Release Notes for Snapshot 20020828
This snapshot adds support for parameter and localparam bit
ranges. This is a IEEE1364-2001 feature, although some -1995 compilers
have supported it in the past.
Fixed a *nasty* and slippery bug with the evaluation of bit select of
nets. (Bit select of variables was unaffected.) The symptoms did not
clearly point to the problem, so bugs related to it were often mis-
reported.
Gate delays were lost when constants were propagated to their
inputs. This is fixed for the known broken cases. Also, mux output
delays have been fixed. Also, release statements that apply to elided
nets are turned into no-ops.
The r-values of non-blocking assignments are now precalculated at
compile time, if possible, as is done with blocking assignments. This
speeds up constant propagation, and is more thorough.
Also optimize subtraction of small constants from vectors, with the
new %subi instruction in vvp. This saves some in code size and thread
footprint.
Handling of x in r-value bit selects and memory word selects did the
wrong thing. Now they do the right thing. Also, x in the selector of
?: ternary operators does the right (and complicated) thing now. In
the process, a fork-join code generator bug was fixed.
Several bugs with time formatting have been fixed.
Temporaries in sequential blocks are detected by the synthesizer, and
converted into wires when needed. This expands support for
combinational logic synthesis.
and if that doesn't exist look for /usr/libexec/cpp0. While here,
use ${X11BASE}/include instead of /usr/X11R6/include.
Should fix recently noted bulk build problems on 1.6 systems.
bug fixes: A couple of apertures drawn wrong has been fixed, like
lines with square apertures and rotation of aperture macro primitive 4.
new features: Zoom outline and the measurement tools. You can also export
the image as PNG,
Remove `-p' from mkdir arguments, it is already part of ${MKDIR}.
While here substitute a couple of ${PREFIX} by `%D' in
`@exec ${MKDIR} ...' lines and add a couple of missing `%D' in such lines too!
files. In addition sinclude the files 'site-config.inc',
'user-config.inc', and 'proj-config.inc' to allow for per-site, per-user,
and per-project configuration instead of only per-site configuration.
This is essential for use by non-sysadmin users and users who need to
keep project specific setups.
- remove all compiler warnings on alpha
- add ${PKG_SYSCONFDIR}/pcb/local.inc where admins can list site specific
libraries to be included instead of modifying one of the regularly
installed/deinstalled files. This way a local config is preserved when
the pkg is upgraded. Also a local config can be applied without modifying
one of the files which is checksummed during the install.
points to the magic installation. This avoids possible conflicts with
some other UCB tools which use CAD_HOME. Noted in private email from
Daniel Senderowitz.
Graphical quirks fixed are:
- zooming around the mouse pointer.
- zooming several steps at once goes much faster. No calculation and
redrawing in each zoom step, but in the last step.
When you click with the left mouse button on a layer button you
get a popup menu with color selection, load file and unload file.
That is on a "per layer-basis". The "global" "Open File..." menu is
removed in favor for this.
many improvements and bug fixes since the last packaged snapshot including:
-added the $sizeof system function as a builtin
-In VPI, the simulator event callbacks now work
-Concatenation expressions in parameters were broken are broken
-added the vpiModule iterator to VPI scope handles
Magic is an interactive system for creating and modifying VLSI circuit
layouts. With Magic, you use a color graphics display and a mouse or
graphics tablet to design basic cells and to combine them
hierarchically into large structures. Magic is different from other
layout editors you may have used. The most important difference is
that Magic is more than just a color painting tool: it understands
quite a bit about the nature of circuits and uses this information to
provide you with additional operations. For example, Magic has
built-in knowledge of layout rules; as you are editing, it
continuously checks for rule violations. Magic also knows about
connectivity and transistors, and contains a built-in hierarchical
circuit extractor. Magic also has a plow operation that
you can use to stretch or compact cells. Lastly, Magic has routing
tools that you can use to make the global interconnections in your
circuits.
Magic is based on the Mead-Conway style of design. This means that it
uses simplified design rules and circuit structures. The
simplifications make it easier for you to design circuits and permit
Magic to provide powerful assistance that would not be possible
otherwise. However, they result in slightly less dense circuits than
you could get with more complex rules and structures. For example,
Magic permits only Manhattan designs (those whose edges are vertical
or horizontal).
The most significant changes are the BJT model and "binning".
New features:
1. BJT model.
2. "Binning" for all MOS models.
3. Internal element: non-quasi-static poly-capacitor. (needed by BJT).
4. Enhancements to the data structures and model compiler to support
binning in general.
5. A line prefixed by "*>" is not ignored, in spite of the fact that
"*" usually begins a comment. This is a deliberate incompatibility
with Spice. If you prefix a line by "*>" it will be interpreted as a
non-comment in Gnucap, but a comment in Spice.
6. Circuit line prefixes of ">" and command prefixes of "-->" are
ignored. This is so you can copy and paste whole lines, without
having to manually remove the prompt string.
Changes that may or may not be improvements.
1. It is not the default to include stray resistance in device models.
The option "norstray" will revert to the old behavior. This is only a
change to the default value of "rstray".
Significant internal changes:
1. The internal element non-quasi-static poly-capacitor actually
works. It is used by the BJT model, and will eventually be used by
MOSFET models.
2. There are now two poly_g devices: "CPOLY_G" and "FPOLY_G". There
are interface differences that impact modeling. Previously, there was
only one, which is equivalent to the "FPOLY_G".
Release Notes for snapshot 20020317
The first difference in this snapshot from the 0.6 release is that vvm
is no longer compiled by default. If you want to compile vvm, you must
enable it at configure time (--enable-vvm) and rebuild from
scratch. Eventually, vvm will disappear from the release altogether.
The next major difference is new support for user defined
functions. It is new support, so it is bound to be buggy, but it
should be somewhat complete. The major problem has been solved, so all
that remains are bugs around the edges.
The vvp run-time scheduler has been changed slightly. The run time
behavior is getting increasingly precise and picky, as larger designs
are thrown at the compiler. The change introduced in this snapshot
fixes logic gates to not propagate zero-time pulses, and thus fixes
some weird bugs in large designs.
I've also added initial support for the Verilog 200x pragma comment,
which are (* *) pairs. For now, the compiler ignores them as
comments. This is what a compiler is supposed to do with anything that
is not specifically recognized.
Also, Tony (Anthony Bybell) has added LXT dump support. The LXT output
file is a waveform output format that is much more compact then VCD.
The gtkwave waveform viewer supports the LXT format, and should
operate a bit faster when viewing LXT files. For now, there are
separate system tasks for managing LXT output ($lxt_dumpvars, etc) but
eventually the dump format will be selectable by environment variable
or command line switch.
This snapshot also includes various random bug fixes and improved
error messages for incorrect code.
all dependencies on packages depending on "png" which contain shared
libraries, all for the (imminent) update to the "png" package.
[List courtesy of John Darrow, courtesy of "bulk-build".]
------
Atlc is a finite difference programme that is used to calculate the
properties of a two-conductor electrical transmission line of
arbitrary cross section. It is used whenever there are no analytical
formula known, yet you still require an answer. It can calculate:
The impedance Zo (in Ohms)
The capacitance per unit length (pF/m)
The inductance per unit length (nF/m)
The velocity of propogation v (m/s)
The velocity factor, v/c, which is dimensionless.
A bitmap file (usually with the extension .bmp or .BMP) of the cross
section of the transmission line is drawn in a graphics package such
as The Gimp and then analyzed using Atlc.
-----
Electric is a sophisticated electrical CAD system that can handle
many forms of circuit design, including:
Custom IC layout (ASICs), Schematic drawing, Hardware description
language specifications, Electro-mechanical hybrid layout
Electric has these CAD operations:
Design rule checking (3 options), Electrical rule checking,
Simulation and simulation interface (12 options), Generation (3 options),
Compaction, Compensation, Routing (4 options), VHDL compilation,
Silicon compilation, Network consistency checking (LVS),
Logical Effort analysis, Project Management
Electric handles these types of design:
MOS (6 CMOS variations, 1 nMOS variation), Bipolar and BiCMOS,
Schematics and printed circuits, Digital filters, Temporal logic, Artwork
Electric handles these file formats:
CIF I/O, GDS I/O, EDIF I/O, DXF I/O, SDF Input,
SUE Input, VHDL I/O, Verilog Output, EAGLE, PADS, and ECAD Output,
PostScript, HPGL, and QuickDraw output
only emit a message and don't actually fetch anything. This allows
us to make the output of "fetch-list" for these packages consistent
with other packages.
While we're in here, integrate DYNAMIC_MASTER_SITES with the
${ORDERED_SITES} macro. The only functional change here is that
${MASTER_SITE_OVERRIDE} is now respected. Still to do -- something
appropriate for "fetch-list" for these packages, like sourcing
"getsites.sh" into the generated script. (Well, "package", but there
are two others that do something similar in their "Makefile".)
Also eliminate the misbegotten _FETCH_ALLFILES macro -- now that only
"fetch" uses it, move it's functionality directly under "do-fetch".
* Don't declare a bunch of extern functions that are already declared by
system headers on NetBSD.
XXX This change may be incorrect for non-current systems.
Summary of changes:
- removal of USE_GTEXINFO
- addition of mk/texinfo.mk
- inclusion of this file in package Makefiles requiring it
- `install-info' substituted by `${INSTALL_INFO}' in PLISTs
- tuning of mk/bsd.pkg.mk:
removal of USE_GTEXINFO
INSTALL_INFO added to PLIST_SUBST
`${INSTALL_INFO}' replace `install-info' in target rules
print-PLIST target now generate `${INSTALL_INFO}' instead of `install-info'
- a couple of new patch files added for a handful of packages
- setting of the TEXINFO_OVERRIDE "switch" in packages Makefiles requiring it
- devel/cssc marked requiring texinfo 4.0
- a couple of packages Makefiles were tuned with respect of INFO_FILES and
makeinfo command usage
See -newly added by this commit- section 10.24 of Packages.txt for
further information.
Changes in Dinotrace 9.1g 01/24/2002
*** Reread all traces on receiving a USR1 signal. [Uwe Bonnes]
**** Allow value searches on one-bit signals. [Vitaly Oratovsky]
Changes in Dinotrace 9.1f 01/08/2002
*** Let right button terminate Zoom click. [Uwe Bonnes]
**** Fixed Emacs 21.0 incompatibility with back-annotation.
**** Hacked around bug causing window manager crash when
using Examine inside Zoom. [Uwe Bonnes]
* Changes in Dinotrace 9.1e 11/16/2001
*** Allow 1-bit wide signals to have statenames. [Dominik Strasser]
*** Eliminate common prefix from postscript dumps. [Dominik Strasser]
*** Show count of posedges and negedges in value examine.
WHAT'S NEW SINCE 0.5?
Quite a lot. Innumerable bugs have been fixed, and standards coverage
has been improved significantly. Warning and error messages have been
improved, and so has compile performance. Gate delays, strength
modeling, and floating point delays have all improved since the 0.5
release. If you had trouble with the 0.5 release, the 0.6 release
probably fixes your problem.
Support for large designs spanning multiple files has been improved
dramatically. The usual preprocessor inclusion method still works, but
The 0.6 release adds command files for keeping source file lists, and
automatic library searches for missing modules. The library mechinisms
are compatible with commercial tools, and commercial module libraries
can be used with Icarus Verilog.
Many compiler limitations related to the size and complexity of large
designs have been relaxed or eliminated. There are no known design
size limitations remaining in the compiler. Icarus Verilog should be
able to handle any design that you have the patience to compile.
