( ESNUG 441 Item 5 ) -------------------------------------------- [03/09/05]
Subject: ( ESNUG 440 #4 ) Jasper Follows Up On The JasperGold 2.0 Review
> When they find a false proof, you can get a nice trace. Their current
> GUI is a little weak. It's Tcl/java based. Not the prettiest looking
> but gets the job done. They are developing a new GUI though.
>
> You start at the end result and work backwards. You can click and get
> all signals that are part of the fanin for a signal, or you can source
> browse with a "why" button that shows why the value is that way.
>
> - Kevin Normoyle
> Azul Systems, Inc. Mountain View, CA
From: Craig Cochran <craig=user domain=jasper-da spot calm>
Hi John,
I just wanted to follow up on Kevin Normoyle's review of JasperGold with a
few updates, since his original posting was based on v2.0 and before the
major JasperGold 3.0 release last June. (Since the original posting, Kevin
has used v3.0 for quite some time and is very happy with it).
First, Kevin mentioned that the old GUI was a little weak, and said that we
were working on a new GUI. In fact, in v3.0 the GUI was completely
rewritten and is quite user-friendly and powerful, particularly in the trace
and source debug windows and the interaction between them. In addition, v3.1
added greatly improved handling of property management.
> The trace is color coded. You can tell which signals are not critical
> to the false proof, and which ones are just assumptions. The red signals
> are the key ones. They may not be possible. You look around for red ones
> that might be wrong, and click on them to "justify". The Jasper tool then
> follows that path and makes sure it's legal.
>
> I find I create a manual list of flops to "justify" as part of my script.
> It reminds me of the early days of using dc_shell. People lived with doing
> a bunch of support work, because the results were worth it. Once I get my
> manual list for a area of logic, I find I don't have to do much interactive
> clicking.
Kevin also mentioned that, in v2.0, he created a manual list of flops to
"justify". This is now fully automated in v3.X, although the capability to
do it manually is still available. The justification process has also been
greatly automated for the user. Also, regarding handling of memories, in
v2.0 these were automatically block-boxed. JasperGold v3.X now has the
capability to automatically abstract memories, or employ a user-defined
abstraction, and of course the black-box option remains.
I'd also add the JasperGold v3.1 now supports VHDL in addition to Verilog.
- Craig Cochran
Jasper Design Automation Mountain View, CA
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