Virtuoso SystemVerilog errors

Hi,

1. For working with packages, you can use HDL Package setup. It is a very neat way of working with packages in Virtuoso. You can can find a working example here:

https://support.cadence.com/apex/ArticleAttachmentPortal?id=a1O3w00000ADvAJEA1&pageName=ArticleContent

2. I understand you need -incdir to locate the files during check&save. You can add the below to hdl.var:

DEFINE XRUNOPTS -incdir /path/to/directory1 -incdir /dir2/..

3. always @(*) greys out the code in Virtuoso text editor, but the code compiles and syntax errors (if any) are caught as well. You can use @( * ) instead to avoid the auto-formatting.

Regards,
Saloni

Hi Saloni,

thanks for the quick and crisp answers.

I tried your proposals, but still I am not able to "check&save" properly. 

I do have some follow up questions:

ERROR-1: Do you know where I can get the "cmath" from ?  I assume it is somewhere located in the XCELIUM installation folder / shared libs. I need to include it and want to use either "hdl.var" or the HDL package setup. 

I found that in "hdl.var" there is an line "DEFINE XRUNOPTS -pgksearch .... " -  can this be used as well for package inclusion ?

An example would be appreciated.

ERROR-2: I tested various pathes in "hdl.var", but none of them was successfull. 

`include "tbObjPkg.sv"   <-- this does not work with "hdl.var" -incdir added to XRUNOPTS  or  XMVLOGOPTS

1. Will changes in "hdl.var" be visible to the Cadence texteditor immediately, or do I need to reload "hdl.var"  somehow or restart Cadence to get the changes applied ?

2. As in the original code it is stated "import tbObjPkg::*;" this would mean the comlete package is imported - is this equivalent to "'include "tbObjPkg.sv" - as this "include" would also add the comlete file during compilation ?

ERROR-3:  I just found that /*AUTOSENSE*/ throws an syntax error as well.: "Error: illegal expression primary [4.2(IEEE)]. 

It appears that /*AUTOSENSE*/ is not Verilog Standard, but instead is a texteditor (emacs) feature only ?

The problem with * and /*AUTOSENSE*/ is, that without any error-free "check&save" I will not be able to auto-generate a symbol view from the SV view.

Any further ideas are very welcome.

Hi,

I think it'll be much easier to resolve your setup issues if you worked with a local AE. Please contact Cadence customer support.

I'll try to answer some of your questions here:

1. DEFINE XRUNOPTS -pkgsearch should work as well, but HDL package setup makes working with packages much easier.

2. You are creating your own package called 'cmath', so are you asking if we ship something similar? We don't provide one in the installation, but the AE you work with can provide you a broader list of math DPI functions you can put in your math package (like cmath).

3. hdl.var will be read automatically an active IC session, so you don't need to re-start. If you've added DEFINE XMVLOGOPTS -incdir, it should reflect in the xmvlog log file generated when you run check and save.

4. The difference between `include and import comes from the language and you can find a lot of information if you search this on Google. `include inserts (like copy and paste) the code, while import is used to make all/selected contents from a package visible. 

5. I may not have completely understood what AUTOSENS does, but in Virtuoso text editor (* is seen as an attribute, hence the graying. But this is only a display behaviour and I will speak to R&D about fixing this. The compiler does not see @(*) as an error. Instead of (*), you can write (  *  ) i.e. put white space characters before and after *, then nothing will be grayed out in Virtuoso.

Regards,

Saloni

Hi,

I think it'll be much easier to resolve your setup issues if you worked with a local AE. Please contact Cadence customer support.

I'll try to answer some of your questions here:

1. DEFINE XRUNOPTS -pkgsearch should work as well, but HDL package setup makes working with packages much easier.

2. You are creating your own package called 'cmath', so are you asking if we ship something similar? We don't provide one in the installation, but the AE you work with can provide you a broader list of math DPI functions you can put in your math package (like cmath).

3. hdl.var will be read automatically an active IC session, so you don't need to re-start. If you've added DEFINE XMVLOGOPTS -incdir, it should reflect in the xmvlog log file generated when you run check and save.

4. The difference between `include and import comes from the language and you can find a lot of information if you search this on Google. `include inserts (like copy and paste) the code, while import is used to make all/selected contents from a package visible. 

5. I may not have completely understood what AUTOSENS does, but in Virtuoso text editor (* is seen as an attribute, hence the graying. But this is only a display behaviour and I will speak to R&D about fixing this. The compiler does not see @(*) as an error. Instead of (*), you can write (  *  ) i.e. put white space characters before and after *, then nothing will be grayed out in Virtuoso.

Regards,

Saloni

Hi Saloni,

I opened a ticket at the Cadence support for this issues.

I already found that the HDL Package Setup allows me to specifiy files to be included and I am wondering if complete folders can also be added as a searchpath.

I hope to get feedback soon from an AE, but in the meantime I found another issue, and maybe you have an idea:

78 typedef class sigmadelta;   <-- Error: The class specified was never delcared.  but as you see, it is declared later on line 908.

....

908 class sigmadelta;

909        real analogIn;

Any idea why the editor does not find the class definition ?

That's because you have a typo - line 78 says 'sigmadelta' , while line 908 says 'signamdelta'.

Hi Saloni,

that was a typo only in this forum text - it is correct inside the code.

I found that the text-editor (maybe even xcelium) only finds the class declaration if it is located within the "module/endmodule" definition.

If the class definition is outside the module-definition, but inside the same file, it will not find the class declaration.

If the class-definition is in another file, which is included via the "include" statement, it also does not find the class declaration (even if the respective file is correctly listed in the AMS-IncludeOptions-FileList).

All these things are no issue if the code is executed within questasim and I assume this is all according to the systemVerilog standard.

I am wondering how to convice the Cadence Virtuoso/Xcelium environment to accept such a code-structure ?

The above mentioned /*AUTOSENSE*/ commands are Emacs features and will not apply to any systemVerilog standard. Was a misunderstanding from my side.

Here's an example code that compiles fine for me in Virtuoso Text Editor - can you check if this works for you? And does this represent what you are trying to do? 

//systemVerilog HDL for "testLib_ams", "typedef_class" "systemVerilog"

typedef class c2;
//class-1
class c1;
c2 c;     //using class c2 handle before declaring it.
endclass

//class-2
class c2;
c1 c;
endclass

module typedef_class;
initial begin
c1 class1;
c2 class2;
$display("Inside typedef_class");
end
endmodule

Not exaclty the code I mean, but referring to your example, this works:

module typedef_class;
typedef class c1;
c1 class1;
class c1;
endclass
endmodule

This does not work:

module typedef_class;
typedef class c1;
c1 class1;
endmodule

class c1;
endclass

It complains that the class declaration is outside of the module.

Thanks for the code, the error comes from Xcelium (not Virtuoso). Let me see if I can get more information on this.

According to the XCELIUM AGILE SystemVerilog reference manual, the classes cannot be declared globally (yet).

See under "Classes-Declaring a Class datatype" (why is there no chapter number given in the manual ?) !

I see this as a significant limitation for code-compatibility between tools for SystemVerilog.

One more thing is, that the SV code uses " 'include " statements, which I do not find in the Cadence SystemVerilog reference manual under "Compiler Directives" or any other chapter.

But I think it is a standard thing to use.  

Do you have a reference where "  'include  " is used and documented ?

I can see chapter numbers in SV reference guide (Classes are in Chapter 9). 

But I think at this point, it's best you contact Cadence Customer Support to get more information on working with Classes.

Regards,
Saloni