit [7:0] value2;
constraint value1_c {value1 inside {[10:30]};}
static constraint value2_c {value2 inside {40,70, 80};}
endclass

module constraint_example;
seq_item item1, item2;
initial begin
item1 = new();
item2 = new();

item1.randomize();
item2.randomize();
$display("Before disabling constraint");
$display("item1: value1 = %0d, value2 = %0d", item1.value1, item1.value2);
$display("item2: value1 = %0d, value2 = %0d", item2.value1, item2.value2);

item2.value2_c.constraint_mode(0); // To disable constraint for value2 using handle item2

item1.randomize();
item2.randomize();
$display("After disabling constraint for all value2 alone");
$display("item1: value1 = %0d, value2 = %0d", item1.value1, item1.value2);
$display("item2: value1 = %0d, value2 = %0d", item2.value1, item2.value2);
end
endmodule
Inheritance constraint
 Just like any task/function declared inside a class, we can
inherit the constraints declared inside the parent class in
child class. The constraints can also be over-ridden in the
child class like any other method
 Randomize task is a virtual task and thus it will
automatically use the constraints of child class if any of the
constraints are overridden
class parent;
rand bit [5:0] value;
constraint value_c {value > 0; value < 10;}
endclass

class child extends parent;

constraint value_c {value inside {[10:30]};}
endclass

module constraint_inh;
parent p;
child c;
initial begin
p = new();
c = new();
repeat(3) begin
p.randomize();
$display("Parent class: value = %0d", p.value);
end
repeat(3) begin
c.randomize();
$display("Child class: value = %0d value=%0d", c.value,p.value);
end
end
endmodule
Rand case
 Randomly pick one out of many statements

1. Select one branch

2. case expressions are +ve integers -> associated weights
3. probability of item=weight of item/total weight

NOTES:
Any branch having 0 weight – not picked but all branch having 0 weight it will throw an error
class pkt;
rand bit [1:0] addr;
endclass

module ex;
pkt p1;
int counter=0,counter1=0,counter2=0,counter3=0;
initial begin
p1=new();
for(int i=0;i<1000;i++) begin
randcase
3:begin p1.addr=3; counter3++; end // 3/10
2:begin p1.addr=2; counter2++; end // 2/10
1:begin p1.addr=1; counter1++; end // 1/10
4:begin p1.addr=4; counter++; end //4/10
endcase
$display("addr: %0d",p1.addr);
end
$display("counter =%0d counter1 =%0d counter2=%0d
counter3=%0d",counter,counter1,counter2,counter3);
end
endmodule
class pkt;
rand bit [1:0] addr;
endclass

module ex;
pkt p1;
int counter=0,counter1=0,counter2=0,counter3=0;
initial begin
p1=new();
for(int i=0;i<1000;i++) begin
randcase
3:begin p1.addr=3; counter3++; end
2:begin p1.addr=2; counter2++; end
1:begin p1.addr=1; counter1++; end
0:begin p1.addr=4; counter++; end
endcase
$display("addr: %0d",p1.addr);
end
$display("counter =%0d counter1 =%0d counter2=%0d
counter3=%0d",counter,counter1,counter2,counter3);
end
endmodule
class pkt;
rand bit [1:0] addr;
endclass

module ex;
pkt p1;
int counter=0,counter1=0,counter2=0,counter3=0;
initial begin
p1=new();
for(int i=0;i<1000;i++) begin
randcase
0:begin p1.addr=3; counter3++; end
0:begin p1.addr=2; counter2++; end
0:begin p1.addr=1; counter1++; end
0:begin p1.addr=4; counter++; end
endcase
$display("addr: %0d",p1.addr);
end
$display("counter =%0d counter1 =%0d counter2=%0d
counter3=%0d",counter,counter1,counter2,counter3);
end
endmodule
THANKYOU