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".]
