The Open Verification Methodology (OVM) is a documented methodology with a supporting building-block library for the verification of semiconductor chip designs. The initial version, OVM 1.0, was released in January, 2008, [1] and regular updates have expanded its functionality. The latest version is OVM 2.1.2, released in January, 2011.
The reuse concepts within the OVM were derived mainly from the Universal Reuse Methodology (URM) which was, to a large part, based on the e Reuse Methodology (ERM) for the e Verification Language developed by Verisity Design in 2001. The OVM also brings in concepts from the Advanced Verification Methodology (AVM). The UVM class library brings much automation to the SystemVerilog language such as sequences and data automation features (packing, copy, compare, etc.). The UVM also has recommendations for code packaging and naming conventions.
Software testing is the act of checking whether software satisfies expectations.
Mentor Graphics Corporation was a US-based electronic design automation (EDA) multinational corporation for electrical engineering and electronics, headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon. Founded in 1981, the company distributed products that assist in electronic design automation, simulation tools for analog mixed-signal design, VPN solutions, and fluid dynamics and heat transfer tools. The company leveraged Apollo Computer workstations to differentiate itself within the computer-aided engineering (CAE) market with its software and hardware.
Electronic design automation (EDA), also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD), is a category of software tools for designing electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The tools work together in a design flow that chip designers use to design and analyze entire semiconductor chips. Since a modern semiconductor chip can have billions of components, EDA tools are essential for their design; this article in particular describes EDA specifically with respect to integrated circuits (ICs).
Software development is the process used to create software. Programming and maintaining the source code is the central step of this process, but it also includes conceiving the project, evaluating its feasibility, analyzing the business requirements, software design, testing, to release. Software engineering, in addition to development, also includes project management, employee management, and other overhead functions. Software development may be sequential, in which each step is complete before the next begins, but iterative development methods where multiple steps can be executed at once and earlier steps can be revisited have also been devised to improve flexibility, efficiency, and scheduling.
Delphi is a general-purpose programming language and a software product that uses the Delphi dialect of the Object Pascal programming language and provides an integrated development environment (IDE) for rapid application development of desktop, mobile, web, and console software, currently developed and maintained by Embarcadero Technologies.
Accellera Systems Initiative (Accellera) is a standards organization that supports a mix of user and vendor standards and open interfaces development in the area of electronic design automation (EDA) and integrated circuit (IC) design and manufacturing. It is less constrained than the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and is therefore the starting place for many standards. Once mature and adopted by the broader community, the standards are usually transferred to the IEEE.
In software testing, test automation is the use of software separate from the software being tested to control the execution of tests and the comparison of actual outcomes with predicted outcomes. Test automation can automate some repetitive but necessary tasks in a formalized testing process already in place, or perform additional testing that would be difficult to do manually. Test automation is critical for continuous delivery and continuous testing.
In software engineering, continuous integration (CI) is the practice of merging all developers' working copies to a shared mainline several times a day. Nowadays it is typically implemented in such a way that it triggers an automated build with testing. Grady Booch first proposed the term CI in his 1991 method, although he did not advocate integrating several times a day. Extreme programming (XP) adopted the concept of CI and did advocate integrating more than once per day – perhaps as many as tens of times per day.
NIEMOpen, frequently referred to as NIEM, originated as an XML-based information exchange framework from the United States, but has transitioned to an OASISOpen Project. This initiative formalizes NIEM's designation as an official standard in national and international policy and procurement. NIEMOpen's Project Governing Board recently approved the first standard under this new project; the Conformance Targets Attribute Specification (CTAS) Version 3.0. A full collection of NIEMOpen standards are anticipated by end of year 2024.
Knowledge-Centered Service is a service delivery method that focuses on knowledge as a key asset of the organization implementing it. Development began in 1992 by the Consortium for Service Innovation, a non-profit alliance of service organizations. Its methodology is to integrate use of a knowledge base into the workflow.
e is a hardware verification language (HVL) which is tailored to implementing highly flexible and reusable verification testbenches.
This is a comparison of notable free and open-source configuration management software, suitable for tasks like server configuration, orchestration and infrastructure as code typically performed by a system administrator.
Aldec, Inc. is a privately owned electronic design automation company based in Henderson, Nevada that provides software and hardware used in creation and verification of digital designs targeting FPGA and ASIC technologies.
IP-XACT, also known as IEEE 1685, is an XML format that defines and describes individual, re-usable electronic circuit designs to facilitate their use in creating integrated circuits. IP-XACT was created by the SPIRIT Consortium as a standard to enable automated configuration and integration through tools and evolving into an IEEE standard.
In the automated design of integrated circuits, signoff checks is the collective name given to a series of verification steps that the design must pass before it can be taped out. This implies an iterative process involving incremental fixes across the board using one or more check types, and then retesting the design. There are two types of sign-off's: front-end sign-off and back-end sign-off. After back-end sign-off, the chip goes to fabrication. After listing out all the features in the specification, the verification engineer will write coverage for those features to identify bugs, and send back the RTL design to the designer. Bugs, or defects, can include issues like missing features, errors in design, etc. When the coverage reaches a maximum percentage then the verification team will sign it off. By using a methodology like UVM, OVM, or VMM, the verification team develops a reusable environment. Nowadays, UVM is more popular than others.
The Universal Verification Methodology (UVM) is a standardized methodology for verifying integrated circuit designs. UVM is derived mainly from the OVM which was, to a large part, based on the eRM for the e verification language developed by Verisity Design in 2001. The UVM class library brings much automation to the SystemVerilog language such as sequences and data automation features etc., and unlike the previous methodologies developed independently by the simulator vendors, is an Accellera standard with support from multiple vendors: Aldec, Cadence, Mentor Graphics, Synopsys, Xilinx Simulator(XSIM).
Daniel Gajski is a Professor of the School of Information and Computer Science and the School of Engineering at University of California, Irvine, United States. He was previously the Director for the Center for Embedded Computer Systems (CECS), now known as the Center for Embedded and Cyber-physical Systems.
The e Reuse Methodology (eRM) was the first reuse methodology to emerge in the Hardware Verification Language space and was used in conjunction with the e Hardware Verification Language. It was invented in 2001 by Verisity Design and released in 2002. The methodology was composed of guidelines for topics such as:
Robot Framework is a generic test automation framework for acceptance testing and acceptance test-driven development (ATDD). It is a keyword-driven testing framework that uses tabular test data syntax.
Vivado Design Suite is a software suite for synthesis and analysis of hardware description language (HDL) designs, superseding Xilinx ISE with additional features for system on a chip development and high-level synthesis. Vivado represents a ground-up rewrite and re-thinking of the entire design flow.