Writing Testbenches

In the second edition of Writing Testbenches, Bergeron raises the verification level of abstraction by introducing coverage-driven constrained-random transaction-level self-checking testbenches­ all made possible through the introduction of hardware verification languages (HVLs), such as e from Verisity and OpenVera from Synopsys. This second edition presents the most up-to-date verification techniques to produce fully functional first silicon ASICs, systems-on-a-chip (SoC), boards and entire systems. Topics included are: discussions on openvera and e; approaches for writing constrainable random stimulus generators; strategies for making testbenches self-checking; a clear blueprint of a verification process that aims for first time success; recent advances in functional verification such as coverage-driven verification process; VHDL and Verilog language semantics; the semantics are presented in new verification-oriented languages; techniques for applying stimulus and monitoring the response of a design; behavioural modelling using non-synthesizeable constructs and coding style; and updated for Verilog 2001.