Tutorial 2 - Introduction to Verilog in Aldec Active-HDL 6.1

Schematic Modules, Verilog Modules, and Test Fixtures

Objectives

This tutorial will introduce the concept of modules that we will use later to construct larger, more complex, components from more primitive ones.  You will use the to the 1-bit full adder you designed in Tutorial #1 and show you how you can use it in as a module in another schematic.  You will connect the full-adder to a test fixture module written in Verilog.  The test fixture will "exercise" the full-adder circuit and verify that it operates properly.  Then, you will replace the schematic module for the full-adder with a Verilog module that implements the same functions.  After completing this tutorial you will know how to:

• Design using modules;
• Test components using test fixtures;
• Use block symbols in Active-HDL; and
  
• Create a Verilog module and test it as well.

Even though this tutorial will show you all you need to know to create basic Verilog modules, you should experiment with Active-HDL on your own. You will find that there are many tools and options that have been left out of this tutorial for the sake of simplicity. By experimenting with these tools on your own, you will become more proficient with Active-HDL, and you may find different methods that better suit your style, while still achieving the same design goals.

Additionally, you should visit the Active-HDL Tips web page for help (it is linked from the Hardware Lab’s homepage under “Help/Technical Tips/Aldec Active-HDL”). This web page will be updated periodically with new hints and tips based on input from students and faculty who use the Active-HDL tools. We encourage you to review this web page and email any suggestions/tips of your own to the Hardware Lab manager or your instructor.

Start Active-HDL

1. Open Active-HDL.
2. Select the “Open existing workspace” option and select your workspace from Tutorial #1 in the window, or click the “More…” button to attach and open it (Figure 1).

Figure 1

3.  Click OK.

* If you have forgotten how to use the “More…” button refer back to Tutorial #1 for directions.

Test Fixtures

What is a test fixture? Test fixtures are used to test and/or simulate a design or a component of a design. A test fixture is usually generated in Verilog because we don't want to bother generating logic. We are interested only in its functionality, namely, to drive the input signals of a circuit we want to check and sample the outputs to verify they are correct. We are particularly interested in “self-checking” test fixtures that check the outputs and report an error automatically so that we don’t have to look at the waveforms.

Note:  For this tutorial, the test fixtures are provided.  In later assignments, you'll have to write your own.  Make sure to take some time to read through the Verilog code of the text fixture.

Before using components as part of other components, you should test them, just like you test procedures before using them in programming. In Tutorial #1, you used a simulation and a waveform to verify your 1-bit full adder. Test fixtures will not eliminate the need to use the debugging skills you learned in the first tutorial, but they will make verifying the correctness of a design faster and simpler. This is accomplished by the test fixture’s ability to send messages to the Console in addition to producing waveforms.

At some point, when you have learned Verilog a bit better, you will be writing your own test fixtures.  For this tutorial, we will provide you with a test fixture file to test your design. (It’s pretty easy to follow these examples to generate your own Verilog text fixtures.)  The code provided will test a number of cases and print a series of messages to help you find errors, if any. These messages will be printed to the Console and a text file.

1. You will need to add the following a file to your design: FA_tf.v (this test fixture tests a 1-bit full adder).  Download this file and place it in a folder you'll remember (e.g., a personal folder).
   
2. Double-click “Add New File” in the Design Browser.Now, click the “Add Existing File” button.
3. Navigate to the class folder, which contains these files, click the “Make local copy” box, and add the test fixture for the full adder (see Figure 2 on the following page). Notice it is added to the design hierarchy in the Design Browser. We use the naming convention: <design name>_tf.v to name test fixtures so that it is easy to associate test fixtures with the components they test. If you choose different names for your full adder, make sure you rename these test fixtures by right-clicking the file in the Design Browser.

Figure 2

4. Double-click the test fixture in the Design Browser to open this file in the main window.
5. You do not need to understand the code completely, but read through the code and try to understand what it is doing and why it is doing it. Figure 3 (on the following page) shows the code for the full adder test fixture with areas of interest circled in red. If you renamed the file, change the title and the module name to reflect this change. (Optional) This test fixture prints its results to a file as well as the Console by using the “$fopen()” statement. You may change the name of the text file that the test fixture prints to by changing the name in the parameter of the fopen statement (see Figure 3). Once you have familiarized yourself with the code, save it and then compile it. If you choose to modify this file, save the file after each modification, and recompile it after you have saved it.
   

Figure 3

Block Symbols 

Active-HDL can create block symbols from your compiled schematic designs and Verilog source code files in the Symbols Toolbox. We will create block symbols for the full adder you designed earlier and the full adder test fixture. This portion of the tutorial will walk you through placing a block symbol for the full adder into a new schematic and connecting it to a test fixture to ensure that it functions properly.

1. Add a new empty block diagram file called: <design name>_test. Do this by double-clicking “Add New File” in the Design Browser, select the “Block Diagram” option under the Empty Files tab, and enter the name in the “Name” field. Then, click OK. Remember to reset the design’s target HDL.
2. Open the Symbols Toolbox. Find the name of your design, and expand your design’s part list. You should see a “Units without symbols” list. Expand it and find the name of your full adder schematic. Select it, and notice that a block symbol appears in the bottom window of the Symbols Toolbox. Add this part to your schematic and notice that this component no longer appears in the “Units without symbols” list.
3. Repeat step 2 to add the symbol for full adder test fixture to the schematic.
4. You can edit block symbols by right clicking the part in the schematic and selecting the “Edit” option. (Note: if this option is not available, save, close, and reopen the file and try again.) While in edit mode, you can drag the pins to a new position within the symbol. Clicking outside of the part will end the edit session, and you will be prompted to save your changes.
5. The test fixture will drive the input signals of the full adder and test the full adder’s outputs. Connect the two units using wires. The outputs of the test fixture connect to the corresponding inputs of the full adder, and the inputs of the test fixture connect to the corresponding outputs of the full adder (Figure 4).

Figure 4

6. Now that the units are connected, save, run the check diagram tool, and compile the test schematic.
7. Set the test schematic as the top level, close any waveforms, initialize a simulation, and run the simulation for 80 ns. If you have forgotten how to do any of these steps, refer to Tutorial #1.
8. The Console, along with a text file, will contain the results of the simulation. If all eight cases passed, end the simulation, and continue with the tutorial. If not, there may be some problems with your full adder (see Tutorial #1 for examples on how to debug your design).

The correct way to design is to write a test fixture for every component you design.  If you change the design, all you have to do is re-run the test fixture to make sure you have not introduced new errors.  As a practical matter, we typically write test fixtures only when the components get reasonably complicated.  Whether we would write a test fixture for a full adder is mostly a matter of how optimistic we are.  It is best to assume that you are going to make mistakes, and the sooner you find them, the easier your life is going to be. Additionally, test fixtures come in handy just to drive signals for a waveform simulation. Imagine a more complicated design with several multi-bit signals. Explicitly setting stimulators for each bit (which is what you would have to do using stimulators) is time consuming and can make simulating a design more difficult.

Simulate your design and make sure that your full-adder circuit checks out, that is, that the test fixture prints messages that indicate every test passed.

Creating a Verilog Module

Now we'll turn to creating a Verilog module.  It will implement exactly the same functionality as the full-adder schematic, but do so using Boolean expressions rather than gates.

1. Add a new Verilog file to the design. To do this double-click on the “Add New File” in the Design Browser, then select the “Wizards” tab, and click on the “Verilog Source Code Wizard”. Then, click OK.

Figure 5

2. In the New Source File Wizard, make sure that the box is checked next to the “Add the generated file to the design” option. Click the Next button. Note: this window is not shown.

3. In the “Type the name of the source file to create” field, enter the name of your verilog file using a descriptive name. You must try to keep them distinct so as not to confuse both you and the tool.  Do not use the same name that you named your design or workspace. Also, do not fill in the name of the module; leave this field blank. Active-HDL will use the source files name for the module by default. This just makes it easier for everyone to keeps things straight.  Click the Next button (Figure 6).

Figure 6

4. The next window that opens is where you add your input and output ports. These are the inputs and outputs of your module. To add ports, click the “New” button (see Figure 7). Choose whether you want an input or output port by clicking the desired radio button located under the “Port Direction” heading.  In the “Name” field, type the name of the port. We will only be using 1-bit ports, so ignore the “Array Indexes” fields for now. Your screen should look like Figure 7. If so, then click the Finish button.

Figure 7

5. Aldec will open a Verilog file with the module, inputs, outputs, and wires already declared (see Figure 8). Locate the section of the file that contains the comment: ” // -- Enter your statements here -- //”.  In this area you will insert the code to give CO and S its value. The code should contain an assign statement along with the AND operator ( “&” ), OR operator (“|”), and the NOT operator (“~”). Below is an example line of code where X, Y, Z are inputs and W is an output:  "assign W = ( Y & Z ) | ( X & ~ Z);"

Figure 8

6. Save and compile your verilog module. As in tutorial #1, a green checkmark should appear in Design Browser next to your Verilog module if it successfully compiles and a red “x” will appear if problems occur.
   

7. To verify your Verilog module follow the same procedure as above with the test fixture, by substituting the full adder schematic with your new Verilog module. First, Open the Symbols Toolbox and find the name of your design to expand your design’s part list. You should see a “Units without symbols” list. Expand it and find the name of your Verilog full adder. Select it, and notice that a block symbol appears in the bottom window of the Symbols Toolbox. Add this part to your schematic by dragging the symbol from the bottom window. Notice that this component no longer appears in the “Units without symbols” list after it has been added to the schematic once.

Concluding Remarks

You should now understand how to design your own schematic and Verilog combinational logic modules.  You should also have a sense for what a test fixture does and the kind of Verilog code that goes into these testing modules.  Continue to experiment with Active-HDL, and begin to read and try to understand the Verilog code we provided you with for this tutorial.

Remember to check with the Active-HDL Tips webpage for helpful information on known bugs and shortcuts. Additionally, we would appreciate your suggestions for improvements/additions to the tutorials and the Active-HDL Tips webpage. Email your comments to your instructor or the Hardware Lab manager.

*Remember to visit the UW CSE Active-HDL Tips web page for hints and tips.