Digital System Design

Verilog® HDL
Useful Modeling Techniques

Maziar Goudarzi
Today Program

 Procedural Continuous Assignment

 Overriding Parameters
 Conditional Compilation and Execution
 Useful System Tasks

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Procedural Continuous
Assignment

Useful Modeling Techniques

Procedural Continuous Assignment

 Overrides, for a certain time, the effect of regular

assignments to a variable.
 Two types
assign/deassign
 Works only on register data types
force/release
 Works on both register and net data types
 Note:
Not synthesizable. Use only for modeling and simulation

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Procedural Continuous Assignment
(cont’d)
 assign/deassign
Keywords
assign: overrides regular procedural assignments
• LHS: reg or concatenation of regs. No nets. No arrays.
No bit-select or part-select
deassign: re-enables regular procedural
assignments
After deassign:
Last value remains on the register until a new
procedural assignment changes it.

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12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 6
Procedural Continuous Assignment
(cont’d)
 force/release
Keywords:
force: overrides all procedural/continuous/
procedural continuous assignments
release: re-enables other assignments
Hence, assignments in priority order:
1. force
2. assign (procedural continuous)
3. Procedural/continuous assignments

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force/release on reg variables

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force/release on nets

 Net value immediately returns to its normal

assigned value when released

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Overriding Parameters

Useful Modeling Techniques

Overriding Parameters

 Two methods
defparam statement
Module instance parameter value assignment
 defparam statement
Keyword: defparam
Syntax:
defparam <parameter_hierarchical_name>=<value>;

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12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 12
Overriding Parameters (cont’d)

 Module instance parameter values

Parameters are overridden when the module is
instantiated
Syntax:
<module_name> #(<param_vals>) <instance_name>;

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Example with multiple parameters

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Conditional Compilation and
Execution

Useful Modeling Techniques

Conditional Compilation

 Usage:
To compile some part of code under certain
conditions
 Keywords:
‘ifdef, `else, `endif
‘define to define the flag

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12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 17
Conditional Execution
 Usage:
 To execute some part of code when a flag is set at runtime
 Used only in behavioral modeling
 Keywords:
 $test$plusargs
 Syntax:
 $test$plusargs( <argument_to_check> )

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12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 19
Useful System Tasks

Useful Modeling Techniques

Useful System Tasks
File Output
 Opening a file
 Syntax:
<file_handle> = $fopen( “<file_name>” );
 <file_handle> is a 32 bit value, called multi-channel descriptor
 Only 1 bit is set in each descriptor
 Standard output has a descriptor of 1 (Channel 0)

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Useful System Tasks
File Output (cont’d)
 Writing to files
$fdisplay, $fmonitor, $fstrobe
$strobe, $fstrobe
The same as $display, $fdisplay, but
executed after all other statements schedule in the
same simulation time
Syntax:
$fdisplay(<handle>, p1, p2,…, pn);
 Closing files
$fclose(<handle>);

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Example: Simultaneously writing to
multiple files

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Strobe
//Strobing
always @(posedge clock)
begin
a = b;
c = d;
end
always @(posedge clock)
$strobe("Displaying a = %b, c = %b", a, c); // display values
at posedge

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Useful System Tasks
Random Number Generation
 Syntax:
$random;
$random(<seed>);

 Returns a 32 bit random value

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 25

reg [23:0] rand1, rand2;
rand1 = $random % 60; //Generates a random
//number between -59 and 59
rand2 = {$random} % 60; //Addition of
//concatenation operator to $random generates a
//positive value between0 and 59.

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 26

Digital System Design
Verilog® HDL
Behavioral Modeling (2)
Today program

 Behavioral Modeling
Timing controls
Other features

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Behavioral Modeling
Timing Controls in
Behavioral Modeling
Introduction

 No timing controls  No advance in

simulation time
 Three methods of timing control
delay-based
event-based
level-sensitive

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Delay-based
Timing Controls
 Delay  Duration between encountering
and executing a statement
 Delay symbol: #
 Delay specification syntax:
<delay>
::= #<NUMBER>
||= #<identifier>
||= #<mintypmax_exp> <,<mintypmax_exp>>*)

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Delay-based
Timing Controls (cont’d)
 Types of delay-based timing controls
1. Regular delay control
2. Intra-assignment delay control
3. Zero-delay control

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Delay-based
Timing Controls (cont’d)
 Regular Delay Control
Symbol: non-zero delay before a procedural assignment
Used in most of our previous examples

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Delay-based
Timing Controls (cont’d)
 Intra-assignment Delay Control
Symbol: non-zero delay to the right of the
assignment operator
Operation sequence:
1. Compute the right-hand-side expression at the
current time.
2. Defer the assignment of the above computed value
to the LHS by the specified delay.

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Delay-based
Timing Controls (cont’d)
 Intra-assignment delay examples

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Delay-based
Timing Controls (cont’d)
 Zero-Delay Control
Symbol: #0
Different initial/always blocks in the same
simulation time
Execution order non-deterministic
Zero-delay ensures execution after all other
statements
Eliminates race conditions
Multiple zero-delay statements
Non-deterministic execution order

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Delay-based
Timing Controls (cont’d)
 Zero-delay control examples

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Event-based
Timing Control
 Event
Change in the value of a register or net
Used to trigger execution of a statement or
block (reactive behavior/reactivity)
 Types of Event-based timing control
1. Regular event control
2. Named event control
3. Event OR control
4. Level-sensitive timing control (next section)

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Event-based
Timing Control (cont’d)
 Regular event control
Symbol: @(<event>)
Events to specify:
posedge sig
• Change of sig from any value to 1
or from 0 to any value
negedge sig
• Change of sig from any value to 0
or from 1 to any value
sig
• Any chage in sig value
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Event-based
Timing Control (cont’d)
 Regular event control examples

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Event-based
Timing Control (cont’d)
 Named event control
You can declare (name) an event, and then
trigger and recognize it.
Verilog keyword for declaration: event
event calc_finished;
Verilog symbol for triggering: ->
->calc_finished
Verilog symbol for recognizing: @()
@(calc_finished)

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Event-based
Timing Control (cont’d)
 Named event control examples

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Event-based
Timing Control (cont’d)
 Event OR control
Used when need to trigger a block upon occurrence of
any of a set of events.
The list of the events: sensitivity list
Verilog keyword: or

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Level-sensitive
Timing Control
 Level-sensitive vs. event-based
event-based: wait for triggering of an event
(change in signal value)
level-sensitive: wait for a certain condition (on
values/levels of signals)
 Verilog keyword: wait()
always
wait(count_enable) #20 count=count+1;

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Behavioral Modeling
Other Features
Contents

 Sequential and Parallel Blocks

 Special Features of Blocks

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Sequential and Parallel Blocks

 Blocks: used to group multiple statements

 Sequential blocks
Keywords: begin end
Statements are processed in order.
A statement is executed only after its preceding
one completes.
Exception: non-blocking assignments with intra-
assignment delays
A delay or event is relative to the simulation
time when the previous statement completed
execution
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Sequential and Parallel Blocks (cont’d)

 Parallel Blocks
Keywords: fork, join
Statements in the blocks are executed
concurrently
Timing controls specify the order of execution of
the statements
All delays are relative to the time the block was
entered
The written order of statements is not important

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Sequential and Parallel Blocks (cont’d)

initial
begin
x=1’b0;
#5 y=1’b1;
#10 z={x,y};
#20 w={y,x};
end

initial
fork
x=1’b0;
#5 y=1’b1;
#10 z={x,y};
#20 w={y,x};
join
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Sequential and Parallel Blocks (cont’d)

 Parallel execution  Race conditions may arise

initial
begin
x=1’b0;
y=1’b1;
z={x,y};
w={y,x};
end

 z, w can take either 2’b01, 2’b10

or 2’bxx, 2’bxx depending on simulator

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Special Features of Blocks

 Contents
Nested blocks
Named blocks
Disabling named blocks

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Special Features of Blocks (cont’d)

 Nested blocks
Sequential and parallel blocks can be mixed
initial
begin
x=1’b0;
fork
#5 y=1’b1;
#10 z={x,y};
join
#20 w={y,x};
end

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Special Features of Blocks (cont’d)

 Named blocks
Syntax:
begin: <the_name> fork: <the_name>
… …
end join
Advantages:
 Can have local variables
 Are part of the design hierarchy.
 Their local variables can be accessed using hierarchical
names
 Can be disabled

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Special Features of Blocks (cont’d)
module top;
initial
begin : block1
integer i; //hiera. name: top.block1.i
…
end

initial
fork : block2
reg i; //hierarchical name: top.block2.i
…
join
endmodule

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Special Features of Blocks (cont’d)

 Disabling named blocks

Keyword: disable
Action:
Similar to break in C/C++, but can disable any
named block not just the inner-most block.

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Special Features of Blocks (cont’d)
module find_true_bit; while(i < 16)
begin
reg [15:0] flag; if (flag[i])
integer i; begin
$display("Encountered a
initial TRUE bit at element
begin number %d", i);
flag = 16'b disable block1;
0010_0000_0000_0000; end // if
i = 0; i = i + 1;
begin: block1 end // while
end // block1
end //initial
endmodule

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Behavioral Modeling
Examples
4-to-1 Multiplexer
// 4-to-1 multiplexer. Port list is taken exactly from
// the I/O diagram.
module mux4_to_1 (out, i0, i1, i2, i3, s1, s0);

// Port declarations from the I/O diagram

output out;
input i0, i1, i2, i3;
input s1, s0;
reg out; //output declared as register

//recompute the signal out if any input signal changes.

//All input signals that cause a recomputation of out to
//occur must go into the always @(...)
always @(s1 or s0 or i0 or i1 or i2 or i3)
begin
case ({s1, s0})
2'b00: out = i0;
2'b01: out = i1;
2'b10: out = i2;
2'b11: out = i3;
default: out = 1'bx;
endcase
end
12/4/2022

endmodule
4-bit Counter
//Binary counter
module counter(Q , clock, clear);

// I/O ports
output [3:0] Q;
input clock, clear;
//output defined as register
reg [3:0] Q;

always @( posedge clear or negedge clock)

begin
if (clear)
Q = 4'd0;
else
//Q = (Q + 1) % 16;
Q = (Q + 1) ;
end

endmodule

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Traffic Signal Controller

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`define TRUE 1'b1
`define FALSE 1'b0
`define RED 2'd0
`define YELLOW 2'd1
`define GREEN 2'd2

//State definition HWY CNTRY

`define S0 3'd0 //GREEN RED
`define S1 3'd1 //YELLOW RED
`define S2 3'd2 //RED RED
`define S3 3'd3 //RED GREEN
`define S4 3'd4 //RED YELLOW

//Delays
`define Y2RDELAY 3 //Yellow to red delay
`define R2GDELAY 2 //Red to Green Delay

module sig_control (hwy, cntry, X, clock, clear);

//I/O ports
output [1:0] hwy, cntry; //2 bit output for 3 states of signal GREEN, YELLOW, RED;
reg [1:0] hwy, cntry; //declare output signals are registers

input X; //if TRUE, indicates that there is car on the country road, otherwise FALSE

input clock, clear;

//Internal state variables

reg [2:0] state;
reg [2:0] next_state;

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//Signal controller starts in S0 state
initial begin
state = `S0;
next_state = `S0;
hwy = `GREEN;
cntry = `RED;
end

always @(posedge clock) //state changes only at positive edge of clock

state = next_state;

always @(state) //Compute values of main signal and country signal

begin
case(state)
`S0: begin
hwy = `GREEN;
cntry = `RED;
end
`S1: begin
hwy = `YELLOW;
cntry = `RED;
end
`S2: begin
hwy = `RED;
cntry = `RED;
end
`S3: begin
hwy = `RED;
cntry = `GREEN;
end
`S4: begin
hwy = `RED;
cntry = `YELLOW;
12/4/2022 end
endcase
end
//State machine using case statements
always @(state or clear or X)
begin
if(clear)
next_state = `S0;
else
case (state)
`S0: if( X)
next_state = `S1;
else
next_state = `S0;
`S1: begin //delay some positive edges of clock
repeat(`Y2RDELAY) @(posedge clock) ;
next_state = `S2;
end
`S2: begin //delay some positive edges of clock
repeat(`R2GDELAY) @(posedge clock)
next_state = `S3;
end
`S3: if( X)
next_state = `S3;
else
next_state = `S4;
`S4: begin //delay some positive edges of clock
repeat(`Y2RDELAY) @(posedge clock) ;
next_state = `S0;
end
default: next_state = `S0;
endcase
end

endmodule

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Digital System Design
Verilog® HDL
Behavioral Modeling (1)
Today program

 Behavioral Modeling
Concepts
Constructs

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Introduction

 The move toward higher abstractions

Gate-level modeling
Netlist of gates
Dataflow modeling
Boolean function assigned to a net
Now, behavioral modeling
A sequential algorithm (quite similar to software) that
determines the value(s) of signal(s)

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 66

Structured Procedures

 Two basic structured procedure statements

always
initial
All behavioral statements can appear only inside these
blocks
Each always or initial block has a separate activity flow
(concurrency)
Start from simulation time 0
Cannot be nested

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Structured Procedures:
initial statement
 Starts at time 0
 Executes only once during a simulation
 Multiple initial blocks, execute in parallel
All start at time 0
Each finishes independently
 Syntax:
initial
begin
// behavioral statements
end

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Structured Procedures:
initial statement (cont’d)
 Example:
module stimulus;
initial
reg x, y, a, b, m;
#50 $finish;
endmodule
initial
m= 1’b0;

initial
begin
#5 a=1’b1;
#25 b=1’b0;
end

initial
begin
#10 x=1’b0;
#25 y=1’b1;
end

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Structured Procedures:
always statement
 Start at time 0
 Execute the statements in a looping fashion
 Example
module clock_gen;
reg clock;

// Initialize clock at time zero

initial Can we move this to
clock = 1’b0; the always block?

// Toggle clock every half-cycle (time period =20)

always
#10 clock = ~clock;

initial
What happens if such a
#1000 $finish; $finish is not included?
endmodule
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Procedural Assignments

 Assignments inside initial and always

 Are used to update values of reg,
integer, real, or time variables
The value remains unchanged until another
procedural assignment updates it
In contrast to continuous assignment (Dataflow
Modeling, previous chapter)

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Procedural Assignments (cont’d)
 Syntax
 <lvalue> = <expression>

 <lvalue> can be
 reg, integer, real, time
 A bit-select of the above (e.g., addr[0])
 A part-select of the above (e.g., addr[31:16])
 A concatenation of any of the above
 <expression> is the same as introduced in dataflow modeling
 What happens if the widths do not match?
 LHS wider than RHS => RHS is zero-extended
 RHS wider than LHS => RHS is truncated (Least significant part is kept)

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Behavioral Modeling Statements:
Conditional Statements
 Just the same as if-else in C
 Syntax:
if (<expression>) true_statement;

if (<expression>) true_statement;
else false_statement;

if (<expression>) true_statement1;
else if (<expression>) true_statement2;
else if (<expression>) true_statement3;
else default_statement;

 True is 1 or non-zero
 False is 0 or ambiguous (x or z)
 More than one statement: begin end

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Conditional Statements (cont’d)
 Examples:
if (!lock) buffer = data;

if (enable) out = in;

if (number_queued < MAX_Q_DEPTH)

begin
data_queue = data;
number_queued = number_queued +1;
end
else $display(“Queue full! Try again.”);

if (alu_control==0)
y = x+z;
else if (alu_control==1)
y = x-z;
else if (alu_control==2)
y = x*z;
else
$display(“Invalid ALU control signal.”);

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Behavioral Modeling Statements:
Multiway Branching
 Similar to switch-case statement in C
 Syntax:
case (<expression>)
alternative1: statement1;
alternative2: statement2;
...
default: default_statement; // optional
endcase
 Notes:
<expression> is compared to the alternatives in the
order specified.
Default statement is optional
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Multiway Branching (cont’d)
 Examples:
reg [1:0] alu_control;
...
case (alu_control)
2’d0: y = x + z;
2’d1: y = x – z;
2’d2: y = x * z;
default: $display(“Invalid ALU control signal.”);

 Now, you write a 4-to-1 multiplexer.

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Multiway Branching (cont’d)
 Example 2:
module mux4_to_1(out, i0, i1, i2, i3, s1, s0);
output out;
input i0, i1, i2, i3, s1, s0;
reg out;

always @(s1 or s0 or i0 or i1 or i2 or i3)

case ({s1,s0})
2’d0: out = i0;
2’d1: out = i1;
2’d2: out = i2;
2’d3: out = i3;
endcase
endmodule

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Multiway Branching (cont’d)
 The case statements compares <expression> and alternatives bit-for-bit
 x and z values should match
module demultiplexer1_to_4(out0, out1, out2, out3, in, s1, s0);
output out0, out1, out2, out3;
input in, s1, s0;
always @(s1 or s0 or in)
case( {s1, s0} )
2’b00: begin ... end
2’b01: begin ... end
2’b10: begin ... end
2’b11: begin ... end
2’bx0, 2’bx1, 2’bxz, 2’bxx, 2’b0x, 2’b1x, 2’bzx:
begin ... end
2’bz0, 2’bz1, 2’bzz, 2’b0z, 2’b1z:
begin ... end
default: $display(“Unspecified control signals”);
endcase
endmodule

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Multiway Branching (cont’d)
 casex and casez keywords
 casez treats all z values as “don’t care”
 casex treats all x and z values as “don’t care”
 Example:
reg [3:0]
integer state;
casex(encoding)
4’b1xxx: next_state=3;
4’bx1xx: next_state=2;
4’bxx1x: next_state=1;
4’bxxx1: next_state=0;
default: next_state=0;
endcase
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Behavioral Modeling Statements:
Loops
 Loops in Verilog
while, for, repeat, forever
 The while loop syntax:
while (<expression>)
statement;
 Example:
Look at p. 136 of your book

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Loops (cont’d)

 The for loop

Similar to C
Syntax:
for( init_expr; cond_expr; change_expr)
statement;
Example:
Look at p. 137 of your book

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Loops (cont’d)

 The repeat loop

Syntax:
repeat( number_of_iterations )
statement;
The number is evaluated only when the loop is
first encoutered
Example:
Look at p. 138 of your book

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Loops (cont’d)

 The forever loop

Syntax:
forever
statement;
Equivalent to while(1)
Example:
Look at pp. 139-140 of your book

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 83

Procedural Assignments (cont’d)
 The two types of procedural assignments
 Blocking assignments
 Non-blocking assignments
 Blocking assignments
 are executed in order (sequentially)
 Example:
reg x, y, z;
reg [15:0] reg_a, reg_b;
integer count; All executed at time 0
initial begin
x=0; y=1; z=1;
count=0;
reg_a= 16’b0; reg_b = reg_a;
#15 reg_a[2] = 1’b1; executed at time 15
#10 reg_b[15:13] = {x, y, z};
count = count + 1;
12/4/2022 end Verilog HDL 84
All executed at time 25
Procedural Assignments (cont’d)
 Non-blocking assignments
 The next statements are not blocked for this one
 Syntax:
 <lvalue> <= <expression>
 Example:
reg x, y, z;
reg [15:0] reg_a, reg_b;
integer count; All executed at time 0
initial begin
x=0; y=1; z=1;
count=0;
reg_a= 16’b0; reg_b = reg_a;
reg_a[2] <= #15 1’b1; Scheduled to run at time 15
reg_b[15:13] <= #10 {x, y, z};
count <= count + 1; Scheduled to run at time 10
12/4/2022 end Verilog HDL 85
Procedural Assignments (cont’d)
 Application of non-blocking assignments
Used to model concurrent data transfers
Example: Write behavioral statements to swap values of
two variables
Another example
always @(posedge clock)
begin
reg1 <= #1 in1;
reg2 <= @(negedge clock) in2 ^ in3;
reg3 <= #1 reg1;
end
The old value of reg1 is used

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 86

Procedural Assignments (cont’d)
 Race condition
 When the final result of simulating two (or more) concurrent
processes depends on their order of execution
 Example:
always @(posedge clock)
b = a;
always @(posedge clock)
a = b;
always @(posedge clock)
begin
temp_b = b;
temp_a = a;
b = temp_a;
a = temp_b;
end
12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 87
Procedural Assignments (cont’d)

 Recommendation
Concurrent data transfers => race condition
Use non-blocking assignments wherever
concurrent data transfers
Example: pipeline modeling
Disadvantage:
Lower simulation performance
Higher memory usage in the simulator

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 88

Verilog HDL -Introduction
 Typical Design Flow (in 1996)
1. Design specification
2. Behavioral description
3. RTL description
4. Functional verification and testing
5. Logic synthesis
6. Gate-level netlist
7. Logical verification and testing
8. Floor planning, automatic place & route
9. Physical layout
Basics of Digital Design Using
HDLs
Stimulus block

Generating Checking
inputs Circuit Under Design outputs
to CUD (CUD) of CUD
4
8

Test bench
Simulation- Test Bench Styles
Design Methodologies
4-bit Ripple Carry Counter
T-flipflop and the Hierarchy
 Ports
 Ports provide interface for by which a module can
communicate with its environment
Port connection rules
 Connecting Ports
Suppose we have a module
 Module- Basic building block

A module can be an element or collection of low level design

blocks
Module
 Modules (cont’d)
Verilog supported levels of abstraction
Behavioral (algorithmic) level
Describe the algorithm used
Very similar to C programming
102
Dataflow level
Describe how data flows between registers and is processed
Gate levelInterconnect logic gates
Switch level
Interconnect transistors (MOS transistors)

Register-Transfer Level (RTL)

Generally known as a combination of behavioral+dataflow that
 Instance
A module provides a template which you
can create actual objects.
When a module is invoked, Verilog
creates a unique object from the template
The process of creating a object from
module template is called instantiation
The object is called instance
 Instances
module ripple_carry_counter(q, clk, reset);

output [3:0] q;

input clk, reset;

//4 instances of the module TFF are created.

TFF tff0(q[0],clk, reset);

TFF tff1(q[1],q[0], reset);

TFF tff2(q[2],q[1], reset);

TFF tff3(q[3],q[2], reset);

 Instances (cont’d)
module TFF(q, clk, reset);
output q;
input clk, reset;
wire d;
DFF dff0(q, d, clk, reset);
not n1(d, q); // not is a Verilog provided primitive.
endmodule
// module DFF with asynchronous reset
module DFF(q, d, clk, reset);
output q;
input d, clk, reset;
reg q;

always @(posedge reset or negedge clk)

if (reset)
q = 1'b0;
else
q = d;
endmodule
 How to build and test a module

Construct a “test bench” for your design

– Develop your hierarchical system within a module that has
input and output ports (called “design” here)
– Develop a separate module to generate tests for the module
(“test”)
– Connect these together within another module (“testbench”)
module testbench (); module design (a, b, c);
wire l, m, n; input a, b;
output c;
design d (l, m, n); …
test t (l, m);

initial begin
//monitor and display
module test (q, r);
…
output q, r;

initial begin
//drive the outputs with signals
…
 Another view of this
• 3 chunks of verilog, one for each of:

TESTBENCH is the final piece of hardware which

connect DESIGN with TEST so the inputs generated
go to the design you want to test...

Another piece of
hardware, called Your hardware
TEST, to generate called
interesting inputs DESIGN
 Verilog Examples
Module testAdd generated inputs for module halfAdd and
displayed changes. Module halfAdd was the design
module testAdd(a, b, sum, cOut);
module tBench;
input sum, cOut;
wire su, co, a, b;
output a, b;
reg a, b;
halfAdd ad(su, co, a, b);
testAdd tb(a, b, su, co);
initial begin
endmodule
$monitor ($time,,
“a=%b, b=%b, sum=%b, cOut=%b”,
a, b, sum, cOut);
module halfAdd (sum, cOut, a, b); a = 0; b = 0;
output sum, cOut; #10 b = 1;
input a, b; #10 a = 1;
#10 b = 0;
xor #2 (sum, a, b); #10 $finish;
and #2 (cOut, a, b); end
endmodule endmodule
 Gate Level Modeling
 A logic circuit can be designed by use of logic
gates.
 Verilog supports basic logic gates as predefined
primitives. These primitives are instantiated like
modules except that they are predefined in Verilog
and do not need a module definition.
Gate gate_name(out,in1,in2…)
 Buf/not gates
Buflnot gates have one scalar input and
one or more scalar outputs.
Bufif/notif
Instantiation of bufif gates
Design of 4:1 Multiplexer
Contd..
Stimulus
4 bit full adder
Declaration:
Code contd..
4 bit adder using 1 bit adder
Stimulus
Gate Delays:
 Rise Delay: Delay associated with a
o/p transition to 1 from any value.

Fall Delay: Delay associated with o/p

transition to 0 from any value.
Turn off Delay: Delay associate with
o/p transition to Z from another
value.
Min value
The min vale is the minimum delay value that the designer expects the
gate to have.
Type value
The type value is the typical delay value that the designer expects the gate
to have.
Max value
The max value is the maximum delay value that the designer expects the
gate to have.

//min delay=4
//type delay=5
//max delay=6
and #(4:5:6) a1(out, i1, i2) ;

//min delay, rise=3 , fall =5

//type delay, rise=4 , fall =6
//max delay, rise=5 , fall =7
and #(3:4:5, 5:6:7) a2(out, i1, i2 ) ;

//min delay, rise=2 , fall =3 , turn-off =4

//type delay, rise=3 , fall =4 , trun-off=5
//max delay, rise=4 , fall =5 , trun-off=6

and #(2:3:4, 3:4:5, 4:5:6) a3(out, i1, i2 ) ;

 Dataflow Modeling
 In complex designs the number of gates
is very large

 Currently, automated tools are used to

create a gate-level circuit from a
dataflow design description. This
process is called logic synthesis
Continuous Assignment
 Rules:
 The left hand side of an assignment must always
be a scalar or vector net

 It cannot be a scalar or vector register.

 Continuous assignments are always active.

 The assignment expression is evaluated as soon

as one of the right-hand-side operands changes
and the value is assigned to the left-hand-side
net.
 The operands on the right-hand side can
be registers or nets.

 Delay values can be specified for

assignments in terms of time units. Delay
values are used to control the time when
a net is assigned the evaluated value
• Implicit Continious Assignment

//Regular Continious Assignment

wire= out;
assign out = in1& in2;
//same effect is achieved by an implicit assignment
Wire out = in1& in2;
• Implicit Net Declaration

//Continious Assignment,out is a net

Wire i1, i2;
assign out = in1& in2;
Delay
Implicit Continuous Assignment Delay
wire #10 out = in1 & in2;

Net Declaration Delay

wire #10 out ;
assign out = in1 & in2;
Operator Types
Conditional Operator
4:1 Multiplexer Example
User Defined Primitives (UDPs)

• Keywords and, or, not, xor, etc. are System

Primitives
• Can Define your Own Primitives (UDPs)
• Can do this in a variety of ways including Truth
Tables
• Instead of module/endmodule use the keywords
primitive/endprimitive
• Only one output and must be listed first
• Keywords table and endtable used
• Input values listed in order
• Output is always last entry
HDL Example 2

//User defined primitive(UDP)

primitive crctp (x,A,B,C); // user defined
output x;
input A,B,C;
//Truth table for x(A,B,C) = Minterms ( ? )
table // truth table
// A B C : x (Note that this is only a comment)
0 0 0 : 1;
0 0 1 : 0;
0 1 0 : 1;
0 1 1 : 0;
1 0 0 : 1;
1 0 1 : 0;
1 1 0 : 1;
1 1 1 : 1;
endtable
endprimitive
 Primitives
• Pre-defined primitives
– Total 26 pre-defined primitives
– All combinational
– Tri-state primitives have multiple output, others have single
output

• User-Defined Primitives (UDP)

– Combinational or sequential
– Single output

• UDP vs. modules

– Used to model cell library
 Shorthand Notation
primitive mux_prim ( out, select, a, b );

output out;

input select, a, b;

table

//select a b : out

0 0 ? : 0; // ? => iteration of table entry over 0, 1, x.

select
0 1 ? : 1; a
// i.e., don’t care on the input
mux_prim
1 ? 0 : 0; b out

1 ? 1 : 1;

? 0 0 : 0;
 UDP: Sequential Behavior
• In table description, n+2 columns for n
input
• n input columns + internal state column
+ output (next state) column
• Output port -> reg variable
 Level-sensitive Behavior
primitive transparent_latch(out, enable, in);
enable
output out;
in Transparent out
input enable, in;
latch
reg out;

table

//enable in state out/next_state

1 1 :? : 1;

1 0 :? : 0;

0 ? :? : -; // ‘-’ -> no change

x 0 :0 : -;
 Edge-sensitive Behavior
primitive d_flop( q, clock, d );
clock
output q;
d d_flop q
input clock, d;

reg q;

table

// clock d state q/next_state

(01) 0 : ? : 0; // Parentheses indicate signal transition

(01) 1 : ? : 1; // Rising clock edge

(0?) 1 : 1 : 1;

(0?) 0 : 0 : 0;

(?0) ? : ? : -; // Falling clock edge

Digital System Design
Verilog® HDL
Timing and Delays

Maziar Goudarzi
Today Program

 Delays and their definition and use in

Verilog

2005 Verilog HDL 149

Introduction:
Delays and Delay Back-annotation

2005 Verilog HDL 150

Introduction (cont’d)

 Functional simulation vs. Timing simulation

 Delays are crucial in REAL simulations
 Post-synthesis simulation
 Post-layout simulation
 FPGA counter-part: Post-P&R simulation
 Delay Models
 Represent different physical concepts
 Two most-famous models
 Inertial delay
 Transport delay (path delay)

2005 Verilog HDL 151

Delay Models:
Inertial Delay
 The inertia of a circuit node to change
value
 Abstractly models the RC circuit seen at
the node
 Different types
 Inputinertial delay
 Output inertial delay

2005 Verilog HDL 152

Delay Models:
Transport Delay (Path Delay)
 Represents the propagation time of
signals from module inputs to its outputs
 Models the internal propagation delays of
electrical elements

2005 Verilog HDL 153

Specifying Delays in
Verilog
Delays in Verilog
Specifying Delays in Verilog

 Delays are shown by # sign in all Verilog

modeling levels
 Supported delay types
 Rise, Fall, Turnoff types
 Min, Typ, Max values

2005 Verilog HDL 155

Delay Types in Verilog
 Rise Delay
 From any value to 1
 Fall Delay
 From any value to 0
 Turn-Off Delay
 From any value to z

 From any value to x

 Minimum of the three delays
 Min/Typ/Max Delay values

2005 Verilog HDL 156

Specifying Delays in Verilog (cont’d)

 Rise/Fall/Turnoff delay types (cont’d)

 If no delay specified
 Default value is zero
 If only one value specified
 It is used for all three delays
 If two values specified
 They refer respectively to rise and fall delays
 Turn-off delay is the minimum of the two

2005 Verilog HDL 157

Specifying Delays in Verilog (cont’d)
 Min/Typ/Max Values
 Another level of delay control in Verilog
 Each of rise/fall/turnoff delays can have min/typ/max values
not #(min:typ:max, min:typ:max, min:typ:max) n(out,in)

 Only one of Min/Typ/Max values can be used in the entire

simulation run
 It is specified at start of simulation, and depends on the
simulator used
 ModelSim options
ModelSim> vsim +mindelays
ModelSim> vsim +typdelays
ModelSim> vsim +maxdelays
 Typ delay is the default

2005 Verilog HDL 158

Specifying Delays in Verilog (cont’d)

 General syntax
#(rise_val, fall_val, turnoff_val)
#(min:typ:max, min:typ:max, min:typ:max)

 Gate-Level and Dataflow Modeling

 All of the above syntaxes are valid
 Behavioral Modeling
 Rise/fall/turnoff
delays are not supported
 Only min:typ:max values can be specified
 Applies to all changes of values

2005 Verilog HDL 159

 Delays in
Gate-Level Modeling
Delays in Verilog
Delays in Gate-Level Modeling

 The specified delays are output-inertial

delays
and #(rise_val, fall_val, turnoff_val) a(out,in1, in2)
not #(min:typ:max, min:typ:max, min:typ:max) b(out,in)

 Examples:
and #(5) a1(out, i1, i2);
and #(4, 6) a2(out, i1, i2);
and #(3, 4, 5) a2(out, i1, i2);
and #(1:2:3, 4:5:6, 5:6:7) a2(out, i1, i2);

2005 Verilog HDL 161

Delays in Gate-Level Modeling (cont’d)

2005 Verilog HDL 162

Delays in Gate-Level Modeling (cont’d)

2005 Verilog HDL 163

 Delays in
Dataflow Modeling
Delays in Verilog
Delays in Dataflow Modeling

 As in Gate-Level Modeling the delay is

output-inertial delay
 Regular assignment delay syntax
assign #delay out = in1 & in2;
 Implicit continuous assignment delay
wire #delay out = in1 & in2;
 Net declaration delay
 Can also be used in Gate-Level modeling
wire #delay w;

2005 Verilog HDL 165

Delays in Dataflow Modeling (cont’d)

 Examples
wire #10 out = in1 & in2; wire out;
assign #10 out = in1 & in2;

wire #10 out;

assign out = in1 & in2;
Note: pulses with a width less than the
delay are not propagated to output

2005 Verilog HDL 166

Delays in Dataflow Modeling (cont’d)

// Lumped delays in dataflow modeling

module M(out, a, b, c, d);
output out;
input a, b, c, d;
wire e, f;
// Lumped delay model
assign e=a & b;
assign f=c & d;
assign #11 out = e & f;
endmodule
2005 Verilog HDL 167
 Delays in
Behavioral Modeling
Delays in Verilog
Delay in Behavioral Modeling

 Only min:typ:max values can be set

 i.e. rise/fall/turnoff delays are not supported
 Three categories
 Regular delays
 Intra-assignment delays

 Zero delay

2005 Verilog HDL 169

Path (Transport ) Delays
in Verilog
Delays in Verilog
Transport Delays in Verilog

 Also called
 Pin-to-Pin delay
 Path delay
 Gate-level, dataflow, and behavioral delays
 Property of the elements in the module (white box)
 Styles: Distributed or Lumped
 Path delay
 A property of the module (black box)
 Delay from any input to any output port

2005 Verilog HDL 171

Transport Delays in Verilog (cont’d)

2005 Verilog HDL 172

Transport Delays in Verilog (cont’d)

 specify block
 Assign pin-to-pin delays
 Define specparam constants

 Setup timing checks in the design

2005 Verilog HDL 173

specify blocks
 Parallel connection
 Syntax:
specify
(<src_field> => <dest_field>) = <delay>;
endspecify

 <src_field> and <dest_field> are vectors of equal

length
 Unequal lengths, compile-time error

2005 Verilog HDL 174

specify blocks (cont’d)
 Full connection
 Syntax:
specify
(<src_field> *> <dest_field>) = <delay>;
endspecify

 No need to equal lengths in <src_field> and

<dest_field>

2005 Verilog HDL 175

specify blocks (cont’d)

2005 Verilog HDL 176

specify blocks (cont’d)

 specparam constants
 Similar to parameter, but only inside specify block
 Recommended to be used instead of hard-coded delay
numbers

2005 Verilog HDL 177

specify blocks
(cont’d)
 Conditional path
delays
 Delay depends on
signal values
 Also called State-
Dependent Path
Delay (SDPD)

2005 Verilog HDL 178

specify blocks (cont’d)
Rise, Fall, and Turn-off delays

2005 Verilog HDL 179

specify blocks (cont’d)
Rise, Fall, and Turn-off delays

2005 Verilog HDL 180

specify blocks (cont’d)
Min, Typ, Max delays
 Any delay value can also be specified as
(min:typ:max)

2005 Verilog HDL 181

specify blocks (cont’d)

 Handling x transitions
 Pessimistic approach
 Transition to x: minimum possible time
 Transition from x: maximum possible time

2005 Verilog HDL 182

specify blocks (cont’d)

 Timing Checks
A number of system tasks defined for this
 $setup: checks setup-time of a signal before
an event
 $hold: checks hold-time of a signal after an
event
 $width: checks width of pulses

2005 Verilog HDL 183

specify blocks (cont’d)
Timing Checks
 $setup check
 Syntax:
$setup(data_event, reference_event, limit);

2005 Verilog HDL 184

specify blocks (cont’d)
Timing Checks
 $hold check
 Syntax:
$hold(reference_event, data_event, limit);

2005 Verilog HDL 185

specify blocks (cont’d)
Timing Checks
 $width check
 Syntax:
$width(reference_event, limit);

2005 Verilog HDL 186

Today Summary

 Delays
 Models
 Inertial (distributed and lumped delay)
 Transport (path/pin-to-pin delay)
 Types
 Rise/Fall/Turn-off
 Min/Typ/Max Values
 Delays in Verilog
 Syntax and other common features
 Gate-Level and Dataflow Modeling
 Behavioral Modeling
2005 Verilog HDL 187
Other Notes

 Homework 9
 Chapter 10:
 All exercises
 Due date: Sunday, Day 11th

2005 Verilog HDL 188

Digital System Design
Verilog® HDL
Tasks and Functions

Maziar Goudarzi
Today program

 Reusing code
Tasks and Functions

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 190

Introduction

 Procedures/Subroutines/Functions in SW
programming languages
The same functionality, in different places
 Verilog equivalence:
Tasks and Functions
Used in behavioral modeling
Part of design hierarchy  Hierarchical name

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 191

Contents

 Functions
 Tasks
 Differences between tasks and functions

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 192

Tasks and Functions
Functions
Functions

 Keyword: function, endfunction

 Can be used if the procedure
does not have any timing control constructs
returns exactly a single value
has at least one input argument

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 194

Functions (cont’d)

 Function Declaration and Invocation

Declaration syntax:

function <range_or_type> <func_name>;

<input declaration(s)>
<variable_declaration(s)>
begin // if more than one statement needed
<statements>
end // if begin used
endfunction

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 195

Functions (cont’d)

 Function Declaration and Invocation

Invocation syntax:
<func_name> (<argument(s)>);

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 196

Functions (cont’d)

 Semantics
much like function in Pascal
An internal implicit reg is declared inside the
function with the same name
The return value is specified by setting that
implicit reg
<range_or_type> defines width and type of
the implicit reg
<type> can be integer or real
default bit width is 1
12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 197
 Function Examples
Parity Generator
module parity; function calc_parity;
reg [31:0] addr; input [31:0] address;
reg parity; begin
calc_parity = ^address;
initial begin end
… endfunction
end
endmodule
always @(addr)
begin
parity = calc_parity(addr);
$display("Parity calculated = %b",
calc_parity(addr) );
end

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 198

 Function Examples
Controllable Shifter
module shifter; function [31:0] shift;
`define LEFT_SHIFT 1'b0 input [31:0] address;
`define RIGHT_SHIFT 1'b1 input control;
reg [31:0] addr, left_addr, begin
right_addr; shift = (control==`LEFT_SHIFT)
reg control; ?(address<<1) : (address>>1);
end
initial endfunction
begin
… endmodule
end

always @(addr)
begin
left_addr =shift(addr, `LEFT_SHIFT);
right_addr =shift(addr,`RIGHT_SHIFT);
end
12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 199
//Define a factorial with a recursive
// Call the function
function
integer result;
module top;
initial
...
begin
// Define the function
result = factorial(4); // Call
function automatic integer factorial;
the factorial of 7
input [31:0] oper;
$display("Factorial of 4 is
integer i;
%0d", result); //Displays 24
begin
end
if (operand >= 2)
...
factorial = factorial (oper -1) * oper;
...
//recursive call
endmodule
else
factorial = 1 ;
end
endfunction

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 200

Tasks and Functions
Tasks
Tasks

 Keywords: task, endtask

 Must be used if the procedure has
any timing control constructs
zero or more than one output arguments
no input arguments

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 202

Tasks (cont’d)

 Task declaration and invocation

Declaration syntax

task <task_name>;
<I/O declarations>
<variable and event declarations>
begin // if more than one statement needed
<statement(s)>
end // if begin used!
endtask

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 203

Tasks (cont’d)

 Task declaration and invocation

Task invocation syntax
<task_name>;
<task_name> (<arguments>);

input and inout arguments are passed into

the task
output and inout arguments are passed
back to the invoking statement when task is
completed

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 204

Tasks (cont’d)

 I/O declaration in modules vs. tasks

Both used keywords: input, output,
inout
In modules, represent ports
connect to external signals
In tasks, represent arguments
pass values to and from the task

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 205

 Task Examples
Use of input and output arguments

module operation; task bitwise_oper;

parameter delay = 10; output [15:0] ab_and, ab_or,
reg [15:0] A, B; ab_xor;
reg [15:0] AB_AND, AB_OR, AB_XOR; input [15:0] a, b;
begin
initial #delay ab_and = a & b;
$monitor( …); ab_or = a | b;
ab_xor = a ^ b;
initial end
begin endtask
…
end
endmodule
always @(A or B)
begin
bitwise_oper(AB_AND, AB_OR,
AB_XOR, A, B);
end
12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 206
 Task Examples
Use of module local variables

// clk2 runs at twice the frequency of clk // These two always blocks will
and is synchronous call the bitwise_xor task
// with clk.
// concurrently at each positive
module top;
reg [15:0] cd_xor, ef_xor; //variables in
edge of clk. However, since
module top // the task is re-entrant, these
reg [15:0] c, d, e, f; //variables in concurrent calls will work
module top
correctly.
-
task automatic bitwise_xor; always @(posedge clk)
output [15:0] ab_xor; //output from the bitwise_xor(ef_xor, e, f);
task
input [15:0] a, b; //inputs to the task
-
begin always @(posedge clk2) // twice the
#delay ab_and = a & b; frequency as the previous block
ab_or = a | b;
bitwise_xor(cd_xor, c, d);
ab_xor = a ^ b;
end -
endtask -
endmodule
12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 207
Tasks and Functions
Differences between
Tasks and Functions
Differences between...

 Functions  Tasks
Can enable (call) just Can enable other tasks
another function (not and functions
task) May execute in non-
Execute in 0 simulation zero simulation time
time May contain any timing
No timing control control statements
statements allowed May have arbitrary
At lease one input input, output, or
Return only a single inout
value Do not return any value
12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 209
Differences between… (cont’d)

 Both
are defined in a module
are local to the module
can have local variables (registers, but not nets) and
events
contain only behavioral statements
do not contain initial or always statements
are called from initial or always statements or other
tasks or functions

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 210

Differences between… (cont’d)

 Tasks can be used for common Verilog code

 Function are used when the common code
is purely combinational
executes in 0 simulation time
provides exactly one output
 Functions are typically used for conversions and
commonly used calculations

12/4/2022 Verilog HDL 211