Verilog-2005 PLI 2.0 with SystemVerilog DPI

Workshop Highlights

• 3-day intensive workshop, with 50% lecture and 50% lab
• Developing portable PLI programs which interact with all Verilog simulators
• Comprehensive coverage of the PLI VPI library
• Using the new SystemVerilog Direct Programming Interface (DPI)

Overview

The Verilog Programming Language Interface (PLI) is an important part of Verilog design. The PLI provides designers a means to extend the Verilog language, and to customize Verilog software tools to perform specific verification tasks. A basic premise of the creators of Verilog was to keep the Verilog language directly related to hardware design, and to provide a procedural interface (the PLI) as a means to tie verification and abstract modeling tasks into a Verilog simulation.

Verilog-2005 PLI 2.0 with SystemVerilog DPI workshop is a comprehensive workshop on the IEEE 1364-2005 Verilog Programming Language Interface standard. Students learn how to write PLI applications to extend the capabilities of Verilog software tools by reading test vector files, analyzing design characteristics, verifying test coverage, and interfacing to Bus Functional C models. Emphasis is placed on writing PLI applications that are portable to a variety of Verilog simulators. The new SystemVerilog Direct Programming Interface (DPI) is also presented, along with information on when the DPI is the best choice and when the VPI is the best choice for a given application. Several labs reinforce the principles presented in the class. About fifty percent of class time is devoted to hands on experience writing several useful PLI applications. A comprehensive student guide and valuable Verilog PLI Quick Reference Guide are included with the course materials.

Workshop Objective

At the completion of this advanced workshop, students will be able to use the Verilog PLI to extend the capabilities of Verilog simulators for a wide variety applications.

Intended Audience

Verilog-2005 PLI 2.0 with SystemVerilog DPI workshop is for software and hardware engineers who will be writing or maintaining PLI applications.

Related Workshops:

Sutherland HDL also offers an advanced 2 day workshop covering the Advanced Verilog-2001 PLI 1.0 Workshop.

The 2-day Verilog-2001 PLI 1.0 and the 3-day Verilog-2005 PLI 2.0 workshops can be combined into a single 4-day workshop.

The "PLI 1.0" standard is the original procedural interface for Verilog. This original PLI standard is implemented in every major Verilog simulator and is used in many existing commercial and "in-house" PLI applications. The material presented enables engineers to write and maintain PLI applications that are portable to all major Verilog simulators. This original PLI was deprecated in the IEEE Verilog-2005 standard, but is still widely used in existing PLI applications.

The "PLI 2.0" standard (officially referred to as the "VPI routines" in the IEEE Verilog PLI standard) is a new procedural interface, which greatly extends the capabilities of the PLI. The VPI standard is the future direction for the PLI, and is only portion of the PLI to support the new features in the Verilog-2001 standard.

Engineers who maintain existing PLI applications, or who use Verilog simulators that do not support the new PLI standard, may wish to enroll in just the PLI 1.0 workshop. Engineers who develop all applications with the new PLI standard, or who are already familiar with the older standard, may enroll in just the PLI 2.0 workshop. Engineers who wish to learn all the ways to use the PLI in Verilog design and verification should enroll in the combined 4 day workshop.

For more information on the differences in the older and newer PLI standards, refer to the "Transitioning to the New PLI Standard" paper presented by Stuart Sutherland at the 1998 International HDL Conference.

Prerequisites (essential)

A basic knowledge of the C programming language is mandatory! All labs involve writing small C programs. A basic knowledge of the Verilog HDL language is also mandatory.

Student Comments

"It's a great workshop! The lab assignments were very helpful to me."

"The thoroughness of the presentation material and quality of the labs was most valuable."

"I can immediately apply what I learned in real-life applications."

Syllabus

Click here to download the full syllabus for all Sutherland HDL workshops (a PDF document).

Workshop Locations

This workshop can be presented on-site, at your facilities. We also offer several public workshops throughout the year, in locations such as San Jose, California; Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas and Boston, Massachusetts.