I have an evaluation copy of Active-HDL, and am
having
some (presumably) newbie issues with it.

I went through their VHDL tutorial, but it has all sorts
of visual editors in the flow that I'm not interested in.
I tried importing my Modelsim XE project, and that
sort of worked, but it didn't convert my "do" file.

Could anybody point me to a simple "do" file that will
compile a vhdl test bench, the UUT and a few supporting
files, open a waveform window and add the signal
configuration to the window, fire up the sim, and run
for a period specified in the file. Can I do this without
messing about with workspaces and projects?

I really like the looks of the interface, and the speed,
but I seem to have a minor issue with analog displays.
I can select a single bus, and allow the software to
determine the range for analog display, but when I try
doing this on multiple busses, the software comes up
with a ridiculously high gain and clips the waveforms.
It does this even if all the busses have the same range.

Any suggestions?

Also, is there a more appropriate forum to ask these
sorts of questions? I couldn't find an Active-HDL forum.
I'll try phoning the FAE, but I thought I'd get a head
start by asking here.

Thanks

Pete

On Mon, 8 Mar 2010 07:23:47 -0800, "Pete
Fraser" <p...@covad.net>
wrote:

>I have an evaluation copy of Active-HDL, and am having
>some (presumably) newbie issues with it.
>
>I went through their VHDL tutorial, but it has all sorts
>of visual editors in the flow that I'm not interested in.
>I tried importing my Modelsim XE project, and that
>sort of worked, but it didn't convert my "do" file.
>
>Could anybody point me to a simple "do" file that will
>compile a vhdl test bench, the UUT and a few supporting
>files, open a waveform window and add the signal
>configuration to the window, fire up the sim, and run
>for a period specified in the file. Can I do this without
>messing about with workspaces and projects?
>
Here is a small example, not tested:
---------------------------------------------
set run_time 10us
vlib work
vmap work work
vcom -93 foo.vhd
vsim -t 1ps work.foo
add wave -radix Hexadecimal sim:/foo/*
run $run_time
-----------------------------------------------

For all of this to work, you need a blank workspace file. Last time I
did this, I created an empty workspace and copied it to the new
directory after which you can just use the command-line.

-- 
Muzaffer Kal

DSPIA INC.
ASIC/FPGA Design Services

http://www.dspia.com

Pete Fraser wrote:
> I have an evaluation copy of Active-HDL, and am having
> some (presumably) newbie issues with it.
> 
> I went through their VHDL tutorial, but it has all sorts
> of visual editors in the flow that I'm not interested in.
> I tried importing my Modelsim XE project, and that
> sort of worked, but it didn't convert my "do" file.
> 
> Could anybody point me to a simple "do" file that will
> compile a vhdl test bench, the UUT and a few supporting
> files, open a waveform window and add the signal
> configuration to the window, fire up the sim, and run
> for a period specified in the file. Can I do this without
> messing about with workspaces and projects?
> 

Try something like this

alib lib
amap work lib
acom -dbg file.vhd
acom -dbg file_tb.vhd
asim tb
run -all

#or of course

run 100 ns


If you want to run the commands stand-alone, then you need to put the 
above commands in a tcl file and do:

vsimsa -tcl commands.tcl

vsimsa doesn't allow a gui.

In theory you can launch a similar script with

vsim -gui -tcl "script"

but I can't get that to work.


regards
Alan





-- 
Alan Fitch
Senior Consultant

Doulos – Developing Design Know-how
VHDL * Verilog * SystemVerilog * SystemC * PSL * Perl * Tcl/Tk * Project 
Services

Doulos Ltd. Church Hatch, 22 Marketing Place, Ringwood, Hampshire, BH24 
1AW, UK
Tel:  + 44 (0)1425 471223		Email: a...@doulos.com	
Fax:  +44 (0)1425 471573		http://www.doulos.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This message may contain personal views which are not the views of 
Doulos, unless specifically stated.

Hi Pete,

here's my personal methodology. I don't use workspaces either. Well, I
just use them to set up a reference point, allowing all other source
files, scripts etc. to use relative paths. This way my customers can
install the deliverables anywhere they want. It just works.

1)
In the workspace directory I have a file called 'setup.do' which
contains just this one line.
do ..\..\..\scripts\active_hdl\setup.do

2)
In the above mentioned setup.do file in the scripts directory, I have
something like this
setenv TEST_CASE_ROOT "$DSN\..\..\..\verify\scenarios\vhdl"
setenv TEST_CASE "short_n_long.vhd"

alias compile_test_case {acom -quiet -dbg -work pcie_stimgen_lib
             $TEST_CASE_ROOT\$TEST_CASE;echo "$TEST_CASE compiled"}
alias load_sim {asim -advdataflow pcie_wb_01_tb bhv}
alias make_project {do $DSN\..\..\..\scripts\active_hdl\make_project.do}
alias run_sim {asim -advdataflow +notimingchecks pcie_wb_01_tb bhv;
          do $DSN\..\..\..\scripts\active_hdl\core_waves.do;run -all}


$DSN is a useful variable. It refers to the work-space directory.


3)
core_waves.do looks something like this:

add wave -noreg -logic {/DUT/U2/i_clk_pcie}
add wave -noreg -logic {/DUT/U2/i_rst_n}
add wave -noreg -hexadecimal -literal -unsigned {/DUT/U2/i_cfg_bus_num}
add wave -noreg -hexadecimal -literal -unsigned {/DUT/U2/i_cfg_dev_num}
add wave -noreg -hexadecimal -literal -unsigned {/DUT/U2/i_cfg_func_num}
add wave -noreg -logic {/DUT/U2/i_ctl_en_no_snoop}
add wave -noreg -logic {/DUT/U2/i_ctl_link_disable}


4)
The make_project.do file (aliased to 'make_project' from the console
window) has lines like:

alias VHDL_CC  "acom -quiet -dbg -work $WORKLIB"
alias VLOG_CC  "vlog -quiet -l ovi_ecp2 -l pmi_work -work $WORKLIB"

setenv PROJECT_ROOT  "$DSN\..\..\.."

VLOG_CC -f $PROJECT_ROOT/scripts/active_hdl/verilog.lst

VHDL_CC $PROJECT_ROOT/verify/testbench/packages/vhdl/util_tb-p.vhd
VHDL_CC $PROJECT_ROOT/verify/testbench/packages/vhdl/util_tb-pb.vhd

VHDL_CC $PROJECT_ROOT/impl/top/vhdl/pcie_wb_01-p.vhd
VHDL_CC $PROJECT_ROOT/impl/units/pcie_x1_top/vhdl/pcie_x1_top_sim.vhd
VHDL_CC $PROJECT_ROOT/impl/memories/vhdl/ram_64kx8.vhd
 . . . . .
echo "...done"


5)
In the console, I do the following
- load the workspace
- type in 'do setup.do'
- type in the aliases from 2) as required


I'm not really an activeHDL user. I have their Riviera tool instead. But
some of my customers use activeHDL and need an activeHDL delivery at
project hand-over. I have a few perl/java scripts that automatically
generate most of the above out of my riviera design flow.

I haven't tried the analogue view you are referring to. Try selecting
the menu with right-mouse-button. I think you can set up font size etc.
here.

Pete Fraser schrieb:
> I have an evaluation copy of Active-HDL, and am having
> some (presumably) newbie issues with it.
> 
> I went through their VHDL tutorial, but it has all sorts
> of visual editors in the flow that I'm not interested in.
> I tried importing my Modelsim XE project, and that
> sort of worked, but it didn't convert my "do" file.
> 
> Could anybody point me to a simple "do" file that will
> compile a vhdl test bench, the UUT and a few supporting
> files, open a waveform window and add the signal
> configuration to the window, fire up the sim, and run
> for a period specified in the file. Can I do this without
> messing about with workspaces and projects?
> 
> I really like the looks of the interface, and the speed,
> but I seem to have a minor issue with analog displays.
> I can select a single bus, and allow the software to
> determine the range for analog display, but when I try
> doing this on multiple busses, the software comes up
> with a ridiculously high gain and clips the waveforms.
> It does this even if all the busses have the same range.
> 
> Any suggestions?
> 
> Also, is there a more appropriate forum to ask these
> sorts of questions? I couldn't find an Active-HDL forum.
> I'll try phoning the FAE, but I thought I'd get a head
> start by asking here.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Pete
> 
> 
> 

Thankyou everybody for your help so far.

I seem to be confused by the waveform viewer now.
My typical debug cycle in Modelsim XE uses wave.do.
I will load the sim, run wave.do to bring up the waveforms
I'm interested in, then run the sim.
If the waveforms point to mistakes I've made, I'll often
want to add a few more waveforms, save the updated
wave.do file, then re-start the sim using the new wave.do.

I can't work out how to do the equivalent in Active-HDL.
My modesim wave.do seems to work in Aldec, but I can't
see how to save it when I've added waveforms.
I can't even work out how to add waveforms reliably;
sometimes dragging signals from the structure pane to an
existing waveform viewer opens a new viewer window.
I'm also not sure which viewer I'm using (advanced or standard),
or how I control that. Sometimes the title bar says
"untitled.awc", and sometimes "untitled.asdb".

Help, I haven't felt this clueless in a long time.

TIA

Pete 

On Mar 8, 6:10=A0pm, "Pete Fraser"
<pfra...@covad.net> wrote:
> Thankyou everybody for your help so far.
>
> I seem to be confused by the waveform viewer now.
> My typical debug cycle in Modelsim XE uses wave.do.
> I will load the sim, run wave.do to bring up the waveforms
> I'm interested in, then run the sim.
> If the waveforms point to mistakes I've made, I'll often
> want to add a few more waveforms, save the updated
> wave.do file, then re-start the sim using the new wave.do.
>
> I can't work out how to do the equivalent in Active-HDL.
> My modesim wave.do seems to work in Aldec, but I can't
> see how to save it when I've added waveforms.
> I can't even work out how to add waveforms reliably;
> sometimes dragging signals from the structure pane to an
> existing waveform viewer opens a new viewer window.
> I'm also not sure which viewer I'm using (advanced or standard),
> or how I control that. Sometimes the title bar says
> "untitled.awc", and sometimes "untitled.asdb".
>
> Help, I haven't felt this clueless in a long time.

I am told ActiveHDL will use the same .do files that Modelsim uses,
but I don't know how to automatically create them.  I don't know
because I do it without a .do file.  Once you open a waveform window,
you can add whatever signals to it you want by click and drag from the
structure window to the waveform window.  Once you run your simulation
and quit the program it will ask if you want to save the waveform
window. If you say yes, it will save it with all the signals added and
when you bring up this project again those signals will be there.
This saves the signal names as well as the waveform in an .aws file.
If you want to save disk space, you can erase the waveform before
saving it.

I've never had a new window open up from dragging a signal from the
structures pane to the waveform pane.  The title bar of my versions
shows the path of the waveform as an .aws file.  I'm not sure what the
purpose of the .awf is compared to the .aws file.

Rick

On Mar 8, 4:10=A0pm, "Pete Fraser"
<pfra...@covad.net> wrote:
> Thankyou everybody for your help so far.
>
> I seem to be confused by the waveform viewer now.
> My typical debug cycle in Modelsim XE uses wave.do.
> I will load the sim, run wave.do to bring up the waveforms
> I'm interested in, then run the sim.
> If the waveforms point to mistakes I've made, I'll often
> want to add a few more waveforms, save the updated
> wave.do file, then re-start the sim using the new wave.do.
>
> I can't work out how to do the equivalent in Active-HDL.
> My modesim wave.do seems to work in Aldec, but I can't
> see how to save it when I've added waveforms.
> I can't even work out how to add waveforms reliably;
> sometimes dragging signals from the structure pane to an
> existing waveform viewer opens a new viewer window.
> I'm also not sure which viewer I'm using (advanced or standard),
> or how I control that. Sometimes the title bar says
> "untitled.awc", and sometimes "untitled.asdb".
>
> Help, I haven't felt this clueless in a long time.

I had a conversation with Aldec support yesterday about this very
topic.

And I agree -- it's very confusing.

There are two things involved with waveform display:

a) The .asdb is the waveform data database (sorry for the redundancy).
This is a compressed binary that holds all transactions on all signals
in the design (not just what is displayed).

b) The .awc is the "accelerated waveform configuration" file. This is
what the GUI needs to display data in the associated .asdb.

BUT! The above files are really only so you can save a copy of a
simulation run and display it later without re-running the simulation.

What you REALLY want is to do is this. The first time you run your
simulation (after Initialize Simulation), you create a new waveform
window (which will then show the "untitled.awc" in the title bar), and
drag all of the signals of interest into that window.

To save this list of signals for future simulation runs, from the
Waveform window's menu, choose "Waveform -> Save To Macro." This is
akin to the ModelSim menu item "Save Format As ..." and it will create
a macro file with the extension .do and it will be stored, by default,
in the src directory. It will also appear in the current Design in the
Workspace. Once you've created the file, for future simulation runs,
you can right-click on the macro file name in the Design and choose
"Execute" and it will repopulate the waveform display window with your
desired signals.

What this means is that unless you really need to save the simulation
waveforms, you can shitcan both the .asdb and .awc files. All you need
is the macro .do file.

-a

On Mar 9, 2:13=A0pm, Andy Peters
<goo...@latke.net> wrote:
> On Mar 8, 4:10=A0pm, "Pete Fraser" <pfra...@covad.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Thankyou everybody for your help so far.
>
> > I seem to be confused by the waveform viewer now.
> > My typical debug cycle in Modelsim XE uses wave.do.
> > I will load the sim, run wave.do to bring up the waveforms
> > I'm interested in, then run the sim.
> > If the waveforms point to mistakes I've made, I'll often
> > want to add a few more waveforms, save the updated
> > wave.do file, then re-start the sim using the new wave.do.
>
> > I can't work out how to do the equivalent in Active-HDL.
> > My modesim wave.do seems to work in Aldec, but I can't
> > see how to save it when I've added waveforms.
> > I can't even work out how to add waveforms reliably;
> > sometimes dragging signals from the structure pane to an
> > existing waveform viewer opens a new viewer window.
> > I'm also not sure which viewer I'm using (advanced or standard),
> > or how I control that. Sometimes the title bar says
> > "untitled.awc", and sometimes "untitled.asdb".
>
> > Help, I haven't felt this clueless in a long time.
>
> I had a conversation with Aldec support yesterday about this very
> topic.
>
> And I agree -- it's very confusing.
>
> There are two things involved with waveform display:
>
> a) The .asdb is the waveform data database (sorry for the redundancy).
> This is a compressed binary that holds all transactions on all signals
> in the design (not just what is displayed).

WHAT???!!!  Is this saying that all of the signals are there and I
should be able to display a new signal without rerunning the
simulation???  I only see .aws and .adf files, no .asdb file.  Do I
have to turn a switch to get the .asdb file so I can look at what I
want after the simulation is complete?


> b) The .awc is the "accelerated waveform configuration" file. This is
> what the GUI needs to display data in the associated .asdb.
>
> BUT! The above files are really only so you can save a copy of a
> simulation run and display it later without re-running the simulation.

Well, yeah, in essence that's what I'd like to do.


> What you REALLY want is to do is this. The first time you run your
> simulation (after Initialize Simulation), you create a new waveform
> window (which will then show the "untitled.awc" in the title bar), and
> drag all of the signals of interest into that window.

Yes, go on!


> To save this list of signals for future simulation runs, from the
> Waveform window's menu, choose "Waveform -> Save To Macro." This is
> akin to the ModelSim menu item "Save Format As ..." and it will create
> a macro file with the extension .do and it will be stored, by default,
> in the src directory. It will also appear in the current Design in the
> Workspace. Once you've created the file, for future simulation runs,
> you can right-click on the macro file name in the Design and choose
> "Execute" and it will repopulate the waveform display window with your
> desired signals.
>
> What this means is that unless you really need to save the simulation
> waveforms, you can shitcan both the .asdb and .awc files. All you need
> is the macro .do file.

Ok, but when I'm debugging, I often need to look at intermediate
signals to see where the problem is coming from.  It would be great to
not have to rerun the simulation to do that.  There is more than once
that I added some signals only to find that the problem took a
slightly different curve than the one I expected and I have to add
more signals.  In the end I may have to run the simulation 10 or more
times before I see the problem.  Even at 1 minute each, that can waste
a lot of time if there is an easy way to avoid it.

So how do I get the .asdb and .awc files?

Rick

rickman wrote:
> On Mar 9, 2:13 pm, Andy Peters <goo...@latke.net> wrote:
>> On Mar 8, 4:10 pm, "Pete Fraser" <pfra...@covad.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> Thankyou everybody for your help so far.
>>> I seem to be confused by the waveform viewer now.
>>> My typical debug cycle in Modelsim XE uses wave.do.
>>> I will load the sim, run wave.do to bring up the waveforms
>>> I'm interested in, then run the sim.
>>> If the waveforms point to mistakes I've made, I'll often
>>> want to add a few more waveforms, save the updated
>>> wave.do file, then re-start the sim using the new wave.do.
>>> I can't work out how to do the equivalent in Active-HDL.
>>> My modesim wave.do seems to work in Aldec, but I can't
>>> see how to save it when I've added waveforms.
>>> I can't even work out how to add waveforms reliably;
>>> sometimes dragging signals from the structure pane to an
>>> existing waveform viewer opens a new viewer window.
>>> I'm also not sure which viewer I'm using (advanced or standard),
>>> or how I control that. Sometimes the title bar says
>>> "untitled.awc", and sometimes "untitled.asdb".
>>> Help, I haven't felt this clueless in a long time.
>> I had a conversation with Aldec support yesterday about this very
>> topic.
>>
>> And I agree -- it's very confusing.
>>
>> There are two things involved with waveform display:
>>
>> a) The .asdb is the waveform data database (sorry for the redundancy).
>> This is a compressed binary that holds all transactions on all signals
>> in the design (not just what is displayed).
> 
> WHAT???!!!  Is this saying that all of the signals are there and I
> should be able to display a new signal without rerunning the
> simulation???  I only see .aws and .adf files, no .asdb file.  Do I
> have to turn a switch to get the .asdb file so I can look at what I
> want after the simulation is complete?
> 
> 
>> b) The .awc is the "accelerated waveform configuration" file. This is
>> what the GUI needs to display data in the associated .asdb.
>>
>> BUT! The above files are really only so you can save a copy of a
>> simulation run and display it later without re-running the simulation.
> 
> Well, yeah, in essence that's what I'd like to do.
> 
> 
>> What you REALLY want is to do is this. The first time you run your
>> simulation (after Initialize Simulation), you create a new waveform
>> window (which will then show the "untitled.awc" in the title bar), and
>> drag all of the signals of interest into that window.
> 
> Yes, go on!
> 
> 
>> To save this list of signals for future simulation runs, from the
>> Waveform window's menu, choose "Waveform -> Save To Macro." This is
>> akin to the ModelSim menu item "Save Format As ..." and it will create
>> a macro file with the extension .do and it will be stored, by default,
>> in the src directory. It will also appear in the current Design in the
>> Workspace. Once you've created the file, for future simulation runs,
>> you can right-click on the macro file name in the Design and choose
>> "Execute" and it will repopulate the waveform display window with your
>> desired signals.
>>
>> What this means is that unless you really need to save the simulation
>> waveforms, you can shitcan both the .asdb and .awc files. All you need
>> is the macro .do file.
> 
> Ok, but when I'm debugging, I often need to look at intermediate
> signals to see where the problem is coming from.  It would be great to
> not have to rerun the simulation to do that.  There is more than once
> that I added some signals only to find that the problem took a
> slightly different curve than the one I expected and I have to add
> more signals.  In the end I may have to run the simulation 10 or more
> times before I see the problem.  Even at 1 minute each, that can waste
> a lot of time if there is an easy way to avoid it.
> 
> So how do I get the .asdb and .awc files?
> 
> Rick

It has been some time since I used ActiveHDL. From what I can remember 
you must switch to what is called "accelerated waveform". (I assume you 
are using standard.) I think this was a preference setting for the 
program itself.
The accelerated waveform has a slightly different look, and you can't 
use it generate stimuli.

Magne

Magne Munkejord wrote:
> rickman wrote:
>> On Mar 9, 2:13 pm, Andy Peters <goo...@latke.net> wrote:
>>> On Mar 8, 4:10 pm, "Pete Fraser" <pfra...@covad.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Thankyou everybody for your help so far.
>>>> I seem to be confused by the waveform viewer now.
>>>> My typical debug cycle in Modelsim XE uses wave.do.
>>>> I will load the sim, run wave.do to bring up the waveforms
>>>> I'm interested in, then run the sim.
>>>> If the waveforms point to mistakes I've made, I'll often
>>>> want to add a few more waveforms, save the updated
>>>> wave.do file, then re-start the sim using the new wave.do.
>>>> I can't work out how to do the equivalent in Active-HDL.
>>>> My modesim wave.do seems to work in Aldec, but I can't
>>>> see how to save it when I've added waveforms.
>>>> I can't even work out how to add waveforms reliably;
>>>> sometimes dragging signals from the structure pane to an
>>>> existing waveform viewer opens a new viewer window.
>>>> I'm also not sure which viewer I'm using (advanced or standard),
>>>> or how I control that. Sometimes the title bar says
>>>> "untitled.awc", and sometimes "untitled.asdb".
>>>> Help, I haven't felt this clueless in a long time.
>>> I had a conversation with Aldec support yesterday about this very
>>> topic.
>>>
>>> And I agree -- it's very confusing.
>>>
>>> There are two things involved with waveform display:
>>>
>>> a) The .asdb is the waveform data database (sorry for the redundancy).
>>> This is a compressed binary that holds all transactions on all signals
>>> in the design (not just what is displayed).
>>
>> WHAT???!!!  Is this saying that all of the signals are there and I
>> should be able to display a new signal without rerunning the
>> simulation???  I only see .aws and .adf files, no .asdb file.  Do I
>> have to turn a switch to get the .asdb file so I can look at what I
>> want after the simulation is complete?
>>
>>
>>> b) The .awc is the "accelerated waveform configuration" file. This
is
>>> what the GUI needs to display data in the associated .asdb.
>>>
>>> BUT! The above files are really only so you can save a copy of a
>>> simulation run and display it later without re-running the simulation.
>>
>> Well, yeah, in essence that's what I'd like to do.
>>
>>
>>> What you REALLY want is to do is this. The first time you run your
>>> simulation (after Initialize Simulation), you create a new waveform
>>> window (which will then show the "untitled.awc" in the title bar),
and
>>> drag all of the signals of interest into that window.
>>
>> Yes, go on!
>>
>>
>>> To save this list of signals for future simulation runs, from the
>>> Waveform window's menu, choose "Waveform -> Save To Macro." This
is
>>> akin to the ModelSim menu item "Save Format As ..." and it will
create
>>> a macro file with the extension .do and it will be stored, by default,
>>> in the src directory. It will also appear in the current Design in the
>>> Workspace. Once you've created the file, for future simulation runs,
>>> you can right-click on the macro file name in the Design and choose
>>> "Execute" and it will repopulate the waveform display window with
your
>>> desired signals.
>>>
>>> What this means is that unless you really need to save the simulation
>>> waveforms, you can shitcan both the .asdb and .awc files. All you need
>>> is the macro .do file.
>>
>> Ok, but when I'm debugging, I often need to look at intermediate
>> signals to see where the problem is coming from.  It would be great to
>> not have to rerun the simulation to do that.  There is more than once
>> that I added some signals only to find that the problem took a
>> slightly different curve than the one I expected and I have to add
>> more signals.  In the end I may have to run the simulation 10 or more
>> times before I see the problem.  Even at 1 minute each, that can waste
>> a lot of time if there is an easy way to avoid it.
>>
>> So how do I get the .asdb and .awc files?
>>
>> Rick
> 
> It has been some time since I used ActiveHDL. From what I can remember 
> you must switch to what is called "accelerated waveform". (I assume you 
> are using standard.) I think this was a preference setting for the 
> program itself.
> The accelerated waveform has a slightly different look, and you can't 
> use it generate stimuli.
> 
> Magne

Aldec appnote on using accelerated waveform : 
http://support.aldec.com/KnowledgeBase/Article.aspx?aid=000724