Provided by: verilator_3.856-1_amd64 
NAME
Verilator - Convert Verilog code to C++/SystemC
SYNOPSIS
verilator --help
verilator --version
verilator --cc [options] [top_level.v]... [opt_c_files.cpp/c/cc/a/o/so]
verilator --sc [options] [top_level.v]... [opt_c_files.cpp/c/cc/a/o/so]
verilator --lint-only [top_level.v]...
DESCRIPTION
Verilator converts synthesizable (not behavioral) Verilog code, plus some Synthesis, SystemVerilog and a
small subset of Verilog AMS and Sugar/PSL assertions, into C++, SystemC or SystemPerl code. It is not a
complete simulator, just a compiler.
Verilator is invoked with parameters similar to GCC, Cadence Verilog-XL/NC-Verilog, or Synopsys's VCS.
It reads the specified Verilog code, lints it, and optionally adds coverage and waveform tracing code.
For C++ and SystemC formats, it outputs .cpp and .h files. For SystemPerl format, it outputs .sp files
for the SystemPerl preprocessor, which greatly simplifies writing SystemC code and is available at
<http://www.veripool.org>.
The files created by Verilator are then compiled with C++. The user writes a little C++ wrapper file,
which instantiates the top level module, and passes this filename on the command line. These C files are
compiled in C++, and linked with the Verilated files.
The resulting executable will perform the actual simulation.
To get started, jump down to "EXAMPLE C++ EXECUTION".
ARGUMENT SUMMARY
This is a short summary of the arguments to Verilator. See the detailed descriptions in the next
sections for more information.
{file.v} Verilog top level filenames
{file.c/cc/cpp} Optional C++ files to compile in
{file.a/o/so} Optional C++ files to link in
+1364-1995ext+<ext> Use Verilog 1995 with file extension <ext>
+1364-2001ext+<ext> Use Verilog 2001 with file extension <ext>
+1364-2005ext+<ext> Use Verilog 2005 with file extension <ext>
+1800-2005ext+<ext> Use SystemVerilog 2005 with file extension <ext>
+1800-2009ext+<ext> Use SystemVerilog 2009 with file extension <ext>
+1800-2012ext+<ext> Use SystemVerilog 2012 with file extension <ext>
--assert Enable all assertions
--autoflush Flush streams after all $displays
--bbox-sys Blackbox unknown $system calls
--bbox-unsup Blackbox unsupported language features
--bin <filename> Override Verilator binary
-CFLAGS <flags> C++ Compiler flags for makefile
--cc Create C++ output
--cdc Clock domain crossing analysis
--compiler <compiler-name> Tune for specified C++ compiler
--converge-limit <loops> Tune convergence settle time
--coverage Enable all coverage
--coverage-line Enable line coverage
--coverage-toggle Enable toggle coverage
--coverage-user Enable PSL/SVL user coverage
--coverage-underscore Enable coverage of _signals
-D<var>[=<value>] Set preprocessor define
--debug Enable debugging
--debug-check Enable debugging assertions
--debugi <level> Enable debugging at a specified level
--debugi-<srcfile> <level> Enable debugging a source file at a level
--default-language <lang> Default language to parse
+define+<var>+<value> Set preprocessor define
--dump-tree Enable dumping .tree files
--dump-treei <level> Enable dumping .tree files at a level
-E Preprocess, but do not compile
--error-limit <value> Abort after this number of errors
--exe Link to create executable
-F <file> Parse options from a file, relatively
-f <file> Parse options from a file
--gdb Run Verilator under GDB interactively
--gdbbt Run Verilator under GDB for backtrace
--help Display this help
-I<dir> Directory to search for includes
--if-depth <value> Tune IFDEPTH warning
+incdir+<dir> Directory to search for includes
--inhibit-sim Create function to turn off sim
--inline-mult <value> Tune module inlining
-LDFLAGS <flags> Linker pre-object flags for makefile
-LDLIBS <flags> Linker library flags for makefile
--language <lang> Default language standard to parse
+libext+<ext>+[ext]... Extensions for finding modules
--lint-only Lint, but do not make output
--MMD Create .d dependency files
--MP Create phony dependency targets
--Mdir <directory> Name of output object directory
--mod-prefix <topname> Name to prepend to lower classes
--no-pins64 Don't use vluint64_t's for 33-64 bit sigs
--no-skip-identical Disable skipping identical output
+notimingchecks Ignored
-O0 Disable optimizations
-O3 High performance optimizations
-O<optimization-letter> Selectable optimizations
-o <executable> Name of final executable
--no-order-clock-delay Disable ordering clock enable assignments
--output-split <bytes> Split .cpp files into pieces
--output-split-cfuncs <statements> Split .cpp functions
--output-split-ctrace <statements> Split tracing functions
--pins-bv <bits> Specify types for top level ports
--pins-sc-uint Specify types for top level ports
--pins-sc-biguint Specify types for top level ports
--pins-uint8 Specify types for top level ports
--pipe-filter <command> Filter all input through a script
--prefix <topname> Name of top level class
--profile-cfuncs Name functions for profiling
--private Debugging; see docs
--psl Enable PSL parsing
--public Debugging; see docs
--report-unoptflat Extra diagnostics for UNOPTFLAT
--savable Enable model save-restore
--sc Create SystemC output
--sp Create SystemPerl output
--stats Create statistics file
-sv Enable SystemVerilog parsing
+systemverilogext+<ext> Synonym for +1800-2012ext+<ext>
--top-module <topname> Name of top level input module
--trace Enable waveform creation
--trace-depth <levels> Depth of tracing
--trace-max-array <depth> Maximum bit width for tracing
--trace-max-width <width> Maximum array depth for tracing
--trace-structs Enable tracing structure names
--trace-underscore Enable tracing of _signals
-U<var> Undefine preprocessor define
--unroll-count <loops> Tune maximum loop iterations
--unroll-stmts <stmts> Tune maximum loop body size
--unused-regexp <regexp> Tune UNUSED lint signals
-V Verbose version and config
-v <filename> Verilog library
+verilog1995ext+<ext> Synonym for +1364-1995ext+<ext>
+verilog2001ext+<ext> Synonym for +1364-2001ext+<ext>
-Werror-<message> Convert warning to error
-Wfuture-<message> Disable unknown message warnings
-Wno-<message> Disable warning
-Wno-lint Disable all lint warnings
-Wno-style Disable all style warnings
-Wno-fatal Disable fatal exit on warnings
--x-assign <mode> Initially assign Xs to this value
--x-initial-edge Enable initial X->0 and X->1 edge triggers
-y <dir> Directory to search for modules
ARGUMENTS
{file.v}
Specifies the Verilog file containing the top module to be Verilated.
{file.c/.cc/.cpp/.cxx}
Specifies optional C++ files to be linked in with the Verilog code. If any C++ files are specified
in this way, Verilator will include a make rule that generates a module executable. Without any C++
files, Verilator will stop at the module__ALL.a library, and presume you'll continue linking with
make rules you write yourself. See also the -CFLAGS option.
{file.a/.o/.so}
Specifies optional object or library files to be linked in with the Verilog code, as a shorthand for
-LDFLAGS "<file>". If any files are specified in this way, Verilator will include a make rule that
uses these files when linking the module executable. This generally is only useful when used with
the --exe option.
+1364-1995ext+ext
+1364-2001ext+ext
+1364-2005ext+ext
+1800-2005ext+ext
+1800-2009ext+ext
+1800-2012ext+ext
Specifies the language standard to be used with a specific filename extension, ext.
For compatibility with other simulators, see also the synonyms "+verilog1995ext+"ext,
"+verilog2001ext+"ext, and "+systemverilogext+"ext.
For any source file, the language specified by these options takes precedence over any language
specified by the "--default-language" or "--language" options.
These options take effect in the order they are encountered. Thus the following would use Verilog
1995 for "a.v" and Verilog 2001 for "b.v".
verilator ... +1364-1995ext+v a.v +1364-2001ext+v b.v
These flags are only recommended for legacy mixed language designs, as the preferable option is to
edit the code to repair new keywords, or add appropriate "`begin_keywords".
Note "`begin_keywords" is a SystemVerilog construct, which specifies only which the set of keywords
is to be recognized. Whatever set is chosen, the semantics will be those of SystemVerilog. By
contrast "+1364-1995ext+" etc. specify both the syntax and semantics to be used.
--assert
Enable all assertions, includes enabling the --psl flag. (If psl is not desired, but other
assertions are, use --assert --nopsl.)
See also --x-assign and --x-initial-edge; setting "--x-assign unique" and/or "--x-initial-edge" may
be desirable.
--autoflush
After every $display or $fdisplay, flush the output stream. This insures that messages will appear
immediately but may reduce performance; for best performance call "fflush(stdout)" occasionally in
the main C loop. Defaults off, which will buffer output as provided by the normal C stdio calls.
--bbox-sys
Black box any unknown $system task or function calls. System tasks will be simply NOPed, and system
functions will be replaced by unsized zero. Arguments to such functions will be parsed, but not
otherwise checked. This prevents errors when linting in the presence of company specific PLI calls.
--bbox-unsup
Black box some unsupported language features, currently UDP tables and the cmos and tran gate
primitives. This may enable linting the rest of the design even when unsupported constructs are
present.
--bin filename
Rarely needed. Override the default filename for Verilator itself. When a dependency (.d) file is
created, this filename will become a source dependency, such that a change in this binary will have
make rebuild the output files.
-CFLAGS flags
Add specified C compiler flags to the generated makefiles. When make is run on the generated
makefile these will be passed to the C++ compiler (gcc/g++/msvc++).
--cc
Specifies C++ without SystemC output mode; see also --sc and --sp.
--cdc
Experimental. Perform some clock domain crossing checks and issue related warnings (CDCRSTLOGIC) and
then exit; if warnings other than CDC warnings are needed make a second run with --lint-only.
Additional warning information is also written to the file {prefix}__cdc.txt.
Currently only checks some items that other CDC tools missed; if you have interest in adding more
traditional CDC checks, please contact the authors.
--compiler compiler-name
Enables tunings and work-arounds for the specified C++ compiler.
clang
Tune for clang. This may reduce execution speed as it enables several workarounds to avoid silly
hardcoded limits in clang. This includes breaking deep structures as for msvc as described
below.
gcc Tune for Gnu C++, although generated code should work on almost any compliant C++ compiler.
Currently the default.
msvc
Tune for Microsoft Visual C++. This may reduce execution speed as it enables several workarounds
to avoid silly hardcoded limits in MSVC++. This includes breaking deeply nested parenthesized
expressions into sub-expressions to avoid error C1009, and breaking deep blocks into functions to
avoid error C1061.
--converge-limit <loops>
Rarely needed. Specifies the maximum number of runtime iterations before creating a model failed to
converge error. Defaults to 100.
--coverage
Enables all forms of coverage, alias for "--coverage-line --coverage-toggle --coverage-user".
--coverage-line
Specifies basic block line coverage analysis code should be inserted.
Coverage analysis adds statements at each code flow change point, which are the branches of IF and
CASE statements, a super-set of normal Verilog Line Coverage. At each such branch a unique counter
is incremented. At the end of a test, the counters along with the filename and line number
corresponding to each counter are written into logs/coverage.pl.
Verilator automatically disables coverage of branches that have a $stop in them, as it is assumed
$stop branches contain an error check that should not occur. A /*verilator coverage_block_off*/
comment will perform a similar function on any code in that block or below, or /*verilator
coverage_on/coverage_off*/ will disable coverage around lines of code.
Note Verilator may over-count combinatorial (non-clocked) blocks when those blocks receive signals
which have had the UNOPTFLAT warning disabled; for most accurate results do not disable this warning
when using coverage.
--coverage-toggle
Specifies signal toggle coverage analysis code should be inserted.
Every bit of every signal in a module has a counter inserted. The counter will increment on every
edge change of the corresponding bit.
Signals that are part of tasks or begin/end blocks are considered local variables and are not
covered. Signals that begin with underscores, are integers, or are very wide (>256 bits total
storage across all dimensions) are also not covered.
Hierarchy is compressed, such that if a module is instantiated multiple times, coverage will be
summed for that bit across ALL instantiations of that module with the same parameter set. A module
instantiated with different parameter values is considered a different module, and will get counted
separately.
Verilator makes a minimally-intelligent decision about what clock domain the signal goes to, and only
looks for edges in that clock domain. This means that edges may be ignored if it is known that the
edge could never be seen by the receiving logic. This algorithm may improve in the future. The net
result is coverage may be lower than what would be seen by looking at traces, but the coverage is a
more accurate representation of the quality of stimulus into the design.
There may be edges counted near time zero while the model stabilizes. It's a good practice to zero
all coverage just before releasing reset to prevent counting such behavior.
A /*verilator coverage_off/on */ comment pair can be used around signals that do not need toggle
analysis, such as RAMs and register files.
--coverage-underscore
Enable coverage of signals that start with an underscore. Normally, these signals are not covered.
See also --trace-underscore.
--coverage-user
Enables user inserted functional coverage. Currently, all functional coverage points are specified
using PSL which must be separately enabled with --psl.
For example, the following PSL statement will add a coverage point, with the comment "DefaultClock":
// psl default clock = posedge clk;
// psl cover {cyc==9} report "DefaultClock,expect=1";
-Dvar=value
Defines the given preprocessor symbol. Same as +define; +define is fairly standard across Verilog
tools while -D is an alias for GCC compatibility.
--debug
Select the debug built image of Verilator (if available), and enable more internal assertions,
debugging messages, and intermediate form dump files.
--debug-check
Rarely needed. Enable internal debugging assertion checks, without changing debug verbosity.
Enabled automatically when --debug specified.
--debugi <level>
--debugi-<srcfile> <level>
Rarely needed - for developer use. Set internal debugging level globally to the specified debug
level (1-10) or set the specified source file to the specified level. Higher levels produce more
detailed messages (plain "--debug" is equivalent to "--debugi 4").
--default-language value
Select the language to be used by default when first processing each Verilog file. The language
value must be "1364-1995", "1364-2001", "1364-2005", "1800-2005", "1800-2009" or "1800-2012".
Any language associated with a particular file extension (see the various +langext+ options) will be
used in preference to the language specified by --default-language.
The --default-language flag is only recommended for legacy code using the same language in all source
files, as the preferable option is to edit the code to repair new keywords, or add appropriate
"`begin_keywords". For legacy mixed language designs, the various +langext+ options should be used.
If no language is specified, either by this flag or +langext+ options, then the latest SystemVerilog
language (IEEE 1800-2012) is used.
+define+var+value
Defines the given preprocessor symbol. Same as -D; +define is fairly standard across Verilog tools
while -D is an alias for GCC compatibility.
--dump-tree
Rarely needed. Enable writing .tree debug files with dumping level 3, which dumps the standard
critical stages. For details on the format see the Verilator Internals manual. --dump-tree is
enabled automatically with --debug, so "--debug --no-dump-tree" may be useful if the dump files are
large and not desired.
--dump-treei <level>
Rarely needed. Enable writing .tree debug files with a specific dumping level, 0 disbles dumps and
is equivelent to "--no-dump-tree". Level 9 enables dumping of every stage.
-E Preprocess the source code, but do not compile, as with 'gcc -E'. Output is written to standard out.
Beware of enabling debugging messages, as they will also go to standard out.
--error-limit <value>
After this number of errors or warnings are encountered, exit. Defaults to 50.
--exe
Generate an executable. You will also need to pass additional .cpp files on the command line that
implement the main loop for your simulation.
-F file
Read the specified file, and act as if all text inside it was specified as command line parameters.
Any relative paths are relative to the directory containing the specified file. See also -f. Note -F
is fairly standard across Verilog tools.
-f file
Read the specified file, and act as if all text inside it was specified as command line parameters.
Any relative paths are relative to the current directory. See also -F. Note -f is fairly standard
across Verilog tools.
The file may contain // comments which are ignored to the end of the line. Any $VAR, $(VAR), or
${VAR} will be replaced with the specified environment variable.
--gdb
Run Verilator underneath an interactive GDB (or VERILATOR_GDB environment variable value) session.
See also --gdbbt.
--gdbbt
If --debug is specified, run Verilator underneath a GDB process and print a backtrace on exit, then
exit GDB immediately. Without --debug or if GDB doesn't seem to work, this flag is ignored.
Intended for easy creation of backtraces by users; otherwise see the --gdb flag.
--help
Displays this message and program version and exits.
-Idir
See -y.
--if-depth value
Rarely needed. Set the depth at which the IFDEPTH warning will fire, defaults to 0 which disables
this warning.
+incdir+dir
See -y.
--inhibit-sim
Rarely needed. Create a "inhibitSim(bool)" function to enable and disable evaluation. This allows
an upper level testbench to disable modules that are not important in a given simulation, without
needing to recompile or change the SystemC modules instantiated.
--inline-mult value
Tune the inlining of modules. The default value of 2000 specifies that up to 2000 new operations may
be added to the model by inlining, if more than this number of operations would result, the module is
not inlined. Larger values, or a value <= 1 will inline everything, will lead to longer compile
times, but potentially faster runtimes. This setting is ignored for very small modules; they will
always be inlined, if allowed.
-LDFLAGS flags
Add specified C linker flags to the generated makefiles. When make is run on the generated makefile
these will be passed to the C++ linker (ld) *after* the primary file being linked. This flag is
called -LDFLAGS as that's the traditional name in simulators; it's would have been better called
LDLIBS as that's the Makefile variable it controls. (In Make, LDFLAGS is before the first object,
LDLIBS after. -L libraries need to be in the Make variable LDLIBS, not LDFLAGS.)
--language value
A synonym for "--default-langauge", for compatibility with other tools and earlier versions of
Verilator.
+libext+ext+ext...
Specify the extensions that should be used for finding modules. If for example module x is
referenced, look in x.ext. Note +libext+ is fairly standard across Verilog tools. Defaults to .v
and .sv.
--lint-only
Check the files for lint violations only, do not create any other output.
You may also want the -Wall option to enable messages that are considered stylistic and not enabled
by default.
If the design is not to be completely Verilated see also the --bbox-sys and --bbox-unsup options.
--MMD
Enable creation of .d dependency files, used for make dependency detection, similar to gcc -MMD
option. On by default, use --no-MMD to disable.
--MP
When creating .d dependency files with --MMD, make phony targets. Similar to gcc -MP option.
--Mdir directory
Specifies the name of the Make object directory. All generated files will be placed in this
directory. If not specified, "obj_dir" is used. The directory is created if it does not exist and
the parent directories exist; otherwise manually create the Mdir before calling Verilator.
--mod-prefix topname
Specifies the name to prepend to all lower level classes. Defaults to the same as --prefix.
--no-pins64
Backward compatible alias for "--pins-bv 33".
--no-skip-identical
Rarely needed. Disables skipping execution of Verilator if all source files are identical, and all
output files exist with newer dates.
+notimingchecks
Ignored for compatibility with other simulators.
-O0 Disables optimization of the model.
-O3 Enables slow optimizations. This may reduce simulation runtimes at the cost of compile time. This
currently sets --inline-mult -1.
-Ooptimization-letter
Rarely needed. Enables or disables a specific optimizations, with the optimization selected based on
the letter passed. A lowercase letter disables an optimization, an upper case letter enables it.
This is intended for debugging use only; see the source code for version-dependent mappings of
optimizations to -O letters.
-o <executable>
Specify the name for the final executable built if using --exe. Defaults to the --prefix if not
specified.
--no-order-clock-delay
Rarely needed. Disables a bug fix for ordering of clock enables with delayed assignments. This flag
should only be used when suggested by the developers.
--output-split bytes
Enables splitting the output .cpp/.sp files into multiple outputs. When a C++ file exceeds the
specified number of operations, a new file will be created at the next function boundary. In
addition, any slow routines will be placed into __Slow files. This accelerates compilation by as
optimization can be disabled on the slow routines, and the remaining files can be compiled on
parallel machines. Using --output-split should have only a trivial impact on performance. With GCC
3.3 on a 2GHz Opteron, --output-split 20000 will result in splitting into approximately one-minute-
compile chunks.
--output-split-cfuncs statements
Enables splitting functions in the output .cpp/.sp files into multiple functions. When a generated
function exceeds the specified number of operations, a new function will be created. With
--output-split, this will enable GCC to compile faster, at a small loss in performance that gets
worse with decreasing split values. Note that this option is stronger than --output-split in the
sense that --output-split will not split inside a function.
--output-split-ctrace statements
Enables splitting trace functions in the output .cpp/.sp files into multiple functions. Defaults to
same setting as --output-split-cfuncs.
--pins64
Backward compatible alias for "--pins-bv 65". Note that's a 65, not a 64.
--pins-bv width
Specifies SystemC inputs/outputs of greater than or equal to width bits wide should use sc_bv's
instead of uint32/vluint64_t's. The default is "--pins-bv 65". Versions before Verilator 3.671
defaulted to "--pins-bv 33". The more sc_bv is used, the worse for performance. Use the
"/*verilator sc_bv*/" attribute to select specific ports to be sc_bv.
--pins-sc-uint
Specifies SystemC inputs/outputs of greater than 2 bits wide should use sc_uint between 2 and 64.
When combined with the "--pins-sc-biguint" combination, it results in sc_uint being used between 2
and 64 and sc_biguint being used between 65 and 512.
--pins-sc-biguint
Specifies SystemC inputs/outputs of greater than 65 bits wide should use sc_biguint between 65 and
512, and sc_bv from 513 upwards. When combined with the "--pins-sc-uint" combination, it results in
sc_uint being used between 2 and 64 and sc_biguint being used between 65 and 512.
--pins-uint8
Specifies SystemC inputs/outputs that are smaller than the --pins-bv setting and 8 bits or less
should use uint8_t instead of uint32_t. Likewise pins of width 9-16 will use uint16_t instead of
uint32_t.
--pipe-filter command
Rarely needed and experimental. Verilator will spawn the specified command as a subprocess pipe, to
allow the command to perform custom edits on the Verilog code before it reaches Verilator.
Before reading each Verilog file, Verilator will pass the file name to the subprocess' stdin with
'read_verilog "<filename>"'. The filter may then read the file and perform any filtering it desires,
and feeds the new file contents back to Verilator on stdout with 'Content-Length'. Output to stderr
from the filter feeds through to Verilator's stdout and if the filter exits with non-zero status
Verilator terminates. See the t/t_pipe_filter test for an example.
To debug the output of the filter, try using the -E option to see preprocessed output.
--prefix topname
Specifies the name of the top level class and makefile. Defaults to V prepended to the name of the
--top-module switch, or V prepended to the first Verilog filename passed on the command line.
--profile-cfuncs
Modify the created C++ functions to support profiling. The functions will be minimized to contain
one "basic" statement, generally a single always block or wire statement. (Note this will slow down
the executable by ~5%.) Furthermore, the function name will be suffixed with the basename of the
Verilog module and line number the statement came from. This allows gprof or oprofile reports to be
correlated with the original Verilog source statements.
--private
Opposite of --public. Is the default; this option exists for backwards compatibility.
--psl
Enable PSL parsing. Without this switch, PSL meta-comments are ignored. See the --assert flag to
enable all assertions, and --coverage-user to enable functional coverage.
--public
This is only for historical debug use. Using it may result in mis-simulation of generated clocks.
Declares all signals and modules public. This will turn off signal optimizations as if all signals
had a /*verilator public*/ comments and inlining. This will also turn off inlining as if all modules
had a /*verilator public_module*/, unless the module specifically enabled it with /*verilator
inline_module*/.
--report-unoptflat
Extra diagnostics for UNOPTFLAT warnings. This includes for each loop, the 10 widest variables in the
loop, and the 10 most fanned out variables in the loop. These are candidates for splitting into
multiple variables to break the loop.
In addition produces a GraphViz DOT file of the entire strongly connected components within the
source associated with each loop. This is produced irrespective of whether --dump-tree is set. Such
graphs may help in analysing the problem, but can be very large indeed.
Various commands exist for viewing and manipulating DOT files. For example the dot command can be
used to convert a DOT file to a PDF for printing. For example:
dot -Tpdf -O Vt_unoptflat_simple_2_35_unoptflat.dot
will generate a PDF Vt_unoptflat_simple_2_35_unoptflat.dot.pdf from the DOT file.
--savable
Enable including save and restore functions in the generated model.
The user code must create a VerilatedSerialize or VerilatedDeserialze object then calling the << or
>> operators on the generated model and any other data the process needs saved/restored. For
example:
void save_model(const char* filenamep) {
VerilatedSave os;
os.open(filenamep);
os << main_time; // user code must save the timestamp, etc
os << *topp;
}
void restore_model(const char* filenamep) {
VerilatedRestore os;
os.open(filenamep);
os >> main_time;
os >> *topp;
}
--sc
Specifies SystemC output mode; see also --cc and -sp.
--sp
Specifies SystemPerl output mode; see also --cc and -sc.
--stats
Creates a dump file with statistics on the design in {prefix}__stats.txt.
-sv Specifies SystemVerilog language features should be enabled; equivalent to "--language 1800-2005".
This option is selected by default, it exists for compatibility with other simulators.
+systemverilogext+ext
A synonym for "+1800-2012ext+"ext.
--top-module topname
When the input Verilog contains more than one top level module, specifies the name of the top level
Verilog module to become the top, and sets the default for if --prefix is not used. This is not
needed with standard designs with only one top.
--trace
Adds waveform tracing code to the model. Verilator will generate additional {prefix}__Trace*.cpp
files that will need to be compiled. In addition verilated_vcd_sc.cpp (for SystemC traces) or
verilated_vcd_c.cpp (for both) must be compiled and linked in. If using the Verilator generated
Makefiles, these will be added as source targets for you. If you're not using the Verilator
makefiles, you will need to add these to your Makefile manually.
Having tracing compiled in may result in some small performance losses, even when waveforms are not
turned on during model execution.
--trace-depth levels
Specify the number of levels deep to enable tracing, for example --trace-level 1 to only see the top
level's signals. Defaults to the entire model. Using a small number will decrease visibility, but
greatly improve runtime and trace file size.
--trace-max-array depth
Rarely needed. Specify the maximum array depth of a signal that may be traced. Defaults to 32, as
tracing large arrays may greatly slow traced simulations.
--trace-max-width width
Rarely needed. Specify the maximum bit width of a signal that may be traced. Defaults to 256, as
tracing large vectors may greatly slow traced simulations.
--trace-structs
Enable tracing to show the name of packed structure, union, and packed array fields, rather than a
simgle combined packed bus. Due to VCD file format constraints this may result in significantly
slower trace times and larger trace files.
--trace-underscore
Enable tracing of signals that start with an underscore. Normally, these signals are not output
during tracing. See also --coverage-underscore.
-Uvar
Undefines the given preprocessor symbol.
--unroll-count loops
Rarely needed. Specifies the maximum number of loop iterations that may be unrolled. See also
BLKLOOPINIT warning.
--unroll-stmts statements
Rarely needed. Specifies the maximum number of statements in a loop for that loop to be unrolled.
See also BLKLOOPINIT warning.
--unused-regexp regexp
Rarely needed. Specifies a simple regexp with * and ? that if a signal name matches will suppress
the UNUSED warning. Defaults to "*unused*". Setting it to "" disables matching.
-V Shows the verbose version, including configuration information compiled into Verilator. (Similar to
perl -V.)
-v filename
Read the filename as a Verilog library. Any modules in the file may be used to resolve cell
instantiations in the top level module, else ignored. Note -v is fairly standard across Verilog
tools.
+verilog1995ext+ext
+verilog2001ext+ext
Synonyms for "+1364-1995ext+"ext and "+1364-2001ext+"ext respectively
-Wall
Enable all warnings, including code style warnings that are normally disabled by default.
-Werror-message
Convert the specified warning message into an error message. This is generally to discourage users
from violating important site-wide rules, for example "-Werror-NOUNOPTFLAT".
-Wfuture-message
Rarely needed. Suppress unknown Verilator comments or warning messages with the given message code.
This is used to allow code written with pragmas for a later version of Verilator to run under a older
version; add -Wfuture- arguments for each message code or comment that the new version supports which
the older version does not support.
-Wno-message
Disable the specified warning message.
-Wno-lint
Disable all lint related warning messages, and all style warnings. This is equivalent to
"-Wno-ALWCOMBORDER -Wno-CASEINCOMPLETE -Wno-CASEOVERLAP -Wno-CASEX -Wno-CASEWITHX -Wno-CMPCONST
-Wno-ENDLABEL -Wno-IMPLICIT -Wno-LITENDIAN -Wno-PINMISSING -Wno-SYNCASYNCNET -Wno-UNDRIVEN
-Wno-UNSIGNED -Wno-UNUSED -Wno-WIDTH" plus the list shown for Wno-style.
It is strongly recommended you cleanup your code rather than using this option, it is only intended
to be use when running test-cases of code received from third parties.
-Wno-style
Disable all code style related warning messages (note by default they are already disabled). This is
equivalent to "-Wno-DECLFILENAME -Wno-DEFPARAM -Wno-INCABSPATH -Wno-PINNOCONNECT -Wno-SYNCASYNCNET
-Wno-UNDRIVEN -Wno-UNUSED -Wno-VARHIDDEN".
-Wno-fatal
When warnings are detected, print them, but do not exit the simulator.
Having warning messages in builds is sloppy. It is strongly recommended you cleanup your code, use
inline lint_off, or use -Wno-... flags rather than using this option.
-Wwarn-message
Enables the specified warning message.
-Wwarn-lint
Enable all lint related warning messages (note by default they are already enabled), but do not
affect style messages. This is equivalent to "-Wwarn-ALWCOMBORDER -Wwarn-CASEINCOMPLETE
-Wwarn-CASEOVERLAP -Wwarn-CASEX -Wwarn-CASEWITHX -Wwarn-CMPCONST -Wwarn-ENDLABEL -Wwarn-IMPLICIT
-Wwarn-LITENDIAN -Wwarn-PINMISSING -Wwarn-REALCVT -Wwarn-UNSIGNED -Wwarn-WIDTH".
-Wwarn-style
Enable all code style related warning messages. This is equivalent to "-Wwarn ASSIGNDLY
-Wwarn-DECLFILENAME -Wwarn-DEFPARAM -Wwarn-INCABSPATH -Wwarn-PINNOCONNECT -Wwarn-SYNCASYNCNET
-Wwarn-UNDRIVEN -Wwarn-UNUSED -Wwarn-VARHIDDEN".
--x-assign 0
--x-assign 1
--x-assign fast (default)
--x-assign unique
Controls the two-state value that is replaced when an assignment to X is encountered.
--x-assign=fast, the default, converts all Xs to whatever is best for performance. --x-assign=0
converts all Xs to 0s, and is also fast. --x-assign=1 converts all Xs to 1s, this is nearly as fast
as 0, but more likely to find reset bugs as active high logic will fire. --x-assign=unique will call
a function to determine the value, this allows randomization of all Xs to find reset bugs and is the
slowest, but safest for finding reset bugs in code.
If using --x-assign unique, you may want to seed your random number generator such that each
regression run gets a different randomization sequence. Use the system's srand48() or for Windows
srand() function to do this. You'll probably also want to print any seeds selected, and code to
enable rerunning with that same seed so you can reproduce bugs.
Note. This option applies only to variables which are explicitly assigned to X in the Verilog source
code. Initial values of clocks are set to 0 unless --x-initial-edge is specified. Initial values of
all other state holding variables are set as though --x-assign unique had been specified.
--x-initial-edge
Enables emulation of event driven simulators which generally trigger an edge on a transition from X
to 1 ("posedge") or X to 0 ("negedge"). Thus the following code, where "rst_n" is uninitialized would
set "res_n" to "1'b1" when "rst_n" is first set to zero:
reg res_n = 1'b0;
always @(negedge rst_n) begin
if (rst_n == 1'b0) begin
res_n <= 1'b1;
end
end
In Verilator, by default, uninitialized clocks are given a value of zero, so the above "always" block
would not trigger.
While it is not good practice, there are some designs that rely on X X 0 triggering a "negedge",
particularly in reset sequences. Using --x-initial-edge with Verilator will replicate this behaviour.
It will also ensure that X X 1 triggers a "posedge".
Note. Some users have reported that using this option can affect convergence, and that it may be
necessary to use --converge-limit to increase the number of convergence iterations. This may be
another indication of problems with the modelled design that should be addressed.
-y dir
Add the directory to the list of directories that should be searched for include files or libraries.
The three flags -y, +incdir and -I have similar effect; +incdir and +y are fairly standard across
Verilog tools while -I is an alias for GCC compatibility.
Verilator defaults to the current directory ("-y .") and any specified --Mdir, though these default
paths are used after any user specified directories. This allows '-y "$(pwd)"' to be used if
absolute filenames are desired for error messages instead of relative filenames.
EXAMPLE C++ EXECUTION
We'll compile this example into C++.
mkdir test_our
cd test_our
cat <<EOF >our.v
module our;
initial begin $display("Hello World"); $finish; end
endmodule
EOF
cat <<EOF >sim_main.cpp
#include "Vour.h"
#include "verilated.h"
int main(int argc, char **argv, char **env) {
Verilated::commandArgs(argc, argv);
Vour* top = new Vour;
while (!Verilated::gotFinish()) { top->eval(); }
delete top;
exit(0);
}
EOF
If you installed Verilator from sources, or a tarball, but not as part of your operating system (as an
RPM), first you need to point to the kit:
export VERILATOR_ROOT=/path/to/where/verilator/was/installed
export PATH=$VERILATOR_ROOT/bin:$PATH
Now we run Verilator on our little example.
verilator -Wall --cc our.v --exe sim_main.cpp
We can see the source code under the "obj_dir" directory. See the FILES section below for descriptions
of some of the files that were created.
ls -l obj_dir
We then can compile it
cd obj_dir
make -j -f Vour.mk Vour
(Verilator included a default compile rule and link rule, since we used --exe and passed a .cpp file on
the Verilator command line. You can also write your own compile rules, as we'll show in the SYSTEMC
section.)
And now we run it
cd ..
obj_dir/Vour
And we get as output
Hello World
- our.v:2: Verilog $finish
Really, you're better off writing a Makefile to do all this for you. Then, when your source changes it
will automatically run all of these steps. See the test_c directory in the distribution for an example.
EXAMPLE SYSTEMC EXECUTION
This is an example similar to the above, but using SystemPerl.
mkdir test_our_sc
cd test_our_sc
cat <<EOF >our.v
module our (clk);
input clk; // Clock is required to get initial activation
always @ (posedge clk)
begin $display("Hello World"); $finish; end
endmodule
EOF
cat <<EOF >sc_main.cpp
#include "Vour.h"
int sc_main(int argc, char **argv) {
Verilated::commandArgs(argc, argv);
sc_clock clk ("clk",10, 0.5, 3, true);
Vour* top;
top = new Vour("top"); // SP_CELL (top, Vour);
top->clk(clk); // SP_PIN (top, clk, clk);
while (!Verilated::gotFinish()) { sc_start(1, SC_NS); }
delete top;
exit(0);
}
EOF
If you installed Verilator from sources, or a tarball, but not as part of your operating system (as an
RPM), first you need to point to the kit:
export VERILATOR_ROOT=/path/to/where/verilator/was/installed
export PATH=$VERILATOR_ROOT/bin:$PATH
Now we run Verilator on our little example.
verilator -Wall --sp our.v
Then we convert the SystemPerl output to SystemC.
cd obj_dir
export SYSTEMPERL=/path/to/where/systemperl/kit/came/from
$SYSTEMPERL/sp_preproc --preproc *.sp
(You can also skip the above sp_preproc by getting pure SystemC from Verilator by replacing the verilator
--sp flag in the previous step with -sc.)
We then can compile it
make -j -f Vour.mk Vour__ALL.a
make -j -f Vour.mk ../sc_main.o verilated.o
And link with SystemC. Note your path to the libraries may vary, depending on the operating system.
export SYSTEMC_LIBDIR=/path/to/where/libsystemc.a/exists
# Might be needed if SystemC 2.3.0
export SYSTEMC_CXX_FLAGS=-pthread
g++ -L$SYSTEMC_LIBDIR ../sc_main.o Vour__ALL*.o verilated.o \
-o Vour -lsystemc
And now we run it
cd ..
obj_dir/Vour
And we get the same output as the C++ example:
Hello World
- our.v:2: Verilog $finish
Really, you're better off using a Makefile to do all this for you. Then, when your source changes it
will automatically run all of these steps. See the test_sp directory in the distribution for an example.
BENCHMARKING & OPTIMIZATION
For best performance, run Verilator with the "-O3 --x-assign=fast --noassert" flags. The -O3 flag will
require longer compile times, and --x-assign=fast may increase the risk of reset bugs in trade for
performance; see the above documentation for these flags.
Minor Verilog code changes can also give big wins. You should not have any UNOPTFLAT warnings from
Verilator. Fixing these warnings can result in huge improvements; one user fixed their one UNOPTFLAT
warning by making a simple change to a clock latch used to gate clocks and gained a 60% performance
improvement.
Beyond that, the performance of a Verilated model depends mostly on your C++ compiler and size of your
CPU's caches.
By default, the lib/verilated.mk file has optimization turned off. This is for the benefit of new users,
as it improves compile times at the cost of runtimes. To add optimization as the default, set one of
three variables, OPT, OPT_FAST, or OPT_SLOW lib/verilated.mk. Or, use the -CFLAGS and/or -LDFLAGS option
on the verilator command line to pass the flags directly to the compiler or linker. Or, just for one
run, pass them on the command line to make:
make OPT_FAST="-O2" -f Vour.mk Vour__ALL.a
OPT_FAST specifies optimizations for those programs that are part of the fast path, mostly code that is
executed every cycle. OPT_SLOW specifies optimizations for slow-path files (plus tracing), which execute
only rarely, yet take a long time to compile with optimization on. OPT specifies overall optimization
and affects all compiles, including those OPT_FAST and OPT_SLOW affect. For best results, use OPT="-O2",
and link with "-static". Nearly the same results can be had with much better compile times with
OPT_FAST="-O1 -fstrict-aliasing". Higher optimization such as "-O3" may help, but gcc compile times may
be excessive under O3 on even medium sized designs. Alternatively, some larger designs report better
performance using "-Os".
Unfortunately, using the optimizer with SystemC files can result in compiles taking several minutes.
(The SystemC libraries have many little inlined functions that drive the compiler nuts.)
For best results, use GCC 3.3 or newer. GCC 3.2 and earlier have optimization bugs around pointer
aliasing detection, which can result in 2x performance losses.
If you will be running many simulations on a single compile, investigate feedback driven compilation.
With GCC, using -fprofile-arcs, then -fbranch-probabilities will yield another 15% or so.
Modern compilers also support link-time optimization (LTO), which can help especially if you link in DPI
code. To enable LTO on GCC, pass "-flto" in both compilation and link. Note LTO may cause excessive
compile times on large designs.
You may uncover further tuning possibilities by profiling the Verilog code. Use Verilator's
--profile-cfuncs, then GCC's -g -pg. You can then run either oprofile or gprof to see where in the C++
code the time is spent. Run the gprof output through verilator_profcfunc and it will tell you what
Verilog line numbers on which most of the time is being spent.
When done, please let the author know the results. I like to keep tabs on how Verilator compares, and
may be able to suggest additional improvements.
FILES
All output files are placed in the output directory name specified with the -Mdir option, or "obj_dir" if
not specified.
Verilator creates the following files in the output directory:
{prefix}.mk // Make include file for compiling
{prefix}_classes.mk // Make include file with class names
For -cc and -sc mode, it also creates:
{prefix}.cpp // Top level C++ file
{prefix}.h // Top level header
{prefix}{each_verilog_module}.cpp // Lower level internal C++ files
{prefix}{each_verilog_module}.h // Lower level internal header files
For -sp mode, instead of .cpp and .h it creates:
{prefix}.sp // Top level SystemC file
{prefix}{each_verilog_module}.sp // Lower level internal SC files
In certain optimization modes, it also creates:
{prefix}__Dpi.h // DPI import and export declarations
{prefix}__Inlines.h // Inline support functions
{prefix}__Slow.cpp // Constructors and infrequent routines
{prefix}__Syms.cpp // Global symbol table C++
{prefix}__Syms.h // Global symbol table header
{prefix}__Trace.cpp // Wave file generation code (--trace)
{prefix}__cdc.txt // Clock Domain Crossing checks (--cdc)
{prefix}__stats.txt // Statistics (--stats)
It also creates internal files that can be mostly ignored:
{each_verilog_module}.vpp // Post-processed verilog (--debug)
{prefix}.flags_vbin // Verilator dependencies
{prefix}.flags_vpp // Pre-processor dependencies
{prefix}__verFiles.dat // Timestamps for skip-identical
{prefix}{misc}.d // Make dependencies (-MMD)
{prefix}{misc}.dot // Debugging graph files (--debug)
{prefix}{misc}.tree // Debugging files (--debug)
After running Make, the C++ compiler should produce the following:
{prefix} // Final executable (w/--exe argument)
{prefix}__ALL.a // Library of all Verilated objects
{prefix}{misc}.o // Intermediate objects
ENVIRONMENT
OBJCACHE
Optionally specifies a caching or distribution program to place in front of all runs of the C++
Compiler. For example, "objcache --read --write", or "ccache". If using distcc, it would generally
be run under either objcache or ccache; see the documentation for those programs.
SYSTEMC
Deprecated. Used only if SYSTEMC_INCLUDE or SYSTEMC_LIBDIR is not set. If set, specifies the
directory containing the SystemC distribution. If not specified, it will come from a default
optionally specified at configure time (before Verilator was compiled).
SYSTEMC_ARCH
Deprecated. Used only if SYSTEMC_LIBDIR is not set. Specifies the architecture name used by the
SystemC kit. This is the part after the dash in the lib-{...} directory name created by a 'make' in
the SystemC distribution. If not set, Verilator will try to intuit the proper setting, or use the
default optionally specified at configure time (before Verilator was compiled).
SYSTEMC_CXX_FLAGS
Specifies additional flags that are required to be passed to GCC when building the SystemC model.
System 2.3.0 may need this set to "-pthread".
SYSTEMC_INCLUDE
If set, specifies the directory containing the systemc.h header file. If not specified, it will come
from a default optionally specified at configure time (before Verilator was compiled), or computed
from SYSTEMC/include.
SYSTEMC_LIBDIR
If set, specifies the directory containing the libsystemc.a library. If not specified, it will come
from a default optionally specified at configure time (before Verilator was compiled), or computed
from SYSTEMC/lib-SYSTEMC_ARCH.
SYSTEMPERL
Specifies the directory containing the SystemPerl distribution kit. This is used to find the
SystemPerl library and include files. If not specified, it will come from a default optionally
specified at configure time (before Verilator was compiled). See also SYSTEMPERL_INCLUDE.
SYSTEMPERL_INCLUDE
Specifies the directory containing the Verilog-Perl include .cpp files, from the src/ directory of
the SystemPerl kit. If not specified, it will be computed from the SYSTEMPERL environment variable
if it is set, and if SYSTEMPERL is not set SYSTEMPERL_INCLUDE will come from a default optionally
specified at configure time (before Verilator was compiled).
VCS_HOME
If set, specifies the directory containing the Synopsys VCS distribution. When set, a 'make test' in
the Verilator distribution will also run VCS baseline regression tests.
VERILATOR_BIN
If set, specifies an alternative name of the Verilator binary. May be used for debugging and
selecting between multiple operating system builds.
VERILATOR_GDB
If set, the command to run when using the --gdb option, such as "ddd". If not specified, it will use
"gdb".
VERILATOR_ROOT
Specifies the directory containing the distribution kit. This is used to find the executable, Perl
library, and include files. If not specified, it will come from a default optionally specified at
configure time (before Verilator was compiled). It should not be specified if using a pre-compiled
Verilator RPM as the hardcoded value should be correct.
CONNECTING TO C++
Verilator creates a .h and .cpp file for the top level module and all modules under it. See the test_c
directory in the kit for an example.
After the modules are completed, there will be a module.mk file that may be used with Make to produce a
module__ALL.a file with all required objects in it. This is then linked with the user's top level to
create the simulation executable.
The user must write the top level of the simulation. Here's a simple example:
#include <verilated.h> // Defines common routines
#include "Vtop.h" // From Verilating "top.v"
Vtop *top; // Instantiation of module
vluint64_t main_time = 0; // Current simulation time
// This is a 64-bit integer to reduce wrap over issues and
// allow modulus. You can also use a double, if you wish.
double sc_time_stamp () { // Called by $time in Verilog
return main_time; // converts to double, to match
// what SystemC does
}
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
Verilated::commandArgs(argc, argv); // Remember args
top = new Vtop; // Create instance
top->reset_l = 0; // Set some inputs
while (!Verilated::gotFinish()) {
if (main_time > 10) {
top->reset_l = 1; // Deassert reset
}
if ((main_time % 10) == 1) {
top->clk = 1; // Toggle clock
}
if ((main_time % 10) == 6) {
top->clk = 0;
}
top->eval(); // Evaluate model
cout << top->out << endl; // Read a output
main_time++; // Time passes...
}
top->final(); // Done simulating
// // (Though this example doesn't get here)
delete top;
}
Note signals are read and written as member variables of the lower module. You call the eval() method to
evaluate the model. When the simulation is complete call the final() method to wrap up any SystemVerilog
final blocks, and complete any assertions.
CONNECTING TO SYSTEMC
Verilator will convert the top level module to a SC_MODULE. This module will plug directly into a
SystemC netlist.
The SC_MODULE gets the same pinout as the Verilog module, with the following type conversions: Pins of a
single bit become bool. Pins 2-32 bits wide become uint32_t's. Pins 33-64 bits wide become sc_bv's or
vluint64_t's depending on the --no-pins64 switch. Wider pins become sc_bv's. (Uints simulate the
fastest so are used where possible.)
Lower modules are not pure SystemC code. This is a feature, as using the SystemC pin interconnect scheme
everywhere would reduce performance by an order of magnitude.
DIRECT PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (DPI)
Verilator supports SystemVerilog Direct Programming Interface import and export statements. Only the
SystemVerilog form ("DPI-C") is supported, not the original Synopsys-only DPI.
DPI Example
In the SYSTEMC example above, if you wanted to import C++ functions into Verilog, put in our.v:
import "DPI-C" function integer add (input integer a, input integer b);
initial begin
$display("%x + %x = %x", 1, 2, add(1,2));
endtask
Then after Verilating, Verilator will create a file Vour__Dpi.h with the prototype to call this function:
extern int add (int a, int b);
From the sc_main.cpp file (or another .cpp file passed to the Verilator command line, or the link), you'd
then:
#include "svdpi.h"
#include "Vour__Dpi.h"
int add (int a, int b) { return a+b; }
DPI System Task/Functions
Verilator extends the DPI format to allow using the same scheme to efficiently add system functions.
Simply use a dollar-sign prefixed system function name for the import, but note it must be escaped.
export "DPI-C" function integer \$myRand;
initial $display("myRand=%d", $myRand());
Going the other direction, you can export Verilog tasks so they can be called from C++:
export "DPI-C" task publicSetBool;
task publicSetBool;
input bit in_bool;
var_bool = in_bool;
endtask
Then after Verilating, Verilator will create a file Vour__Dpi.h with the prototype to call this function:
extern bool publicSetBool(bool in_bool);
From the sc_main.cpp file, you'd then:
#include "Vour__Dpi.h"
publicSetBool(value);
Or, alternatively, call the function under the design class. This isn't DPI compatible but is easier to
read and better supports multiple designs.
#include "Vour__Dpi.h"
Vour::publicSetBool(value);
// or top->publicSetBool(value);
Note that if the DPI task or function accesses any register or net within the RTL, it will require a
scope to be set. This can be done using the standard functions within svdpi.h, after the module is
instantiated, but before the task(s) and/or function(s) are called.
For example, if the top level module is instantiated with the name "dut" and the name references within
tasks are all hierarchical (dotted) names with respect to that top level module, then the scope could be
set with
#include "svdpi.h"
...
svSetScope (svGetScopeFromName ("dut"));
(Remember that Verilator adds a "V" to the top of the module hierarchy.)
Scope can also be set from within a DPI imported C function that has been called from Verilog by querying
the scope of that function. See the sections on DPI Context Functions and DPI Header Isolation below and
the comments within the svdpi.h header for more information.
DPI Display Functions
Verilator allows writing $display like functions using this syntax:
import "DPI-C" function void
\$my_display (input string formatted /*verilator sformat*/ );
The /*verilator sformat*/ indicates that this function accepts a $display like format specifier followed
by any number of arguments to satisfy the format.
DPI Context Functions
Verilator supports IEEE DPI Context Functions. Context imports pass the simulator context, including
calling scope name, and filename and line number to the C code. For example, in Verilog:
import "DPI-C" context function int dpic_line();
initial $display("This is line %d, again, line %d\n", `line, dpic_line());
This will call C++ code which may then use the svGet* functions to read information, in this case the
line number of the Verilog statement that invoked the dpic_line function:
int dpic_line() {
// Get a scope: svScope scope = svGetScope();
const char* scopenamep = svGetNameFromScope(scope);
assert(scopenamep);
const char* filenamep = "";
int lineno = 0;
if (svGetCallerInfo(&filenamep, &lineno)) {
printf("dpic_line called from scope %s on line %d\n",
scopenamep, lineno);
return lineno;
} else {
return 0;
}
}
See the IEEE Standard for more information.
DPI Header Isolation
Verilator places the IEEE standard header files such as svdpi.h into a separate include directory, vltstd
(VeriLaTor STandarD). When compiling most applications $VERILATOR_ROOT/include/vltstd would be in the
include path along with the normal $VERILATOR_ROOT/include. However, when compiling Verilated models
into other simulators which have their own svdpi.h and similar standard files with different contents,
the vltstd directory should not be included to prevent picking up incompatible definitions.
Public Functions
Instead of DPI exporting, there's also Verilator public functions, which are slightly faster, but less
compatible.
VERIFICATION PROCEDURAL INTERFACE (VPI)
Verilator supports a very limited subset of the VPI. This subset allows inspection, examination, value
change callbacks, and depositing of values to public signals only.
To access signals via the VPI, Verilator must be told exactly which signals are to be accessed. This is
done using the Verilator public pragmas documented below.
Verilator has an important difference from an event based simulator; signal values that are changed by
the VPI will not immediately propagate their values, instead the top level header file's eval() method
must be called. Normally this would be part of the normal evaluation (IE the next clock edge), not as
part of the value change. This makes the performance of VPI routines extremely fast compared to event
based simulators, but can confuse some test-benches that expect immediate propagation.
Note the VPI by it's specified implementation will always be much slower than accessing the Verilator
values by direct reference (structure->module->signame), as the VPI accessors perform lookup in functions
at runtime requiring at best hundreds of instructions, while the direct references are evaluated by the
compiler and result in only a couple of instructions.
VPI Example
In the below example, we have readme marked read-only, and writeme which if written from outside the
model will have the same semantics as if it changed on the specified clock edge.
module t;
reg readme /*verilator public_flat_rd*/;
reg writeme /*verilator public_flat_rw @(posedge clk) */;
endmodule
There are many online tutorials and books on the VPI, but an example that accesses the above would be:
void read_and_check() {
vpiHandle vh1 = vpi_handle_by_name((PLI_BYTE8*)"t.readme", NULL);
if (!vh1) { error... }
const char* name = vpi_get_str(vpiName, vh1);
printf("Module name: %s\n"); // Prints "readme"
s_vpi_value v;
v.format = vpiIntVal;
vpi_get_value(vh1, &v);
printf("Value of v: %d\n", v.value.integer); // Prints "readme"
}
CROSS COMPILATION
Verilator supports cross-compiling Verilated code. This is generally used to run Verilator on a Linux
system and produce C++ code that is then compiled on Windows.
Cross compilation involves up to three different OSes. The build system is where you configured and
compiled Verilator, the host system where you run Verilator, and the target system where you compile the
Verilated code and run the simulation.
Currently, Verilator requires the build and host system type to be the same, though the target system
type may be different. To support this, ./configure and make Verilator on the build system. Then, run
Verilator on the host system. Finally, the output of Verilator may be compiled on the different target
system.
To support this, none of the files that Verilator produces will reference any configure generated build-
system specific files, such as config.h (which is renamed in Verilator to config_build.h to reduce
confusion.) The disadvantage of this approach is that include/verilatedos.h must self-detect the
requirements of the target system, rather than using configure.
The target system may also require edits to the Makefiles, the simple Makefiles produced by Verilator
presume the target system is the same type as the build system.
Cadence NC-SystemC Models
Similar to compiling Verilated designs with gcc, Verilated designs may be compiled inside other
simulators that support C++ or SystemC models. One such simulator is Cadence's NC-SystemC, part of their
Incisive Verification Suite. (Highly recommended.)
Using the example files above, the following command will build the model underneath NC:
cd obj_dir
ncsc_run \
sc_main.cpp \
Vour__ALLcls.cpp \
Vour__ALLsup.cpp \
verilated.cpp
For larger designs you'll want to automate this using makefiles, which pull the names of the .cpp files
to compile in from the make variables generated in obj_dir/Vour_classes.mk.
CONFIGURATION FILES
In addition to the command line, warnings and other features may be controlled by configuration files,
typically named with the .vlt extension. An example:
`verilator_config
lint_off -msg WIDTH
lint_off -msg CASEX -file "silly_vendor_code.v"
This disables WIDTH warnings globally, and CASEX for a specific file.
Configuration files are parsed after the normal Verilog preprocessing, so `ifdefs, `defines, and comments
may be used as if it were normal Verilog code.
The grammar of configuration commands is as follows:
`verilator_config
Take remaining text up the the next `verilog mode switch and treat it as Verilator configuration
commands.
coverage_off [-file "<filename>" [-lines <line> [ - <line> ]]]
Disable coverage for the specified filename (or wildcard with '*' or '?', or all files if omitted)
and range of line numbers (or all lines if omitted). Often used to ignore an entire module for
coverage analysis purposes.
lint_off [-msg <message>] [-file "<filename>" [-lines <line> [ - <line>]]]
Disables the specified lint warning, in the specified filename (or wildcard with '*' or '?', or all
files if omitted) and range of line numbers (or all lines if omitted).
If the -msg is omitted, all lint warnings are disabled. This will override all later lint warning
enables for the specified region.
tracing_off [-file "<filename>" [-lines <line> [ - <line> ]]]
Disable waveform tracing for all future signals declared in the specified filename (or wildcard with
'*' or '?', or all files if omitted) and range of line numbers (or all lines if omitted).
LANGUAGE STANDARD SUPPORT
Verilog 2001 (IEEE 1364-2001) Support
Verilator supports most Verilog 2001 language features. This includes signed numbers, "always @*",
generate statements, multidimensional arrays, localparam, and C-style declarations inside port lists.
Verilog 2005 (IEEE 1364-2005) Support
Verilator supports most Verilog 2005 language features. This includes the `begin_keywords and
`end_keywords compiler directives, $clog2, and the uwire keyword.
SystemVerilog 2005 (IEEE 1800-2005) Support
Verilator supports ==? and !=? operators, ++ and -- in some contexts, $bits, $countones, $error, $fatal,
$info, $isunknown, $onehot, $onehot0, $unit, $warning, always_comb, always_ff, always_latch, bit, byte,
chandle, const, do-while, enum, export, final, import, int, interface, logic, longint, modport, package,
program, shortint, struct, time, typedef, union, var, void, priority case/if, and unique case/if.
It also supports .name and .* interconnection.
Verilator partially supports concurrent assert and cover statements; see the enclosed coverage tests for
the syntax which is allowed.
SystemVerilog 2012 (IEEE 1800-2012) Support
Verilator implements a full SystemVerilog 2012 preprocessor, including function call-like preprocessor
defines, default define arguments, `__FILE__, `__LINE__ and `undefineall.
Verilator currently has some support for SystemVerilog synthesis constructs. As SystemVerilog features
enter common usage they are added; please file a bug if a feature you need is missing.
Verilog AMS Support
Verilator implements a very small subset of Verilog AMS (Verilog Analog and Mixed-Signal Extensions) with
the subset corresponding to those VMS keywords with near equivelents in the Verilog 2005 or SystemVerilog
2009 languages.
AMS parsing is enabled with "--language VAMS" or "--language 1800+VAMS".
At present Verilator implements ceil, exp, floor, ln, log, pow, sqrt, string, and wreal.
Sugar/PSL Support
Most future work is being directed towards improving SystemVerilog assertions instead of PSL. If you are
using these PSL features, please contact the author as they may be depreciated in future versions.
With the --assert switch, Verilator enables support of the Property Specification Language (PSL),
specifically the simple PSL subset without time-branching primitives. Verilator currently only converts
PSL assertions to simple "if (...) error" statements, and coverage statements to increment the line
counters described in the coverage section.
Verilator implements these keywords: assert, assume (same as assert), default (for clocking), countones,
cover, isunknown, onehot, onehot0, report, and true.
Verilator implements these operators: -> (logical if).
Verilator does not support SEREs yet. All assertion and coverage statements must be simple expressions
that complete in one cycle. PSL vmode/vprop/vunits are not supported. PSL statements must be in the
module they reference, at the module level where you would put an initial... statement.
Verilator only supports (posedge CLK) or (negedge CLK), where CLK is the name of a one bit signal. You
may not use arbitrary expressions as assertion clocks.
Synthesis Directive Assertion Support
With the --assert switch, Verilator reads any "//synopsys full_case" or "//synopsys parallel_case"
directives. The same applies to any "//ambit synthesis", "//cadence" or "//pragma" directives of the
same form.
When these synthesis directives are discovered, Verilator will either formally prove the directive to be
true, or failing that, will insert the appropriate code to detect failing cases at runtime and print an
"Assertion failed" error message.
Verilator likewise also asserts any "unique" or "priority" SystemVerilog keywords on case statements.
However, "unique if" and "priority if" are currently simply ignored.
LANGUAGE EXTENSIONS
The following additional constructs are the extensions Verilator supports on top of standard Verilog
code. Using these features outside of comments or `ifdef's may break other tools.
`__FILE__
The __FILE__ define expands to the current filename as a string, like C++'s __FILE__. This was
incorporated into to the 1800-2009 standard (but supported by Verilator since 2006!)
`__LINE__
The __LINE__ define expands to the current filename as a string, like C++'s __LINE__. This was
incorporated into to the 1800-2009 standard (but supported by Verilator since 2006!)
`error string
This will report an error when encountered, like C++'s #error.
_(expr)
A underline followed by an expression in parenthesis returns a Verilog expression. This is different
from normal parenthesis in special contexts, such as PSL expressions, and can be used to embed bit
concatenation ({}) inside of PSL statements.
$c(string, ...);
The string will be embedded directly in the output C++ code at the point where the surrounding
Verilog code is compiled. It may either be a standalone statement (with a trailing ; in the string),
or a function that returns up to a 32-bit number (without a trailing ;). This can be used to call C++
functions from your Verilog code.
String arguments will be put directly into the output C++ code. Expression arguments will have the
code to evaluate the expression inserted. Thus to call a C++ function, $c("func(",a,")") will result
in 'func(a)' in the output C++ code. For input arguments, rather than hard-coding variable names in
the string $c("func(a)"), instead pass the variable as an expression $c("func(",a,")"). This will
allow the call to work inside Verilog functions where the variable is flattened out, and also enable
other optimizations.
If you will be reading or writing any Verilog variables inside the C++ functions, the Verilog signals
must be declared with /*verilator public*/.
You may also append an arbitrary number to $c, generally the width of the output. [signal_32_bits =
$c32("...");] This allows for compatibility with other simulators which require a differently named
PLI function name for each different output width.
$display, $write, $fdisplay, $fwrite, $sformat, $swrite
Format arguments may use C fprintf sizes after the % escape. Per the Verilog standard, %x prints a
number with the natural width, and %0x prints a number with minimum width. Verilator extends this so
%5x prints 5 digits per the C standard (it's unspecified in Verilog).
`coverage_block_off
Specifies the entire begin/end block should be ignored for coverage analysis. Same as /* verilator
coverage_block_off */.
`systemc_header
Take remaining text up to the next `verilog or `systemc_... mode switch and place it verbatim into
the output .h file's header. Despite the name of this macro, this also works in pure C++ code.
`systemc_ctor
Take remaining text up to the next `verilog or `systemc_... mode switch and place it verbatim into
the C++ class constructor. Despite the name of this macro, this also works in pure C++ code.
`systemc_dtor
Take remaining text up to the next `verilog or `systemc_... mode switch and place it verbatim into
the C++ class destructor. Despite the name of this macro, this also works in pure C++ code.
`systemc_interface
Take remaining text up to the next `verilog or `systemc_... mode switch and place it verbatim into
the C++ class interface. Despite the name of this macro, this also works in pure C++ code.
`systemc_imp_header
Take remaining text up to the next `verilog or `systemc_... mode switch and place it verbatim into
the header of all files for this C++ class implementation. Despite the name of this macro, this also
works in pure C++ code.
`systemc_implementation
Take remaining text up to the next `verilog or `systemc_... mode switch and place it verbatim into a
single file of the C++ class implementation. Despite the name of this macro, this also works in pure
C++ code.
If you will be reading or writing any Verilog variables in the C++ functions, the Verilog signals
must be declared with /*verilator public*/. See also the public task feature; writing an accessor
may result in cleaner code.
`SYSTEMVERILOG
The SYSTEMVERILOG, SV_COV_START and related standard defines are set by default when --language is
1800-*.
`VERILATOR
`verilator
`verilator3
The VERILATOR, verilator and verilator3 defines are set by default so you may `ifdef around compiler
specific constructs.
`verilator_config
Take remaining text up the the next `verilog mode switch and treat it as Verilator configuration
commands.
`verilog
Switch back to processing Verilog code after a `systemc_... mode switch. The Verilog code returns to
the last language mode specified with `begin_keywords, or SystemVerilog if none were specified.
/*verilator clock_enable*/
Used after a signal declaration to indicate the signal is used to gate a clock, and the user takes
responsibility for insuring there are no races related to it. (Typically by adding a latch, and
running static timing analysis.) For example:
reg enable_r /*verilator clock_enable*/;
wire gated_clk = clk & enable_r;
always_ff @ (posedge clk)
enable_r <= enable_early;
The clock_enable attribute will cause the clock gate to be ignored in the scheduling algorithm,
sometimes required for correct clock behavior, and always improving performance. It's also a good
idea to enable the IMPERFECTSCH warning, to insure all clock enables are properly recognized.
/*verilator coverage_block_off*/
Specifies the entire begin/end block should be ignored for coverage analysis purposes.
/*verilator coverage_off*/
Specifies that following lines of code should have coverage disabled. Often used to ignore an entire
module for coverage analysis purposes.
/*verilator coverage_on*/
Specifies that following lines of code should have coverage re-enabled (if appropriate --coverage
flags are passed) after being disabled earlier with /*verilator coverage_off*/.
/*verilator inline_module*/
Specifies the module the comment appears in may be inlined into any modules that use this module.
This is useful to speed up simulation time with some small loss of trace visibility and modularity.
Note signals under inlined submodules will be named submodule__DOT__subsignal as C++ does not allow
"." in signal names. SystemPerl when tracing such signals will replace the __DOT__ with the period.
/*verilator isolate_assignments*/
Used after a signal declaration to indicate the assignments to this signal in any blocks should be
isolated into new blocks. When there is a large combinatorial block that is resulting in a UNOPTFLAT
warning, attaching this to the signal causing a false loop may clear up the problem.
IE, with the following
reg splitme /* verilator isolate_assignments*/;
// Note the placement of the semicolon above
always @* begin
if (....) begin
splitme = ....;
other assignments
end
end
Verilator will internally split the block that assigns to "splitme" into two blocks:
It would then internally break it into (sort of):
// All assignments excluding those to splitme
always @* begin
if (....) begin
other assignments
end
end
// All assignments to splitme
always @* begin
if (....) begin
splitme = ....;
end
end
/*verilator lint_off msg*/
Disable the specified warning message for any warnings following the comment.
/*verilator lint_on msg*/
Re-enable the specified warning message for any warnings following the comment.
/*verilator lint_restore*/
After a /*verilator lint_save*/, pop the stack containing lint message state. Often this is useful
at the bottom of include files.
/*verilator lint_save*/
Push the current state of what lint messages are turned on or turned off to a stack. Later meta-
comments may then lint_on or lint_off specific messages, then return to the earlier message state by
using /*verilator lint_restore*/. For example:
// verilator lint_save
// verilator lint_off SOME_WARNING
... // code needing SOME_WARNING turned off
// verilator lint_restore
If SOME_WARNING was on before the lint_off, it will now be restored to on, and if it was off before
the lint_off it will remain off.
/*verilator no_inline_task*/
Used in a function or task variable definition section to specify the function or task should not be
inlined into where it is used. This may reduce the size of the final executable when a task is used
a very large number of times. For this flag to work, the task and tasks below it must be pure; they
cannot reference any variables outside the task itself.
/*verilator public*/ (variable)
Used after an input, output, register, or wire declaration to indicate the signal should be declared
so that C code may read or write the value of the signal. This will also declare this module public,
otherwise use /*verilator public_flat*/.
Instead of using public variables, consider instead making a DPI or public function that accesses the
variable. This is nicer as it provides an obvious entry point that is also compatible across
simulators.
/*verilator public*/ (task/function)
Used inside the declaration section of a function or task declaration to indicate the function or
task should be made into a C++ function, public to outside callers. Public tasks will be declared as
a void C++ function, public functions will get the appropriate non-void (bool, uint32_t, etc) return
type. Any input arguments will become C++ arguments to the function. Any output arguments will
become C++ reference arguments. Any local registers/integers will become function automatic
variables on the stack.
Wide variables over 64 bits cannot be function returns, to avoid exposing complexities. However,
wide variables can be input/outputs; they will be passed as references to an array of 32-bit numbers.
Generally, only the values of stored state (flops) should be written, as the model will NOT notice
changes made to variables in these functions. (Same as when a signal is declared public.)
You may want to use DPI exports instead, as it's compatible with other simulators.
/*verilator public_flat*/ (variable)
Used after an input, output, register, or wire declaration to indicate the signal should be declared
so that C code may read or write the value of the signal. This will not declare this module public,
which means the name of the signal or path to it may change based upon the module inlining which
takes place.
/*verilator public_flat_rd*/ (variable)
Used after an input, output, register, or wire declaration to indicate the signal should be declared
public_flat (see above), but read-only.
/*verilator public_flat_rw @(<edge_list>) */ (variable)
Used after an input, output, register, or wire declaration to indicate the signal should be declared
public_flat_rd (see above), and also writable, where writes should be considered to have the timing
specified by the given sensitivity edge list.
/*verilator public_module*/
Used after a module statement to indicate the module should not be inlined (unless specifically
requested) so that C code may access the module. Verilator automatically sets this attribute when
the module contains any public signals or `systemc_ directives. Also set for all modules when using
the --public switch.
/*verilator sc_clock*/
Rarely needed. Used after an input declaration to indicate the signal should be declared in SystemC
as a sc_clock instead of a bool. This was needed in SystemC 1.1 and 1.2 only; versions 2.0 and later
do not require clock pins to be sc_clocks and this is no longer needed.
/*verilator sc_bv*/
Used after a port declaration. It sets the port to be of sc_bv<width> type, instead of bool,
vluint32_t or vluint64_t. This may be useful if the port width is parametrized and different of such
modules interface a templated module (such as a transactor) or for other reasons. In general you
should avoid using this attribute when not necessary as with increasing usage of sc_bv the
performance increases significantly.
/*verilator sformat*/
Attached to the final input of a function or task "input string" to indicate the function or task
should pass all remaining arguments through $sformatf. This allows creation of DPI functions with
$display like behavior. See the test_regress/t/t_dpi_display.v file for an example.
/*verilator tracing_off*/
Disable waveform tracing for all future signals that are declared in this module. Often this is
placed just after a primitive's module statement, so that the entire module is not traced.
/*verilator tracing_on*/
Re-enable waveform tracing for all future signals that are declared.
LANGUAGE LIMITATIONS
There are some limitations and lack of features relative to a commercial simulator, by intent. User
beware.
It is strongly recommended you use a lint tool before running this program. Verilator isn't designed to
easily uncover common mistakes that a lint program will find for you.
Synthesis Subset
Verilator supports only the Synthesis subset with a few minor additions such as $stop, $finish and
$display. That is, you cannot use hierarchical references, events or similar features of the Verilog
language. It also simulates as Synopsys's Design Compiler would; namely a block of the form:
always @ (x) y = x & z;
This will recompute y when there is even a potential for change in x or a change in z, that is when the
flops computing x or z evaluate (which is what Design Compiler will synthesize.) A compliant simulator
would only calculate y if x changes. Use verilog-mode's /*AS*/ or Verilog 2001's always @* to reduce
missing activity items. Avoid putting $displays in combo blocks, as they may print multiple times when
not desired, even on compliant simulators as event ordering is not specified.
Bind
Verilator only supports "bind" to a target module name, not an instance path.
Dotted cross-hierarchy references
Verilator supports dotted references to variables, functions and tasks in different modules. However,
references into named blocks and function-local variables are not supported. The portion before the dot
must have a constant value; for example a[2].b is acceptable, while a[x].b is not.
References into generated and arrayed instances use the instance names specified in the Verilog standard;
arrayed instances are named {cellName}[{instanceNumber}] in Verilog, which becomes
{cellname}__BRA__{instanceNumber}__KET__ inside the generated C++ code.
Verilator creates numbered "genblk" when a begin: name is not specified around a block inside a generate
statement. These numbers may differ between other simulators, but the Verilog specification does not
allow users to use these names, so it should not matter.
If you are having trouble determining where a dotted path goes wrong, note that Verilator will print a
list of known scopes to help your debugging.
Floating Point
Floating Point (real) numbers are supported.
Latches
Verilator is optimized for edge sensitive (flop based) designs. It will attempt to do the correct thing
for latches, but most performance optimizations will be disabled around the latch.
Structures and Unions
Verilator only presently supports packed structs and packed unions. Rand and randc tags on members are
simply ignored. All structures and unions are represented as a single vector, which means that
generating one member of a structure from blocking, and another from non-blocking assignments is
unsupported.
Time
All delays (#) are ignored, as they are in synthesis.
Unknown states
Verilator is mostly a two state simulator, not a four state simulator. However, it has two features
which uncover most initialization bugs (including many that a four state simulator will miss.)
Identity comparisons (=== or !==) are converted to standard ==/!== when neither side is a constant. This
may make the expression result differ from a four state simulator. An === comparison to X will always be
false, so that Verilog code which checks for uninitialized logic will not fire.
Assigning a variable to a X will actually assign the variable to a random value (see the --x-assign
switch.) Thus if the value is actually used, the random value should cause downstream errors. Integers
also randomize, even though the Verilog 2001 specification says they initialize to zero.
All variables are randomly initialized using a function. By running several random simulation runs you
can determine that reset is working correctly. On the first run, the function initializes variables to
zero. On the second, have it initialize variables to one. On the third and following runs have it
initialize them randomly. If the results match, reset works. (Note this is what the hardware will
really do.) In practice, just setting all variables to one at startup finds most problems.
Note. --x-assign applies to variables explicitly initialized or assigned to X. Unititialized clocks are
initialized to zero, while all other state holding variables are initialized to a random value.
Event driven simulators will generally trigger an edge on a transition from X to 1 ("posedge") or X to 0
("negedge"). However, by default, since clocks are initialized to zero, Verilator will not trigger an
initial negedge. Some code (particulary for reset) may rely on X->0 triggering an edge. Verilator
provides a switch (see --x-initial-edge) to enable this behavior. Comparing runs with and without this
switch will find such problems.
Tri/Inout
Verilator converts some simple tristate structures into two state. Pullup, pulldown, bufif0, bufif1,
notif0, notif1, pmos, nmos, tri0 and tri1 are also supported. Simple comparisons with === 1'bz are also
supported.
An assignment of the form:
inout driver;
wire driver = (enable) ? output_value : 1'bz;
Will be converted to
input driver; // Value being driven in from "external" drivers
output driver__en; // True if driven from this module
output driver__out; // Value being driven from this module
External logic will be needed to combine these signals with any external drivers.
Tristate drivers are not supported inside functions and tasks; an inout there will be considered a two
state variable that is read and written instead of a four state variable.
Functions & Tasks
All functions and tasks will be inlined (will not become functions in C.) The only support provided is
for simple statements in tasks (which may affect global variables).
Recursive functions and tasks are not supported. All inputs and outputs are automatic, as if they had
the Verilog 2001 "automatic" keyword prepended. (If you don't know what this means, Verilator will do
what you probably expect -- what C does. The default behavior of Verilog is different.)
Generated Clocks
Verilator attempts to deal with generated and enabled clocks correctly, however some cases cause problems
in the scheduling algorithm which is optimized for performance. The safest option is to have all clocks
as primary inputs to the model, or wires directly attached to primary inputs. For proper behavior clock
enables may also need the /*verilator clock_enable*/ attribute.
Ranges must be big-bit-endian
Bit ranges must be numbered with the MSB being numbered greater or the same as the LSB. Little-bit-
endian busses [0:15] are not supported as they aren't easily made compatible with C++.
Gate Primitives
The 2-state gate primitives (and, buf, nand, nor, not, or, xnor, xor) are directly converted to
behavioral equivalents. The 3-state and MOS gate primitives are not supported. Tables are not
supported.
Specify blocks
All specify blocks and timing checks are ignored.
Array Initialization
When initializing a large array, you need to use non-delayed assignments. Verilator will tell you when
this needs to be fixed; see the BLKLOOPINIT error for more information.
Array Out of Bounds
Writing a memory element that is outside the bounds specified for the array may cause a different memory
element inside the array to be written instead. For power-of-2 sized arrays, Verilator will give a width
warning and the address. For non-power-of-2-sizes arrays, index 0 will be written.
Reading a memory element that is outside the bounds specified for the array will give a width warning and
wrap around the power-of-2 size. For non-power-of-2 sizes, it will return a unspecified constant of the
appropriate width.
Assertions
Verilator is beginning to add support for assertions. Verilator currently only converts assertions to
simple "if (...) error" statements, and coverage statements to increment the line counters described in
the coverage section.
Verilator does not support SEREs yet. All assertion and coverage statements must be simple expressions
that complete in one cycle. (Arguably SEREs are much of the point, but one must start somewhere.)
Language Keyword Limitations
This section describes specific limitations for each language keyword.
`__FILE__, `__LINE__, `begin_keywords, `begin_keywords, `begin_keywords, `begin_keywords,
`begin_keywords, `define, `else, `elsif, `end_keywords, `endif, `error, `ifdef, `ifndef, `include, `line,
`systemc_ctor, `systemc_dtor, `systemc_header, `systemc_imp_header, `systemc_implementation,
`systemc_interface, `timescale, `undef, `verilog
Fully supported.
always, always_comb, always_ff, always_latch, and, assign, begin, buf, byte, case, casex, casez, default,
defparam, do-while, else, end, endcase, endfunction, endgenerate, endmodule, endspecify, endtask, final,
for, function, generate, genvar, if, initial, inout, input, int, integer, localparam, logic, longint,
macromodule, module, nand, negedge, nor, not, or, output, parameter, posedge, reg, scalared, shortint,
signed, supply0, supply1, task, time, tri, typedef, var, vectored, while, wire, xnor, xor
Generally supported.
++, -- operators
Increment/decrement can only be used as standalone statements or in for loops. They cannot be used
as side effect operators inside more complicate expressions ("a = b++;").
'{} operator
Assignment patterns with order based, default, constant integer (array) or member identifier
(struct/union) keys are supported. Data type keys and keys which are computed from a constant
expression are not supported.
cast operator
Casting is supported only between simple scalar types, signed and unsigned, not arrays nor structs.
chandle
Treated as a "longint"; does not yet warn about operations that are specified as illegal on chandles.
disable
Disable statements may be used only if the block being disabled is a block the disable statement
itself is inside. This was commonly used to provide loop break and continue functionality before
SystemVerilog added the break and continue keywords.
inside
Inside expressions may not include unpacked array traversal or $ as an upper bound. Case inside and
case matches are also unsupported.
interface
Interfaces and modports, including with generated data types are supported. Generate blocks around
modports are not supported, nor are virtual interfaces nor unnamed interfaces.
priority if, unique if
Priority and unique if's are treated as normal ifs and not asserted to be full nor unique.
specify specparam
All specify blocks and timing checks are ignored.
string
String is supported only to the point that they can be passed to DPI imports.
timeunit, timeprecision
All timing control statements are ignored.
uwire
Verilator does not perform warning checking on uwires, it treats the uwire keyword as if it were the
normal wire keyword.
$bits, $countones, $error, $fatal, $finish, $info, $isunknown, $onehot, $onehot0, $readmemb, $readmemh,
$signed, $stime, $stop, $time, $unsigned, $warning.
Generally supported.
$display, $write, $fdisplay, $fwrite, $swrite
$display and friends must have a constant format string as the first argument (as with C's printf).
The rare usage which lists variables standalone without a format is not supported.
$displayb, $displayh, $displayo, $writeb, $writeh, $writeo, etc
The sized display functions are rarely used and so not supported. Replace them with a $write with
the appropriate format specifier.
$finish, $stop
The rarely used optional parameter to $finish and $stop is ignored.
$fopen, $fclose, $fdisplay, $feof, $fflush, $fgetc, $fgets, $fscanf, $fwrite
File descriptors passed to the file PLI calls must be file descriptors, not MCDs, which includes the
mode parameter to $fopen being mandatory.
$fscanf, $sscanf
Only integer formats are supported; %e, %f, %m, %r, %v, and %z are not supported.
$fullskew, $hold, $nochange, $period, $recovery, $recrem, $removal, $setup, $setuphold, $skew, $timeskew,
$width
All specify blocks and timing checks are ignored.
$random
$random does not support the optional argument to set the seed. Use the srand function in C to
accomplish this, and note there is only one random number generator (not one per module).
$readmemb, $readmemh
Read memory commands should work properly. Note Verilator and the Verilog specification does not
include support for readmem to multi-dimensional arrays.
$test$plusargs, $value$plusargs
Supported, but the instantiating C++/SystemC testbench must call
Verilated::commandArgs(argc, argv);
to register the command line before calling $test$plusargs or $value$plusargs.
$timeformat
Not supported as Verilator needs to determine all formatting at compile time. Generally you can just
ifdef them out for no ill effect. Note also VL_TIME_MULTIPLER can be defined at compile time to move
the decimal point when displaying all times, model wide.
ERRORS AND WARNINGS
Warnings may be disabled in two ways. First, when the warning is printed it will include a warning code.
Simply surround the offending line with a warn_off/warn_on pair:
// verilator lint_off UNSIGNED
if (`DEF_THAT_IS_EQ_ZERO <= 3) $stop;
// verilator lint_on UNSIGNED
Warnings may also be globally disabled by invoking Verilator with the "-Wno-warning" switch. This should
be avoided, as it removes all checking across the designs, and prevents other users from compiling your
code without knowing the magic set of disables needed to successfully compile your design.
List of all warnings:
ALWCOMBORDER
Warns that an always_comb block has a variable which is set after it is used. This may cause
simulation-synthesis mismatches, as not all commercial simulators allow this ordering.
always_comb begin
a = b;
b = 1;
end
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
ASSIGNIN
Error that an assignment is being made to an input signal. This is almost certainly a mistake,
though technically legal.
input a;
assign a = 1'b1;
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
ASSIGNDLY
Warns that you have an assignment statement with a delayed time in front of it, for example:
a <= #100 b;
assign #100 a = b;
Ignoring this warning may make Verilator simulations differ from other simulators, however at one
point this was a common style so disabled by default as a code style warning.
BLKANDNBLK
BLKANDNBLK is an error that a variable comes from a mix of blocked and non-blocking assignments.
Generally, this is caused by a register driven by both combo logic and a flop:
always @ (posedge clk) foo[0] <= ...
always @* foo[1] = ...
Simply use a different register for the flop:
always @ (posedge clk) foo_flopped[0] <= ...
always @* foo[0] = foo_flopped[0];
always @* foo[1] = ...
This is good coding practice anyways.
It is also possible to disable this error when one of the assignments is inside a public task.
Ignoring this warning may make Verilator simulations differ from other simulators.
BLKSEQ
This indicates that a blocking assignment (=) is used in a sequential block. Generally
non-blocking/delayed assignments (<=) are used in sequential blocks, to avoid the possibility of
simulator races. It can be reasonable to do this if the generated signal is used ONLY later in the
same block, however this style is generally discouraged as it is error prone.
always @ (posedge clk) foo = ...
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
BLKLOOPINIT
This indicates that the initialization of an array needs to use non-delayed assignments. This is
done in the interest of speed; if delayed assignments were used, the simulator would have to copy
large arrays every cycle. (In smaller loops, loop unrolling allows the delayed assignment to work,
though it's a bit slower than a non-delayed assignment.) Here's an example
always @ (posedge clk)
if (~reset_l) begin
for (i=0; i<`ARRAY_SIZE; i++) begin
array[i] = 0; // Non-delayed for verilator
end
This message is only seen on large or complicated loops because Verilator generally unrolls small
loops. You may want to try increasing --unroll-count (and occasionally --unroll-stmts) which will
raise the small loop bar to avoid this error.
CASEINCOMPLETE
Warns that inside a case statement there is a stimulus pattern for which there is no case item
specified. This is bad style, if a case is impossible, it's better to have a "default: $stop;" or
just "default: ;" so that any design assumption violations will be discovered in simulation.
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
CASEOVERLAP
Warns that inside a case statement you have case values which are detected to be overlapping. This
is bad style, as moving the order of case values will cause different behavior. Generally the values
can be respecified to not overlap.
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
CASEX
Warns that it is simply better style to use casez, and "?" in place of "x"'s. See
<http://www.sunburst-design.com/papers/CummingsSNUG1999Boston_FullParallelCase_rev1_1.pdf>
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
CASEWITHX
Warns that a case statement contains a constant with a "x". Verilator is two-state so interpret such
items as always false. Note a common error is to use a "X" in a case or casez statement item; often
what the user instead intended is to use a casez with "?".
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
CDCRSTLOGIC
With --cdc only, warns that asynchronous flop reset terms come from other than primary inputs or
flopped outputs, creating the potential for reset glitches.
CMPCONST
Warns that you are comparing a value in a way that will always be constant. For example "X > 1" will
always be true when X is a single bit wide.
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
COMBDLY
Warns that you have a delayed assignment inside of a combinatorial block. Using delayed assignments
in this way is considered bad form, and may lead to the simulator not matching synthesis. If this
message is suppressed, Verilator, like synthesis, will convert this to a non-delayed assignment,
which may result in logic races or other nasties. See
<http://www.sunburst-design.com/papers/CummingsSNUG2000SJ_NBA_rev1_2.pdf>
Ignoring this warning may make Verilator simulations differ from other simulators.
DECLFILENAME
Warns that a module or other declaration's name doesn't match the filename with path and extension
stripped that it is declared in. The filename a modules/interfaces/programs is declared in should
match the name of the module etc. so that -y directory searching will work. This warning is printed
for only the first mismatching module in any given file, and -v library files are ignored.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
DEFPARAM
Warns that the "defparam" statement was deprecated in Verilog 2001 and all designs should now be
using the #(...) format to specify parameters.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
DETECTARRAY
Error when Verilator tries to deal with a combinatorial loop that could not be flattened, and which
involves a datatype which Verilator cannot handle, such as an unpacked struct or a large unpacked
array. This typically ocurrs when -Wno-UNOPTFLAT has been used to override an UNOPTFLAT warning (see
below).
The solution is to break the loop, as described for UNOPTFLAT.
ENDLABEL
Warns that a label attached to a "end"-something statement does not match the label attached to the
block start.
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
GENCLK
Warns that the specified signal is generated, but is also being used as a clock. Verilator needs to
evaluate sequential logic multiple times in this situation. In somewhat contrived cases having any
generated clock can reduce performance by almost a factor of two. For fastest results, generate ALL
clocks outside in C++/SystemC and make them primary inputs to your Verilog model. (However once need
to you have even one, don't sweat additional ones.)
Ignoring this warning may make Verilator simulations differ from other simulators.
IFDEPTH
Warns that if/if else statements have exceeded the depth specified with --if-depth, as they are
likely to result in slow priority encoders. Unique and priority if statements are ignored.
Solutions include changing the code to a case statement, or a SystemVerilog 'unique if' or 'priority
if'.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
IMPERFECTSCH
Warns that the scheduling of the model is not absolutely perfect, and some manual code edits may
result in faster performance. This warning defaults to off, and must be turned on explicitly before
the top module statement is processed.
IMPLICIT
Warns that a wire is being implicitly declared (it is a single bit wide output from a sub-module.)
While legal in Verilog, implicit declarations only work for single bit wide signals (not buses), do
not allow using a signal before it is implicitly declared by a cell, and can lead to dangling nets.
A better option is the /*AUTOWIRE*/ feature of Verilog-Mode for Emacs, available from
<http://www.veripool.org/>
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
IMPURE
Warns that a task or function that has been marked with /*verilator no_inline_task*/ references
variables that are not local to the task. Verilator cannot schedule these variables correctly.
Ignoring this warning may make Verilator simulations differ from other simulators.
INCABSPATH
Warns that an `include filename specifies an absolute path. This means the code will not work on any
other system with a different file system layout. Instead of using absolute paths, relative paths
(preferably without any directory specified whatever) should be used, and +include used on the
command line to specify the top include source directory.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
INITIALDLY
Warns that you have a delayed assignment inside of an initial or final block. If this message is
suppressed, Verilator will convert this to a non-delayed assignment. See also the COMBDLY warning.
Ignoring this warning may make Verilator simulations differ from other simulators.
LITENDIAN
Warns that a packed vector is declared with little endian bit numbering (i.e. [0:7]). Big endian bit
numbering is now the overwhelming standard, and little numbering is now thus often due to simple
oversight instead of intent.
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
MODDUP
Error that a module has multiple definitions. Generally this indicates a coding error, or a mistake
in a library file and it's good practice to have one module per file to avoid these issues. For some
gate level netlists duplicates are unavoidable, and this error may be disabled.
MULTIDRIVEN
Warns that the specified signal comes from multiple always blocks. This is often unsupported by
synthesis tools, and is considered bad style. It will also cause longer runtimes due to reduced
optimizations.
Ignoring this warning will only slow simulations, it will simulate correctly.
MULTITOP
Error that there are multiple top level modules, that is modules not instantiated by any other
module. Verilator only supports a single top level, if you need more, create a module that wraps all
of the top modules.
Often this error is because some low level cell is being read in, but is not really needed. The best
solution is to insure that each module is in a unique file by the same name. Otherwise, make sure
all library files are read in as libraries with -v, instead of automatically with -y.
PINMISSING
Warns that a module has a pin which is not mentioned in a cell instantiation. If a pin is not
missing it should still be specified on the cell declaration with a empty connection,using
"(.pin_name())".
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
PINNOCONNECT
Warns that a cell instantiation has a pin which is not connected to another signal.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
REALCVT
Warns that a real number is being implicitly rounded to an integer, with possible loss of precision.
REDEFMACRO
Warns that you have redefined the same macro with a different value, for example:
`define MACRO def1
//...
`define MACRO otherdef
The best solution is to use a different name for the second macro. If this is not possible, add a
undef to indicate the code is overriding the value:
`define MACRO def1
//...
`undef MACRO
`define MACRO otherdef
SELRANGE
Warns that a selection index will go out of bounds:
wire vec[6:0];
initial out = vec[7]; // There is no 7
Verilator will assume zero for this value, instead of X. Note that in some cases this warning may be
false, when a condition upstream or downstream of the access means the access out of bounds will
never execute or be used.
wire vec[6:0];
initial begin
seven = 7;
...
if (seven != 7) out = vec[seven]; // Never will use vec[7]
STMTDLY
Warns that you have a statement with a delayed time in front of it, for example:
#100 $finish;
Ignoring this warning may make Verilator simulations differ from other simulators.
SYMRSVDWORD
Error that a symbol matches a C++ reserved word and using this as a symbol name would result in odd C
compiler errors. You may disable this error message as you would disable warnings, but the symbol
will be renamed by Verilator to avoid the conflict.
SYNCASYNCNET
Warns that the specified net is used in at least two different always statements with
posedge/negedges (i.e. a flop). One usage has the signal in the sensitivity list and body, probably
as an async reset, and the other usage has the signal only in the body, probably as a sync reset.
Mixing sync and async resets is usually a mistake. The warning may be disabled with a lint_off
pragma around the net, or either flopped block.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
TASKNSVAR
Error when a call to a task or function has a output from that task tied to a non-simple signal.
Instead connect the task output to a temporary signal of the appropriate width, and use that signal
to set the appropriate expression as the next statement. For example:
task foo; output sig; ... endtask
always @* begin
foo(bus_we_select_from[2]); // Will get TASKNSVAR error
end
Change this to:
reg foo_temp_out;
always @* begin
foo(foo_temp_out);
bus_we_select_from[2] = foo_temp_out;
end
Verilator doesn't do this conversion for you, as some more complicated cases would result in
simulator mismatches.
UNDRIVEN
Warns that the specified signal is never sourced. Verilator is fairly liberal in the usage
calculations; making a signal public, or loading only a single array element marks the entire signal
as driven.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
UNOPT
Warns that due to some construct, optimization of the specified signal or block is disabled. The
construct should be cleaned up to improve runtime.
A less obvious case of this is when a module instantiates two submodules. Inside submodule A, signal
I is input and signal O is output. Likewise in submodule B, signal O is an input and I is an output.
A loop exists and a UNOPT warning will result if AI & AO both come from and go to combinatorial
blocks in both submodules, even if they are unrelated always blocks. This affects performance
because Verilator would have to evaluate each submodule multiple times to stabilize the signals
crossing between the modules.
Ignoring this warning will only slow simulations, it will simulate correctly.
UNOPTFLAT
Warns that due to some construct, optimization of the specified signal is disabled. The signal
specified includes a complete scope to the signal; it may be only one particular usage of a multiply
instantiated block. The construct should be cleaned up to improve runtime; two times better
performance may be possible by fixing these warnings.
Unlike the UNOPT warning, this occurs after netlist flattening, and indicates a more basic problem,
as the less obvious case described under UNOPT does not apply.
Often UNOPTFLAT is caused by logic that isn't truly circular as viewed by synthesis which analyzes
interconnection per-bit, but is circular to simulation which analyzes per-bus:
wire [2:0] x = {x[1:0],shift_in};
This statement needs to be evaluated multiple times, as a change in "shift_in" requires "x" to be
computed 3 times before it becomes stable. This is because a change in "x" requires "x" itself to
change value, which causes the warning.
For significantly better performance, split this into 2 separate signals:
wire [2:0] xout = {x[1:0],shift_in};
and change all receiving logic to instead receive "xout". Alternatively, change it to
wire [2:0] x = {xin[1:0],shift_in};
and change all driving logic to instead drive "xin".
With this change this assignment needs to be evaluated only once. These sort of changes may also
speed up your traditional event driven simulator, as it will result in fewer events per cycle.
The most complicated UNOPTFLAT path we've seen was due to low bits of a bus being generated from an
always statement that consumed high bits of the same bus processed by another series of always
blocks. The fix is the same; split it into two separate signals generated from each block.
The UNOPTFLAT warning may also be due to clock enables, identified from the reported path going
through a clock gating cell. To fix these, use the clock_enable meta comment described above.
The UNOPTFLAT warning may also occur where outputs from a block of logic are independent, but occur
in the same always block. To fix this, use the isolate_assignments meta comment described above.
To assist in resolving UNOPTFLAT, the option "--report-unoptflat" can be used, which will provide
suggestions for variables that can be split up, and a graph of all the nodes connected in the loop.
See the Arguments section for more details.
Ignoring this warning will only slow simulations, it will simulate correctly.
UNPACKED
Warns that unpacked structs and unions are not supported.
Ignoring this warning will make Verilator treat the structure as packed, which may make Verilator
simulations differ from other simulators.
UNSIGNED
Warns that you are comparing a unsigned value in a way that implies it is signed, for example "X < 0"
will always be true when X is unsigned.
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
UNUSED
Warns that the specified signal is never sinked. Verilator is fairly liberal in the usage
calculations; making a signal public, a signal matching --unused-regexp ("*unused*") or accessing
only a single array element marks the entire signal as used.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
A recommended style for unused nets is to put at the bottom of a file code similar to the following:
wire _unused_ok = &{1'b0,
sig_not_used_a,
sig_not_used_yet_b, // To be fixed
1'b0};
The reduction AND and constant zeros mean the net will always be zero, so won't use simulation time.
The redundant leading and trailing zeros avoid syntax errors if there are no signals between them.
The magic name "unused" (-unused-regexp) is recognized by Verilator and suppresses warnings; if using
other lint tools, either teach to tool to ignore signals with "unused" in the name, or put the
appropriate lint_off around the wire. Having unused signals in one place makes it easy to find what
is unused, and reduces the number of lint_off pragmas, reducing bugs.
VARHIDDEN
Warns that a task, function, or begin/end block is declaring a variable by the same name as a
variable in the upper level module or begin/end block (thus hiding the upper variable from being able
to be used.) Rename the variable to avoid confusion when reading the code.
Disabled by default as this is a code style warning; it will simulate correctly.
WIDTH
Warns that based on width rules of Verilog, two operands have different widths. Verilator generally
can intuit the common usages of widths, and you shouldn't need to disable this message like you do
with most lint programs. Generally other than simple mistakes, you have two solutions:
If it's a constant 0 that's 32 bits or less, simply leave it unwidthed. Verilator considers zero to
be any width needed.
Concatenate leading zeros when doing arithmetic. In the statement
wire [5:0] plus_one = from[5:0] + 6'd1 + carry[0];
The best fix, which clarifies intent and will also make all tools happy is:
wire [5:0] plus_one = from[5:0] + 6'd1 + {5'd0,carry[0]};
Ignoring this warning will only suppress the lint check, it will simulate correctly.
WIDTHCONCAT
Warns that based on width rules of Verilog, a concatenate or replication has an indeterminate width.
In most cases this violates the Verilog rule that widths inside concatenates and replicates must be
sized, and should be fixed in the code.
wire [63:0] concat = {1,2};
An example where this is technically legal (though still bad form) is:
parameter PAR = 1;
wire [63:0] concat = {PAR,PAR};
The correct fix is to either size the 1 ("32'h1"), or add the width to the parameter definition
("parameter [31:0]"), or add the width to the parameter usage ("{PAR[31:0],PAR[31:0]}".
The following describes the less obvious errors:
Internal Error
This error should never occur first, though may occur if earlier warnings or error messages have
corrupted the program. If there are no other warnings or errors, submit a bug report.
Unsupported: ....
This error indicates that you are using a Verilog language construct that is not yet supported in
Verilator. See the Limitations chapter.
Verilated model didn't converge
Verilator sometimes has to evaluate combinatorial logic multiple times, usually around code where a
UNOPTFLAT warning was issued, but disabled. For example:
always @ (a) b=~a;
always @ (b) a=b
will toggle forever and thus the executable will give the didn't converge error to prevent an
infinite loop.
To debug this, run Verilator with --profile-cfuncs. Run make on the generated files with
"OPT=-DVL_DEBUG". Then call Verilated::debug(1) in your main.cpp.
This will cause each change in a variable to print a message. Near the bottom you'll see the code
and variable that causes the problem. For the program above:
CHANGE: filename.v:1: b
CHANGE: filename.v:2: a
FAQ/FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does it run under Windows?
Yes, using Cygwin. Verilated output should also compile under Microsoft Visual C++ Version 7 or
newer, but this is not tested by the author.
Can you provide binaries?
Verilator is available as a RPM for SuSE, Fedora, and perhaps other systems; this is done by porters
and may slightly lag the primary distribution. If there isn't a binary build for your distribution,
how about you set one up? Please contact the authors for assistance.
Note people sometimes request binaries when they are having problems with their C++ compiler. Alas,
binaries won't help this, as in the end a fully working C++ compiler is required to compile the
output of Verilator.
How can it be faster than (name-the-simulator)?
Generally, the implied part of the question is "... with all of their manpower they can put into it."
Most commercial simulators have to be Verilog compliant, meaning event driven. This prevents them
from being able to reorder blocks and make netlist-style optimizations, which are where most of the
gains come from.
Non-compliance shouldn't be scary. Your synthesis program isn't compliant, so your simulator
shouldn't have to be -- and Verilator is closer to the synthesis interpretation, so this is a good
thing for getting working silicon.
Will Verilator output remain under my own copyright?
Yes, it's just like using GCC on your programs; this is why Verilator uses the "GNU *Lesser* Public
License Version 3" instead of the more typical "GNU Public License". See the licenses for details,
but in brief, if you change Verilator itself or the header files Verilator includes, you must make
the source code available under the GNU Lesser Public License. However, Verilator output (the
Verilated code) only "include"s the licensed files, and so you are NOT required to release any output
from Verilator.
You also have the option of using the Perl Artistic License, which again does not require you release
your Verilog or generated code, and also allows you to modify Verilator for internal use without
distributing the modified version. But please contribute back to the community!
One limit is that you cannot under either license release a commercial Verilog simulation product
incorporating Verilator without making the source code available.
As is standard with Open Source, contributions back to Verilator will be placed under the Verilator
copyright and LGPL/Artistic license. Small test cases will be released into the public domain so
they can be used anywhere, large tests under the LGPL/Artistic, unless requested otherwise.
Why is Verilation so slow?
Verilator needs more memory than the resulting simulator will require, as Verilator creates
internally all of the state of the resulting simulator in order to optimize it. If it takes more
than a minute or so (and you're not using --debug since debug is disk bound), see if your machine is
paging; most likely you need to run it on a machine with more memory. Verilator is a full 64-bit
application and may use more than 4GB, but about 1GB is the maximum typically needed.
How do I generate waveforms (traces) in C++?
See the next question for tracing in SystemC mode.
Add the --trace switch to Verilator, and in your top level C code, call Verilated::traceEverOn(true).
Then create a VerilatedVcdC object, and in your main loop call "trace_object->dump(time)" every time
step, and finally call "trace_object->close()". For an example, see below and the
test_c/sim_main.cpp file of the distribution.
You also need to compile verilated_vcd_c.cpp and add it to your link, preferably by adding the
dependencies in $(VK_GLOBAL_OBJS) to your Makefile's link rule. This is done for you if using the
Verilator --exe flag.
Note you can also call ->trace on multiple Verilated objects with the same trace file if you want all
data to land in the same output file.
Note also older versions of Verilator used the SystemPerl package and SpTraceVcdC class. This still
works, but is depreciated as it requires strong coupling between the Verilator and SystemPerl
versions.
#include "verilated_vcd_c.h"
...
int main(int argc, char **argv, char **env) {
...
Verilated::traceEverOn(true);
VerilatedVcdC* tfp = new VerilatedVcdC;
topp->trace (tfp, 99);
tfp->open ("obj_dir/t_trace_ena_cc/simx.vcd");
...
while (sc_time_stamp() < sim_time && !Verilated::gotFinish()) {
main_time += #;
tfp->dump (main_time);
}
tfp->close();
}
How do I generate waveforms (traces) in SystemC?
Add the --trace switch to Verilator, and in your top level C sc_main code, include
verilated_vcd_sc.h. Then call Verilated::traceEverOn(true). Then create a VerilatedVcdSc object as
you would create a normal SystemC trace file. For an example, see the call to VerilatedVcdSc in the
test_sp/sc_main.cpp file of the distribution, and below.
Alternatively you may use the C++ trace mechanism described in the previous question, however the
timescale and timeprecision will not inherited from your SystemC settings.
You also need to compile verilated_vcd_sc.cpp and verilated_vcd_c.cpp and add them to your link,
preferably by adding the dependencies in $(VK_GLOBAL_OBJS) to your Makefile's link rule. This is
done for you if using the Verilator --exe flag.
Note you can also call ->trace on multiple Verilated objects with the same trace file if you want all
data to land in the same output file.
#include "verilated_vcd_sc.h"
...
int main(int argc, char **argv, char **env) {
...
Verilated::traceEverOn(true);
VerilatedVcdSc* tfp = new VerilatedVcdSc;
topp->trace (tfp, 99);
tfp->open ("obj_dir/t_trace_ena_cc/simx.vcd");
...
sc_start(1);
...
tfp->close();
}
How do I view waveforms (traces)?
Verilator makes standard VCD (Value Change Dump) files. They are viewable with the public domain
Dinotrace or GtkWave programs, or any of the many commercial offerings.
How do I reduce the size of large waveform (trace) files?
First, instead of calling VerilatedVcdC->open at the beginning of time, delay calling it until the
time stamp where you want to tracing to begin. Likewise you can also call VerilatedVcdC->open before
the end of time (perhaps a short period after you detect a verification error.)
Next, add /*verilator tracing_off*/ to any very low level modules you never want to trace (such as
perhaps library cells). Finally, use the --trace-depth option to limit the depth of tracing, for
example --trace-depth 1 to see only the top level signals.
Also be sure you write your trace files to a local disk, instead of to a network disk. Network disks
are generally far slower.
How do I do coverage analysis?
Verilator supports both block (line) coverage and user inserted functional coverage. Both require
the SystemPerl package to be installed but do not require use of the SystemPerl output mode.
First, run verilator with the --coverage option. If you're using your own makefile, compile the
model with the GCC flag -DSP_COVERAGE (if using Verilator's, it will do this for you.)
Run your tests in different directories. Each test will create a logs/coverage.pl file.
After running all of your tests, the vcoverage utility (from the SystemPerl package) is executed.
Vcoverage reads the logs/coverage.pl file(s), and creates an annotated source code listing showing
code coverage details.
For an example, after running 'make test' in the Verilator distribution, see the
test_sp/logs/coverage_source directory. Grep for lines starting with '%' to see what lines Verilator
believes need more coverage.
Where is the translate_off command? (How do I ignore a construct?)
Translate on/off pragmas are generally a bad idea, as it's easy to have mismatched pairs, and you
can't see what another tool sees by just preprocessing the code. Instead, use the preprocessor;
Verilator defines the "VERILATOR" define for you, so just wrap the code in an ifndef region:
`ifndef VERILATOR
Something_Verilator_Dislikes;
`endif
Why do I get "unexpected `do'" or "unexpected `bit'" errors?
Do, bit, ref, return, and other words are now SystemVerilog keywords. You should change your code to
not use them to insure it works with newer tools. Alternatively, surround them by the Verilog
2005/SystemVerilog begin_keywords pragma to indicate Verilog 2001 code.
`begin_keywords "1364-2001"
integer bit; initial bit = 1;
`end_keywords
If you want the whole file to be parsed as Verilog 2001, just create a file with
`begin_keywords "1364-2001"
and add it before other Verilog files on the command line. (Note this will also change the default
for --prefix, so if you're not using --prefix, you will now need to.)
How do I prevent my assertions from firing during reset?
Call Verilated::assertOn(false) before you first call the model, then turn it back on after reset.
It defaults to true. When false, all assertions controlled by --assert are disabled.
Why do I get "undefined reference to `sc_time_stamp()'"?
In C++ (non SystemC) code you need to define this function so that the simulator knows the current
time. See the "CONNECTING TO C++" examples.
Why do I get "undefined reference to `VL_RAND_RESET_I' or `Verilated::...'"?
You need to link your compiled Verilated code against the verilated.cpp file found in the include
directory of the Verilator kit. This is one target in the $(VK_GLOBAL_OBJS) make variable, which
should be part of your Makefile's link rule.
Is the PLI supported?
Only somewhat. More specifically, the common PLI-ish calls $display, $finish, $stop, $time, $write
are converted to C++ equivalents. You can also use the "import DPI" SystemVerilog feature to call C
code (see the chapter above). There is also limited VPI access to public signals.
If you want something more complex, since Verilator emits standard C++ code, you can simply write
your own C++ routines that can access and modify signal values without needing any PLI interface
code, and call it with $c("{any_c++_statement}").
How do I make a Verilog module that contain a C++ object?
You need to add the object to the structure that Verilator creates, then use $c to call a method
inside your object. The test_regress/t/t_extend_class files show an example of how to do this.
How do I get faster build times?
Between GCC 3.0 to 3.3, each compiled progressively slower, thus if you can use GCC 2.95, or GCC 3.4
you'll have faster builds. Two ways to cheat are to compile on parallel machines and avoid
compilations altogether. See the --output-split option, and the web for the ccache, distcc and
icecream packages. ccache will skip GCC runs between identical source builds, even across different
users. You can use the OBJCACHE environment variable to use these CC wrappers.
Why do so many files need to recompile when I add a signal?
Adding a new signal requires the symbol table to be recompiled. Verilator uses one large symbol
table, as that results in 2-3 less assembly instructions for each signal access. This makes the
execution time 10-15% faster, but can result in more compilations when something changes.
How do I access functions/tasks in C?
Use the SystemVerilog Direct Programming Interface. You write a Verilog function or task with
input/outputs that match what you want to call in with C. Then mark that function as an external
function. See the DPI chapter in the manual.
How do I access signals in C?
The best thing is to make a SystemVerilog "export DPI task" or function that accesses that signal, as
described in the DPI chapter in the manual and DPI tutorials on the web. This will allow Verilator
to better optimize the model and should be portable across simulators.
If you really want raw access to the signals, declare the signals you will be accessing with a
/*verilator public*/ comment before the closing semicolon. Then scope into the C++ class to read the
value of the signal, as you would any other member variable.
Signals are the smallest of 8-bit chars, 16-bit shorts, 32-bit longs, or 64-bit long longs that fits
the width of the signal. Generally, you can use just uint32_t's for 1 to 32 bits, or vluint64_t for
1 to 64 bits, and the compiler will properly up-convert smaller entities.
Signals wider than 64 bits are stored as an array of 32-bit uint32_t's. Thus to read bits 31:0,
access signal[0], and for bits 63:32, access signal[1]. Unused bits (for example bit numbers 65-96
of a 65-bit vector) will always be zero. if you change the value you must make sure to pack zeros in
the unused bits or core-dumps may result. (Because Verilator strips array bound checks where it
believes them to be unnecessary.)
In the SYSTEMC example above, if you had in our.v:
input clk /*verilator public*/;
// Note the placement of the semicolon above
From the sc_main.cpp file, you'd then:
#include "Vour.h"
#include "Vour_our.h"
cout << "clock is " << top->v->clk << endl;
In this example, clk is a bool you can read or set as any other variable. The value of normal
signals may be set, though clocks shouldn't be changed by your code or you'll get strange results.
Should a module be in Verilog or SystemC?
Sometimes there is a block that just interconnects cells, and have a choice as to if you write it in
Verilog or SystemC. Everything else being equal, best performance is when Verilator sees all of the
design. So, look at the hierarchy of your design, labeling cells as to if they are SystemC or
Verilog. Then:
A module with only SystemC cells below must be SystemC.
A module with a mix of Verilog and SystemC cells below must be SystemC. (As Verilator cannot connect
to lower-level SystemC cells.)
A module with only Verilog cells below can be either, but for best performance should be Verilog.
(The exception is if you have a design that is instantiated many times; in this case Verilating one
of the lower modules and instantiating that Verilated cells multiple times into a SystemC module
*may* be faster.)
BUGS
First, check the the coding limitations section.
Next, try the --debug switch. This will enable additional internal assertions, and may help identify the
problem.
Finally, reduce your code to the smallest possible routine that exhibits the bug. Even better, create a
test in the test_regress/t directory, as follows:
cd test_regress
cp -p t/t_EXAMPLE.pl t/t_BUG.pl
cp -p t/t_EXAMPLE.v t/t_BUG.v
There are many hits on how to write a good test in the driver.pl documentation which can be seen by
running:
cd $VERILATOR_ROOT # Need the original distribution kit
test_regress/driver.pl --help
Edit t/t_BUG.pl to suit your example; you can do anything you want in the Verilog code there; just make
sure it retains the single clk input and no outputs. Now, the following should fail:
cd $VERILATOR_ROOT # Need the original distribution kit
cd test_regress
t/t_BUG.pl # Run on Verilator
t/t_BUG.pl --debug # Run on Verilator, passing --debug to Verilator
t/t_BUG.pl --vcs # Run on a commercial simulator
t/t_BUG.pl --nc|--iv|--ghdl # Likewise on other simulators
The test driver accepts a number of options, many of which mirror the main Verilator option. For example
the previous test could have been run with debugging enabled. The full set of test options can be seen
by running driver.pl --help as shown above.
Finally, report the bug using the bug tracker at <http://www.veripool.org/verilator>. The bug will
become publicly visible; if this is unacceptable, mail the bug report to "wsnyder@wsnyder.org".
HISTORY
Verilator was conceived in 1994 by Paul Wasson at the Core Logic Group at Digital Equipment Corporation.
The Verilog code that was converted to C was then merged with a C based CPU model of the Alpha processor
and simulated in a C based environment called CCLI.
In 1995 Verilator started being used also for Multimedia and Network Processor development inside
Digital. Duane Galbi took over active development of Verilator, and added several performance
enhancements. CCLI was still being used as the shell.
In 1998, through the efforts of existing DECies, mainly Duane Galbi, Digital graciously agreed to release
the source code. (Subject to the code not being resold, which is compatible with the GNU Public
License.)
In 2001, Wilson Snyder took the kit, and added a SystemC mode, and called it Verilator2. This was the
first packaged public release.
In 2002, Wilson Snyder created Verilator3 by rewriting Verilator from scratch in C++. This added many
optimizations, yielding about a 2-5x performance gain.
In 2009, major SystemVerilog and DPI language support was added.
Currently, various language features and performance enhancements are added as the need arises.
Verilator is now about 3x faster than in 2002, and is faster than many popular commercial simulators.
CONTRIBUTORS
Many people have provided ideas and other assistance with Verilator.
The major corporate sponsors of Verilator, by providing significant contributions of time or funds
include include Cavium Networks, Compaq Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation, Embecosm Ltd., Hicamp
Systems, Intel Corporation, Mindspeed Technologies Inc., MicroTune Inc., picoChip Designs Ltd., Sun
Microsystems, Nauticus Networks, and SiCortex Inc.
The people who have contributed major functionality are Byron Bradley, Jeremy Bennett, Lane Brooks, Duane
Galbi, Paul Wasson, and Wilson Snyder. Major testers include Jeff Dutton, Ralf Karge, David Hewson, Wim
Michiels, Alex Solomatnikov, Sebastien Van Cauwenberghe and Gene Weber.
Some of the people who have provided ideas and feedback for Verilator include: David Addison, Vasu
Arasanipalai, Jens Arm, J Baxter, Jeremy Bennett, David Black, Gregg Bouchard, Christopher Boumenot, Nick
Bowler, Byron Bradley, Bryan Brady, Lane Brooks, John Brownlee, Lawrence Butcher, Chris Candler, Lauren
Carlson, Donal Casey, Terry Chen, Robert A. Clark, Allan Cochrane, Gunter Dannoritzer, Ashutosh Das,
Bernard Deadman, Mike Denio, John Deroo, John Dickol, Ruben Diez, Danny Ding, Ivan Djordjevic, Alex
Duller, Jeff Dutton, Chandan Egbert, Joe Eiler, Ahmed El-Mahmoudy, Robert Farrell, Eugen Fekete, Andrea
Foletto, Bob Fredieu, Shankar Giri, Sam Gladstone, Amir Gonnen, Chitlesh Goorah, Neil Hamilton, Thomas
Hawkins, David Hewson, Jae Hossell, Ben Jackson, Iztok Jeras, Christophe Joly, Mike Kagen, Guy-Armand
Kamendje, Vasu Kandadi, Patricio Kaplan, Ralf Karge, Dan Katz, Sol Katzman, Jonathan Kimmitt, Gernot
Koch, Soon Koh, Steve Kolecki, David Kravitz, Steve Lang, Stephane Laurent, Walter Lavino, Christian
Leber, John Li, Charlie Lind, Andrew Ling, Paul Liu, Dan Lussier, Fred Ma, Duraid Madina, Mark Marshall,
Jason McMullan, Wim Michiels, Dennis Muhlestein, John Murphy, Richard Myers, Dimitris Nalbantis, Paul
Nitza, Pete Nixon, Lisa Noack, Mark Nodine, Andreas Olofsson, Brad Parker, Dominic Plunkett, Niranjan
Prabhu, Usha Priyadharshini, Alberto Del Rio, Oleg Rodionov, John Sanguinetti, Salman Sheikh, Mike
Shinkarovsky, Rafael Shirakawa, Jeffrey Short, Rodney Sinclair, Brian Small, Alex Solomatnikov, Art
Stamness, John Stroebel, Emerson Suguimoto, Gene Sullivan, Renga Sundararajan, Stefan Thiede, Gary
Thomas, Steve Tong, Hans Van Antwerpen, Holger Waechtler, Stefan Wallentowitz, Shawn Wang, Greg Waters,
Thomas Watts, Eugene Weber, David Welch, Leon Wildman, Gerald Williams, Trevor Williams, Jeff Winston,
Joshua Wise, Johan Wouters, and Ding Xiaoliang.
Thanks to them, and all those we've missed including above.
DISTRIBUTION
The latest version is available from <http://www.veripool.org/>.
Copyright 2003-2014 by Wilson Snyder. Verilator is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
the Verilator internals under the terms of either the GNU Lesser General Public License Version 3 or the
Perl Artistic License Version 2.0.
AUTHORS
When possible, please instead report bugs to <http://www.veripool.org/>.
Wilson Snyder <wsnyder@wsnyder.org>
Major concepts by Paul Wasson and Duane Galbi.
SEE ALSO
verilator_profcfunc, systemperl, vcoverage, make,
"verilator --help" which is the source for this document,
and internals.txt in the distribution.
perl v5.18.2 2014-04-04 VERILATOR(1)