|
|
|
Bluespec and Novas Create the First Comprehensive Debug Environment for High-Level Synthesis
Blueview and Verdi Boost Engineering Productivity Through Easy
Debug of High-Level Source Code
WALTHAM, Mass. & SAN JOSE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Nov. 15, 2004—
Bluespec Inc., www.bluespec.com, developer of the industry's first
SystemVerilog-based Electronic Design Automation (EDA) behavioral
synthesis toolset, and Novas Software, Inc., www.novas.com, the leader
in debug systems for complex chip designs, jointly announced today the
creation of the first debugging environment for behavioral synthesis
that allows hardware design engineers to easily debug high-level,
untimed, behavioral source code.
Resulting from collaborative efforts enabled by the Novas Harmony
partner program, the debugging environment allows interactive
cross-probing and communication between Bluespec's Blueview(TM) design
visualization tool and the Novas Verdi(TM) Automated Debug System.
This integrated solution reduces time spent tracing causes during
debug, and is a major improvement over debug flows associated with
previous behavioral synthesis approaches.
For engineering teams adopting behavioral synthesis, access to
verification debug environments that leverage current tools and
methodologies and that quickly convey information across different
design abstraction levels is essential. Blueview augments the
award-winning Verdi debug system with a graphical user interface (GUI)
to Bluespec's behavioral synthesis design database and a powerful
cross-referencing engine. Using the products together, engineers can
simultaneously view both the high-level design source code and the
corresponding Verilog RTL generated from Bluespec's Compiler, and then
rapidly navigate between design and debug views. These viewing and
navigation capabilities enable visualization and debugging of
high-level design interfaces, state elements and Bluespec design
assertions.
"Designing at higher levels of abstraction addresses the growing
cost of design and verification," said George Harper, vice president
of marketing at Bluespec. "Our Novas partnership enables this by
ensuring that designers can effectively debug high-level untimed
behavioral descriptions using their favorite tools and environments."
Added David Kelf, vice president of marketing at Novas, "The trend
toward larger, more complex designs continues to drive EDA innovation,
and high-level synthesis represents a promising approach to
effectively tackle several significant design challenges. By
partnering with Bluespec, we have extended our debug system to let
mutual customers effectively comprehend and analyze abstract source
code targeted at this methodology."
Behavioral Synthesis Debug Environment
The integrated Novas-Bluespec solution allows engineers to debug
their designs by viewing high-level source code, the generated Verilog
RTL, and simulation waveforms in a familiar environment, while also
running their preferred Verilog simulation and testbench tools. This
approach provides automated links to the original source code,
removing the manual process of cross-referencing code required by
previous behavioral synthesis solutions.
Using the Bluespec Compiler, designers also have the choice of
expressing their design at a transaction level and progressively
refining blocks to a more detailed implementation, all the while
staying at an untimed behavioral expression. The integration of
Blueview and Verdi provides the only debug environment that seamlessly
supports these different levels of abstraction, allowing designers to
rapidly examine their logic verification results and obtain guidance
to safely make the micro-architecture changes required for timing
closure.
"Novas' and Bluespec's integrated debug environment will fit
seamlessly with our current verification flow, and allow our designers
to easily debug this high-level behavioral design at the source," said
Kaushik Patel, vice president of hardware engineering, Aarohi
Communications, Inc.
About Novas & Novas Harmony Program
Novas Software, Inc. is the leading provider of robust,
tool-independent design debug systems to companies designing complex
ICs and SoCs. Novas' products dramatically reduce the time it takes
for engineers to locate, isolate and solve the root causes of
functional design and verification problems. Novas is ranked first in
customer satisfaction for three consecutive years in a comprehensive
EDA study published by CMP. There are more than 12,000 Novas systems
installed worldwide by over 400 companies and 35 EDA companies
utilizing Novas technology in their products today. Novas is
headquartered in San Jose, Calif. with offices in Europe, Japan and
Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit www.novas.com or email
info@novas.com.
Novas established the Harmony program in 1999 to lower the cost of
EDA tool interoperability. The Harmony program provides developers of
verification and other tools with software licenses, engineering
support for integration efforts, and ongoing support for mutual
customers. Novas' open application programming interfaces (APIs)
ensure that the widest range of chip design and verification solutions
can take advantage of its industry-leading debug capabilities.
About Bluespec
Bluespec Inc. manufactures an industry standards-based Electronic
Design Automation (EDA) toolset that significantly raises the level of
abstraction for hardware design while retaining the ability to
automatically synthesize high quality RTL, without compromising speed,
power or area. The toolset allows ASIC and FPGA designers to
significantly reduce design time, bugs and re-spins that contribute to
product delays and escalating costs. More information can be found on
www.bluespec.com or by calling 781-250-2200.
Copyright 2004 Bluespec, Inc. Bluespec is a trademark of Bluespec,
Inc. Verdi is a trademark of Novas Software, Inc. All other brands,
products, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of the
companies with which they are associated.
Contact:
Bluespec, Inc.
George Harper, 781-250-2207
george.harper@bluespec.com
or
Novas Software, Inc.
Rob van Blommestein, 408-467-7872
rob@novas.com
or
SHIFT Communications
Lynne Cavanaugh, 617-681-1233
lynne@shiftcomm.com
|
|
|