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Verplex Places Verification Library in Public Domain
MILPITAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 20, 2000--A verification
library that provides detailed logic debugging capability was placed
in the public domain today by Verplex(TM) Systems, Inc., the
electronic design automation (EDA) company known for its formal
verification software.
Additionally, it is launching the Open Verification Library
initiative to promote its use and encourage the library's acceptance
as a de facto industry standard.
Verplex is offering the library to provide seamless
interoperability between simulation and formal verification,
eliminating the learning curve and accelerating the acceptance of
formal RTL design verification software. The library was designed
using the Verilog Hardware Description Language (HDL) and works with
any Verilog HDL-based or mixed-language simulator. It enables users to
find bugs deeply embedded in the design, where chip- or system-level
test vectors may have little control or may not be sufficiently long
enough to propagate errors to an observable output.
Early formal register transfer level (RTL) design verification
software had a steep learning curve because of complex, proprietary
specification languages. Formal specifications written in these
languages are often difficult to understand and debug.
Simulation users, however, are familiar with embedded event or
assertion monitoring mechanisms to trap and report design errors.
The verification library is a plug-in supplement to monitoring
mechanisms, extending their applicability into more detailed error
detection and reporting. Designers choose the appropriate monitor from
the library and place it in (or connect it to) the suspected area of
the design where the bug may occur. If a test vector triggers the
monitor during simulation, an error will be reported to the user.
The monitor-based library verification technique was proposed in a
textbook titled, ``Principles of Verifiable RTL Design,'' by Harry
Foster and Lionel Bening of Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HWP) in
Richardson, Texas, and published by Kluwer Academic Publishers. It is
currently used throughout Hewlett-Packard in Richardson.
``We are grateful to Harry and Lionel for sharing this common sense
approach,'' remarks C. Michael Chang, president and chief executive
officer of Verplex, noting that it was conceived and matured by the
user community. ``It yields immediate benefit to simulation users and
provides a seamless and effortless path to formal verification.''
Multiple companies have lent endorsement and support. They
include: Axis Systems, Inc.; Chronology Corporation; Co-Design
Automation, Inc.; Denali Software, Inc.; Hewlett-Packard; Magma Design
Automation, Inc.; Novas Software, Inc.; and Ricoh Company, Ltd. (In related news, Verplex announced today the immediate
availability of BlackTie(TM) functional checker which fully supports
the Open Verification Library. The same monitors written for
simulation can be verified using BlackTie. When verifying monitors
with BlackTie, test vectors are not required, coverage is exhaustive
and the diagnosis is automatic.)
The verification library can be downloaded at no charge from the
Web Site located at: http://www.verificationlib.org. The site features
a download area, submission area, full documentation and a discussion
group. Visitors to the site are encouraged to contribute their own
customized monitors and enhance existing ones.
For more information, contact Dino Caporossi, director of
marketing at Verplex. He can be reached at (301) 390-2718 or via email
at dino@verplex.com.
About Verplex
Verplex Systems Inc. is an electronic design automation (EDA)
company focused on delivering the highest speed, highest capacity and
easiest to use formal verification products for complex system-on-chip
(SOC) design. Founded in 1997, it is privately held and funded by
leading venture capital firms. Corporate headquarters is located at
300 Montague Expressway, Suite 100, Milpitas, Calif. 95035. Telephone:
(408) 586-0300. Facsimile: (408) 586-0230. Email: info@verplex.com.
Online information is found at its Web Site: http://www.verplex.com.
Verplex, BlackTie and Tuxedo-LEC are trademarks of Verplex Systems
Inc. All other companies and products referenced herein are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Contact:
Verplex Systems, Inc.
Nanette Collins
(617) 437-1822
nanette@nvc.com
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