Refactoring in the DVT Eclipse IDE - Expand Wildcard Port Connections, Convert Named/Positional

Overview

This video shows how you can easily refactor module instance port connections in DVT: expand wildcard (.*) connections, convert between named connections and positional (ordered) connections.

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Details

In DVT, you can easily convert between different styles of instance port connections: wildcard connections, explicitly named connections, and positional connections.

Converting Wildcard Port Connections

To expand wildcard port connections:

  1. Place the editor cursor on an instance that uses wildcard connection syntax.
  2. Press Ctrl+1.
  3. Select Expand Dot Star Connections.
  4. Press Enter.

Converting Named to Ordered Port Connections

To convert an instance from named to ordered port connections:

  1. Press Ctrl+1.
  2. Choose Connect Instance Ports by Position.

Using the Positional Tooltip

To get more information when inspecting ordered port connections, you can use the positional tooltip:

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Space.
  2. Move the editor cursor through the ordered list of signals to find out to which port they are connected.

Converting Ordered Connections to Named Connections

To convert ordered connections to named connections:

  1. Press Ctrl+1.
  2. Choose Connect Instance Ports by Name.

Refactoring Operations via Context Menu

All these refactoring operations can also be triggered from the editor's context menu Refactor.