Low Power Format Support in the DVT Eclipse IDE

Overview

DVT compiles UPF/CPF files and elaborates power domains.

Power domains specific information is presented in design hierarchies, diagrams, breadcrumb navigation bars, tooltips and inspect views.

Any changes in the design or the upf / cpf files are incrementally analyzed, errors are flagged on the fly, the power domain model is automatically updated and presented in the DVT Eclipse IDE GUI.

This video walks you trough the steps required to enable power format for your DVT project, and shows you how to use the aforementioned features.

Explore the design and verification tools: https://www.dvteclipse.com
Or request a license: https://www.dvteclipse.com/request-license

Details

Introduction

To work with low power languages like UPF or CPF in DVT, first enable the power format nature of your design project, either from the File -> New -> DVT Project wizard, or by right-clicking on an existing project, then selecting Change DVT Nature.

Once the nature is enabled, during the build process, DVT will analyze the power format files specified in the project's build configuration.

TCL and power domain errors are detected and reported during this phase in the Console, as markers on the left side of the editor, in the Problems View, and as file decorations.

Navigating and Visualizing Power Domains

  • You can use Hyperlinks to track sourced power format files, and dedicated syntax coloring makes power format-specific commands easier to follow.

  • In the Design Hierarchy View, the text of instance labels starts with the power domain name. DVT assigns a unique color for each power domain, so you can identify the domain of a design instance at a glance. Right-click on an instance and select "Show PD Definition" to open its power domain definition.

  • Design Diagrams are another powerful tool for power domain visualization.
  • Breadcrumb Navigation Bar is also enriched with power domain information.

Note: To get access to power domain information when editing design files, use Tooltips or the Inspect View.

Note: Your changes in power format files or design files are analyzed by DVT in real-time. Notice that errors and power domain information are instantly updated.