ModelSim SE User Guide

ModelSim

SE

User’s Manual

Version 5.5

Published: 22/Feb/01

The world’s most popular HDL simulator

ModelSim /VHDL, ModelSim /VLOG, ModelSim /LNL, and ModelSim /PLUS are
produced by Model Technology Incorporated. Unauthorized copying, duplication,
or other reproduction is prohibited without the written consent of Model
Technology.

The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not
represent a commitment on the part of Model Technology. The program described
in this manual is furnished under a license agreement and may not be used or
copied except in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The online
documentation provided with this product may be printed by the end-user. The
number of copies that may be printed is limited to the number of licenses
purchased.

ModelSim is a registered trademark of Model Technology Incorporated. PostScript
is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. UNIX is a registered
trademark of AT&T in the USA and other countries. FLEXlm is a trademark of
Globetrotter Software, Inc. IBM, AT, and PC are registered trademarks, AIX and
RISC System/6000 are trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation. Windows, Microsoft, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation. OSF/Motif is a trademark of the Open Software Foundation,
Inc. in the USA and other countries. SPARC is a registered trademark and
SPARCstation is a trademark of SPARC International, Inc. Sun Microsystems is a
registered trademark, and Sun, SunOS and OpenWindows are trademarks of Sun
Microsystems, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the
properties of their respective holders.

Copyright (c) 1990 -2001, Model Technology Incorporated.
All rights reserved. Confidential. Online documentation may be printed by licensed
customers of Model Technology Incorporated for internal business purposes only.

Model Technology Incorporated
10450 SW Nimbus Avenue / Bldg. R-B
Portland OR 97223-4347 USA

phone: [phone]
fax: [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail]
home page: http://www.model.com

, [e-mail]

ii

Table of Contents

1 - Introduction (1-15)

Performance tools included with ModelSim SE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16

ModelSim’s graphic interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16

Standards supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17

Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17

Sections in this document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18

Command reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19

Text conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20

What is an "HDL item" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20

Where to find our documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21

Download a free PDF reader with Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21

Online References - www.model.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23

2 - Projects and system initialization (2-25)

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26

How do proje cts differ in version 5.5? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-27

Getting started with projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28

Step 1 — Create a new project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-29

Step 2 — Add files to the project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31

Step 3 — Compile the files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32

Step 4 — Simulate a design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33

Other project operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33

Customizing project settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34

Changing compile order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34

Setting compiler options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-35

Accessing projects from the command line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-36

System initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-37

Files accessed during startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-37

Environment variables accessed during startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38

Initialization sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-39

3 - Design libraries (3-41)

Design library contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42

Design library types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42

Working with design libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43

Managing library contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44

Assigning a logical name to a design library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47

Moving a library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49

Specifying the resource libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50

Predefined libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Table of Contents - 3

Alternate IEEE libraries supplied . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51

VITAL 2000 library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51

Rebuilding supplied libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51

Regenerating your design libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51

Verilog resource libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52

Maintaining 32-bit and 64-bit versions in the same library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52

Importing FPGA libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53

4 - VHDL Simulation (4-55)

Compiling VHDL designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-57

Invoking the VHDL compiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-57

Dependency checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-57

Simulating VHDL designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-58

Invoking the simulator from the Main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-58

Invoking Code Coverage with vsim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-59

Using the TextIO package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-60

Syntax for file declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-60

Using STD_INPUT and STD_OUTPUT within ModelSim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-61

TextIO implementation issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-62

Reading and writing hexadecimal numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-63

Dangling pointers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-63

The ENDLINE function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-63

The ENDFILE function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-63

Using alternative input/output files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-64

Providing st imulus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-64

Obtaining the VITAL specification and source code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-65

VITAL packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-65

ModelSim VITAL compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-66

VITAL compliance checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-66

VITAL compliance warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-66

Compiling and Simulating with accelerated VITAL packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-67

Util package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-68

get_resolution() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-68

init_signal_spy() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-69

to_real() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-70

to_time() . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-71

5 - Verilog Simulation (5-73)

Compilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-75

Incremental compilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-76

Library usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-78

Verilog-XL compatible compiler options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-79

Verilog-XL ‘uselib compiler directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-81

Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-84

4 - Table of Contents ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Simulation resolution limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-84

Event order issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-85

Verilog-XL compatible simulator options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-86

Compiling for faster performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-90

Compiling with -fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-90

Compiling gate-level designs with -fast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-91

Referencing the optimized design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-92

Enabling design object visibility with the +acc option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-94

Using pre-compiled libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-96

Cell Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-97

Delay modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-97

System Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-99

IEEE Std 1364 system tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-99

Verilog-XL compatible system tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-102

$init_signal_spy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-104

Compiler Directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-106

IEEE Std 1364 compiler directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-106

Verilog-XL compatible compiler directives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-106

Using the Verilog PLI/VPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-108

Registering PLI applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-108

Registering VPI applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-110

Compiling and linking PLI/VPI applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-111

The PLI callback reason argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-117

The sizetf callback function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-119

PLI object handles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-119

Third party PLI applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-120

Support for VHDL objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-121

IEEE Std 1364 ACC routines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-122

IEEE Std 1364 TF routines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-123

Verilog-XL compatible routines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-125

64-bit support in the PLI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-125

PLI/VPI tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-125

6 - Mixed VHDL and Verilog Designs (6-127)

Separate compilers, common libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-128

Mapping data types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-128

VHDL generics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-128

Verilog parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-129

VHDL and Verilog ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-129

Verilog states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-130

VHDL instantiation of Verilog design units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-132

Component declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-132

vgencomp component declaration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-134

VCD output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-135

Verilog instantiation of VHDL design units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-136

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Table of Contents - 5

7 - Datasets (saved simulations) and virtuals (7-137)

Datasets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-138

Saving a simulation to a dataset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-138

Opening datasets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-139

Viewing dataset structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-140

Managing datasets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-142

Using datasets with ModelSim commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-142

Restricting the dataset prefix display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-143

Virtual Objects (User-defined buses, and more) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-144

Virtual signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-144

Virtual functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-145

Virtual regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-146

Virtual types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-146

Dataset, logfile, and virtual commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-147

8 - ModelSim Graphic Interface (8-149)

Window overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-150

Common window features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-151

Quick access toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-152

Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-152

Command his tory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-152

Automatic window updating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-153

Finding names, searching for values, and locating cursors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-153

Sorting HDL items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-154

Multiple window copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-154

Context menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-154

Menu tear of f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-154

Customizing menus and buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-154

Combining signals into a user-defined bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-154

Tree window hierarchical view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-155

Main window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-157

Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-158

Transcript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-159

The Main window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-160

The Main window toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-166

The Main window status bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-168

Mouse and keyboard shortcuts in the Transcript and Source windows . . . . . . . . . 8-168

Dataflow window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-171

Link to active cursor in Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-171

Dataflow window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-172

Tracing HDL items with the Dataflow window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-173

Saving the Dataflow window as a Postscript file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-174

List window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-175

HDL items you can view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-175

The List window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-176

Setting List window display properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-178

6 - Table of Contents ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Adding HDL items to the List window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-180

Editing and formatting HDL items in the List window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-181

Examining simulation results with the List window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-184

Finding items by name in the List window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-185

Searching for item values in the List window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-185

Setting time markers in the List window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-187

List window keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-188

Saving List window data to a file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-189

Process window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-190

The Process window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-191

Signals window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8- 193

The Signals window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-194

Selecting HDL item types to view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-195

Forcing signal and net values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-196

Adding HDL items to the Wave and List windows or a logfile . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-197

Finding HDL items in the Signals window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-198

Setting signal breakpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-198

Defining cl ock signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-200

Source window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-201

The Source window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-202

The Source window toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-204

Setting file-line breakpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-205

Editing the source file in the Source window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-208

Checking HDL item values and descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-208

Finding and replacing in the Source window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-208

Setting tab stops in the Source window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-209

Structure window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-210

The Structure window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-211

Finding items in the Structure window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-212

Variables window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-213

The Variables window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-214

Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-216

Pathname pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-216

Values pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-217

Waveform pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-217

Cursor panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-218

HDL items you can view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-218

Adding HDL items in the Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-219

The Wave window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-220

The Wave window toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-224

Using Dividers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-227

Splitting Wave window panes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-228

Combining items in the Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-229

Editing and formatting HDL items in the Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-230

Setting Wave window display properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-235

Setting signal breakpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-236

Finding items by name or value in the Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-237

Searching for item values in the Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-237

Using time cursors in the Wave window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-239

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Table of Contents - 7

Finding a cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-240

Making cursor measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-240

Zooming - changing the waveform display range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-240

Saving zoom range and scroll position with bookmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-241

Wave window mouse and keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-244

Printing and saving wavefo rms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-245

Compiling with the graphic interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-250

Locating source errors during compilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-251

Setting default compile options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-252

Simulating with the graphic interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-256

Design selection page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-257

VHDL settings page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-259

Verilog settings page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-261

Libraries settings page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-262

SDF settings page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-263

SDF options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-264

Setting default simulation options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-265

ModelSim tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-269

The Button Adder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-269

The Macro Helper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-270

The Tcl Debugger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-271

The GUI Expression Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-275

Graphic interface commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-277

Customizing the interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-279

9 - Performance Analyzer (9-281)

Introducing Performance Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-282

A Statistical Sampling Profiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-282

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-283

Interpreting the data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-283

Viewing Performance Analyzer Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-284

Interpreting the Name Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-286

Interpreting the Under(%) and In(%) Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-286

Differences in the Ranked and Hierarchical Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-287

Ranked/Hierarchical Profile Window Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-288

The report option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-289

Setting preferences with Tcl variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-290

Performance Analyzer commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-290

10 - Code Coverage (10-291)

Enabling Code Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-292

The coverage_summary window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-292

Summary information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-293

Misses tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-293

8 - Table of Contents ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Exclusions tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-293

The coverage_summary window menu bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-294

The coverage_source window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-296

Excluding lines and files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-296

Merging coverage report files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-298

Exclusion filter files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-299

Code Coverage preference variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-300

Code Coverage commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-300

11 - Waveform Comparison (11-301)

Introducing Waveform Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-302

Two Modes of Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-303

Comparing Hierarchical and Flattened Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-304

Graphical Interface to Waveform Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-305

Opening Dataset Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-305

Adding Signals, Regions and/o r Clo cks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-307

Setting Compare Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-314

Wave window display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-316

Printing compare differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-321

List window display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-322

Command-line interface to Waveform Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-323

12 - Standard Delay Format (SDF) Timing Annotation (12-325)

Specifying SDF files for simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-326

Instance specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-326

SDF specification with the GUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-327

Errors and warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-327

VHDL VITAL SDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-328

SDF to VHDL generic matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-328

Resolving errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-329

Verilog SDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-330

The $sdf_annotate system task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-330

SDF to Verilog construct matching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-331

Optional edge specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-333

Optional conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-334

Rounded timing values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-335

SDF for Mixed VHDL and Verilog Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-336

Interconnect delays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-336

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-337

Mistaking a component or module name for an instance label . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-338

Forgetting to specify the instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-338

Obtaining the SDF specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-339

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Table of Contents - 9

13 - Value Change Dump (VCD) Files (13-341)

ModelSim VCD commands and VCD tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-342

Resimulating a VHDL design from a VCD file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-344

Specifying a filename and state mappings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-344

Creating the VCD file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-344

A VCD file from source to output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-346

VCD simulator commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-346

VCD output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-347

Capturing port driver data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-349

Supported TSSI states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-349

Strength values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-350

Port identifier code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-350

Example VCD output from vcd dumpports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-351

14 - Logic Modeling SmartModels (14-353)

VHDL SmartModel interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-354

Creating foreign architectures with sm_entity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-355

Vector ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-357

Command channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-358

SmartModel Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-359

Memory arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-360

Verilog SmartModel interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-361

LMTV usage documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-361

Linking the LMTV interface to the simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-361

Compiling Verilog shells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-361

15 - Logic Modeling Hardware Models (15-363)

VHDL Hardware Model interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-364

Creating foreign architectures with hm_entity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-365

Vector ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-367

Hardware model commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-368

16 - Tcl and ModelSim (16-369)

Tcl features within ModelSim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-370

Tcl References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-370

Tcl commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-371

Tcl command syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-372

if command syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-374

set command syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-375

Command substitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-375

Command separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-376

Multiple-line commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-376

Evaluation order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-376

10 - Table of Contents ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Tcl relational expression evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-376

Variable substitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-377

System commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-377

List processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-378

ModelSim Tcl commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-378

ModelSim Tcl time commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-379

Conversions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-379

Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-379

Arithmetic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-380

Tcl examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-381

Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-382

A - Technical Support, Updates, and Licensing (A-385)

Technical support - electronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-386

Mentor Graphics customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-386

Technical support - telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-387

Mentor Graphics customers in North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-387

Mentor Graphics customers outside North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-387

Technical support - other channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-387

Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-388

Online References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-388

FLEXlm Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-389

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-390

B - ModelSim Variables (B-391)

Variable settings report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-392

Personal preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-392

Returning to the original ModelSim defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-392

Environment variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-393

Setting environment variables in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-394

Referencing environment variables within ModelSim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-395

Removing temp files (VSOUT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-395

Preference variables located in INI files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-396

[Library] library path variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-396

[vcom] VHDL compiler control variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-396

[vlog] Verilog compiler control variabl es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-398

[vsim] simulator control variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-398

[lmc] Logic Modeling variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-402

Setting variables in INI files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-402

Reading variable values from the INI file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-402

Variable functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-403

Preference variables located in TCL files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-406

User-defined variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-406

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Table of Contents - 11

More preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-406

Preference variable loading order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-407

Simulator state variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-408

Referencing simulator state variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-408

C - ModelSim Shortcuts (C-409)

Wave window mouse and keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-410

List window keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-411

Command shor tcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-412

Command history shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-412

Mouse and keyboard shortcuts in the Transcript and Source windows . . . . . . . . . C-413

Right mouse button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-415

D - Using the FLEXlm License Manager (D-417)

Starting the license server daemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-418

Controlling the license file search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-418

Manual start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-418

Automatic start at boot time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-419

What to do if another application uses FLEXlm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-419

Format of the license file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-420

Format of the daemon options file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-420

License administration tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-422

lmdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-422

lmremove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-423

lmreread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-423

Administr ation tools for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-423

E - Tips and Techniques (E-425)

How to use checkpoint/restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-426

The difference between checkpoint/restore and restarting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-427

Using macros with restart and checkpoint/restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-427

Running command-line and batch-mode simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-428

Command-line mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-428

Batch mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-429

Using macros (DO files) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-430

Using Parameters with DO files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-430

Source code security and -nodebug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-433

Saving and viewing waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-434

Setting up libraries for group use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-434

Maintaining 32-bit and 64-bit modules in the same library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-434

Bus contention checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-435

Bus float checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-435

12 - Table of Contents ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Design stability checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-436

Toggle checking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-436

Detecting infinite zero-delay loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-436

Referencing source files with location maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-437

Using location mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-437

Pathname syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-438

How location mapping works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-438

Mapping with Tcl variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-438

Accelerate simulation by locking memory under HP-UX 10.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-439

Modeling memory in VHDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-440

Setting up a List trigger with Expression Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-444

F - What’s new in ModelSim (F-447)

New features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-447

Command and variable changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-448

Documentation changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-449

GUI changes in version 5.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-450

Main window changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-451

Signals window changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-457

Source window changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-458

Wave window changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-459

Coverage_summary window changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F-461

License Agreement (463)
Index (469)

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Table of Contents - 13

14 - Table of Contents ModelSim SE User’s Manual

1 - Introduction

Chapter contents

Performance tools included with ModelSim SE . . . . . . . 1-16

ModelSim’s graphic interface . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16

Standards supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17

Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17

Sections in this document . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18

Command reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19

Text conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20

What is an "HDL item" . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20

Where to find our documentation . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21

Online References - www.model.com . . . . . . . . . . 1-22

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23

This documentation was written for ModelSim SE version 5.5 for UNIX and Microsoft
Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 (see note below for exception). If the ModelSim software
you are using is a later release, check the README file that accompanied the software.
Any supplemental information will be there.

Although this document covers both VHDL and Verilog simulation, you will find it a
useful reference for single HDL design work.

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Introduction 1-15

Performance tools included with ModelSim SE

Performance tools included with ModelSim SE

All ModelSim SE versions include the followin g performance tools:

• Performance Analyzer
Identifies areas in your simulation where performance can be improved.

Note: Performance Analyzer will not operate on Windows 95.

• Code Coverage
Gives you graphical and report file feedback on how the source code is being executed.

(9-281)

(10-291)

ModelSim’s graphic interface

While your operating system interface provides the window-management frame,
ModelSim controls all internal-window features including menus, buttons, and scroll bars.
The resulting simulator interface remains consistent within these operating systems:

• SPARCstation with OpenWindows, OSF/Motif, or CDE

• IBM RISC System/6000 with OSF/Motif

• Hewlett-Packard HP 9000 Series 700 with HP VUE, OSF/Motif, or CDE

• Linux (Red Hat v. 6.0 or later) with KDE or GNOME

• Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000

Because ModelSim’s graphic interface is based on Tcl/TK, you also have the tools to build
your own simulation environment. Preference variables and configuration commands,

"Preference variables located in INI files"

give you control over the use and placement of windows, menus, menu options and

277)

buttons. See "Tcl and ModelSim"
For an in-depth look at ModelSim’s graphic interface see, Chapter 8 - ModelSim Graphic

Interface.

(B-396), and "Graphic interface commands" (8-

(16-369) for more information on Tcl.

1-16 Intr oduction ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Standards supported

ModelSim VHDL supports both the IEEE 1076-1987 and 1076-1993 VHDL, the
1164-1993 Standard Multivalue Logic System for VHDL Interoperability, and the

1076.2-1996 Standard VHDL Mathematical Packages standards . A ny design devel oped

with ModelSim will be compatible with any other VHDL system that is compliant with
either IEEE Standard 1076-1987 or 1076-1993.

ModelSim Verilog is base d on the IEEE Std 1 364 Standard Hard ware Description
Language Based on the Verilog Hardware Description Language. The Open Verilog
International Verilog LRM version 2.0 is also applicable to a large extent. Both PLI
(Programming Language Interface) and VCD (Value Change Dump) are supported for
ModelSim PE and SE users.

In addition, all products support SDF 1.0 through 3.0, VITAL 2.2b, VITAL’95 - IEEE

1076.4-19 95, and VITAL 2000.

Assumptions

We assume that you are familiar with the use of your operating system. You should also be
familiar with the window management functions of your graphic interface: either
OpenWindows, OSF/Motif, CDE, HP VUE, KDE, GNOME, or
Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000.

Standards supported

We also assume that you have a working knowledge of VHDL and Verilog. Although
ModelSim is an excellent tool to use while learning HDL concepts and practices, this
document is not written to support that goal. If you need more information about HDLs,
check out our Online References - www.model.com

Finally, we make the assumption that you have worked the appropriate lesson s in the
ModelSim Tutorial or the Quick Start and are therefore familiar with the basic functionality
of ModelSim. The M od e lSim Tutorial and Quick Start are both available from the
ModelSim Help menu. The ModelSim Tutorial is also available from the Support page of
our web site : www.model.com

For installation instructions please refer to the Start Here for Mod elSim guide that was
shipped with the ModelSim CD. Start Here may also be downloaded from our
website: www.model.com

.

.

(1-22).

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Introduction 1-17

Sections in this document

Sections in this document

In addition to this introduction, you will find the following major sections in this document:

2 - Projects and system initialization (2-25)

This chapter provides a definition of a ModelSim "project" and discusses the use of a
new file extension for project files.

3 - Design libraries

(3-41)

To simulate an HDL design using ModelSim, you need to know how to create,
compile, maintain, and delete design libraries as described in this chapter.

4 - VHDL Simulation

(4-55)

This chapter is an overview of compilation and simulation for VHDL within the
ModelSim environment.

5 - Verilog Simulation

(5-73)

This chapter is an overview of compilation and simulation for Verilog within the
ModelSim environment.

6 - Mixed VHDL and Verilog Designs

(6-127)

ModelSim/Plus single-kernel simulation (SKS) allows you to simulate designs that are
written in VHDL and/or Verilog. This chapter outlines data mapping and the criteria
established to instantiate design units between HDLs.

7 - Datasets (saved simulations) and virtuals

(7-137)

This chapter describes datas ets and virtuals - both methods for viewing and organizing
simulation data in ModelSim.

8 - ModelSim Graphic Interface

(8-149)

This chapter describes the graphic interface available while operating ModelSim.
ModelSim’s graphic interface is designed to provide consistency throughout all
operating system environments.

9 - Performance Analyzer

(9-281)

This chapter describes how the ModelSim Performance Analyzer is used to easily
identify areas in your simulation where performance can be improved.

10 - Code Coverage (10-291)

This chapter describes the Code C overage feature. Code Cover age gives you graphical
and report file feedback on how the source code is being executed.

11 - Waveform Comparison

(11-301)

This chapter describes Waveform Comparison, a feature that lets you compare
simulations.

12 - Standard Delay Format (SDF) Timing Annotation

(12-325)

This chapter discusses ModelSim’s implementation of SDF (Standard Delay Format)
timing annotation. Included are sections on VITAL SDF and Verilog SDF, plus
troubleshooting.

1-18 Intr oduction ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Command reference

13 - Value Change Dump (VCD) Files

(13-341)

This chapter explains Model Technology’s Verilog VCD implementation for
ModelSim. The VCD usage is extended to include VHDL designs.

14 - Logic Modeling SmartModels

(14-353)

This chapter describes the use of th e Sm artM odel Li br ary an d S martModel Windows
with ModelSim.

15 - Logic Modeling Hardware Models

(15-363)

This chapter describes the use the Logic Modeling Hardware Modeler w ith ModelSim.

16 - Tcl and ModelSim

(16-369)

This chapter provides an overview of Tcl (tool command language) as used with
ModelSim. Additional Tcl and Tk (Tcl’s toolkit) informatio n can be found thr ough
several Tcl online references

A - Technical Support, Updates, and Licensing

(16-370).

(A-385)

This appendix describes how and where to get technical support and updates and
licensing for ModelSim. It also contains links to the Model Technology web site and
references to books, organizations, and companies involved in EDA and simulation.

B - ModelSim Variables

(B-391)

This appendix describes environment, system and preference variables used in
ModelSim.

C - ModelSim Shortcuts

This appendix describes ModelSim keyboard and mouse shortcuts.

D - Using the FLEXlm License Manager

This appendix covers Model Technology’s application of FLEXlm for ModelSim
licensing.

E - Tips and Techniques

This appendix contains an extended collection of ModelSim usage examples taken
from our manuals, and tech support solutions.

F - What’s new in ModelSim

This appendix lists new features and changes in the various versions of ModelSim.

Command reference

The complete command reference for all ModelSim c ommands is located in the ModelSim
Command Reference. Command Reference cross reference page numbers are prefixed with

"CR" (e.g.,"ModelSim Commands"

(C-409)

(D-417)

(E-425)

(F-447)

(CR-9)).

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Introduction 1-19

Text conventions

Text conventions

Text conventions used in this manual include:

italic text provides emphasis and sets off filenames, path names, and

bold text indicates commands, command options, menu choices,

design unit names

package and library logical names, as well as variables and
dialog box s election

monospace type

The right angle (>) is used to connect menu choices when traversing menus as

path separa t ors examples wil l show either UNIX or Windows path

UPPER CASE denotes file types used by ModelSim (e.g., DO, WLF, INI,

What is an "HDL item"

Because ModelSim works with both VHDL and Verilog, “HDL” refers to either VHDL or
Verilog when a specific language reference is not needed. Depending on the context, “HDL
item” can refer to any of the following:

VHDL block statement, component instantiation, constant, generate

Verilog function, module instantiation, named fork, named begin, net,

monospace type is used for program and command examples

in: File > Save

separators - use separators appropriate for your operating
system when trying the examples

MPF, PDF, etc.)

statement, generic, package, signal, or variable

task, or register variable

1-20 Intr oduction ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Where to find our documentation

ModelSim documentation is available from our website at

model.com/support/documentation.asp

Document Format How to get it

Where to find our documentation

or in the following formats and locations:

Start Here for ModelSim SE

(installation & support
reference)

ModelSim SE Quick Guide

(command and feature
quick-reference)

ModelSim SE Tutorial PDF, HTML select Main window > Help > SE Documentation; also available

ModelSim SE User’s
Manual

ModelSim SE Command
Reference

ModelSim Foreign
Language Int erface
Reference

ModelSim Command Help ASCII type
Tcl Man Pages (Tcl

manual)

paper shipped with ModelSim
PDF select Main window > Help > SE Documentation; also available

from the Support page of our web site: www.model.com

paper shipped with ModelSim
PDF select Main window > Help > SE Documentation, also available

from the Support page of our web site: www.model.com

from the Support page of our web site: www.model.com

PDF, HTML select Main win dow > Help > SE Documentation

PDF, HTML select Main win dow > Help > SE Documentation

PDF, HTML select Main win dow > Help > SE Documentation

help [command name] at the prompt in the Main window

HTML select Main window > Help > Tcl Man Pages, or find

contents.htm in \modeltech\tcl_help_html

technotes ASCII select Main window > He lp > Technotes, or located in the

\modeltech\docs\technotes directory

Download a free PDF reader with Search

Model Technology’s PDF documentation requires an Adobe Acrobat Reader fo r viewing .
The Reader may be installed from the ModelSim CD. It is also available withou t cost from
Adobe at http:
take advantage of the index file supplied with our documentation; the index makes
searching for key words much faster.

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Introduction 1-21

//www.adobe.com. Be sure to download the Acrobat Reader with Search to

Online References - www.model.com

Online References - www.model.com

The Model Technology w eb site includes li nks to support, softwar e d ownl oad s, an d many
EDA information sources. Check the links below for the most current information.

Latest version email

Place your name on our list for email notification of new releases and updates.

model.com/support/register_news_list.asp

News

Current news of Model Technology within the EDA industry.

model.com/news_events/default.asp

Partners

Model Technology’s value added partners, OEM partners, FPGA partners, ASIC
partners, and training partners.

model.com/partners/default.asp

Products

A complete collection of Model Technology product information.

model.com/products/default.asp

Technical Documents

Technical notes, application notes, FAQs.

model.com/resources/techdocs.asp

Sales

Locate ModelSim sales contacts anywhere in the world.

model.com/contact_us.asp

Support

Model Technology email support and software downloads.

model.com/support/default.asp

1-22 Intr oduction ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Comments

Comments

Comments and questions about this manual and ModelSim software are welcome. Call,
write, fax or email:

Model Technology Incorporated
10450 SW Nimbus Avenue, Bldg. R-B
Portland, OR 97223-4347 USA

phone: [phone]
fax: [phone]
email: [e-mail]
home page: http://www.model.com

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Introduction 1-23

1-24 I ntroduction M odelSim SE User’s Manual

2 - Projects and system initialization

Chapter contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26

What are projects?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26

What are the benefits of projects?. . . . . . . . . . 2-26

How do proje cts differ in version 5.5? . . . . . . . . 2-27

Getting started with projects . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28

Step 1 — Create a new project . . . . . . . . . . 2-29

Step 2 — Add files to the project . . . . . . . . . . 2-31

Step 3 — Compile the files . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31

Step 4 — Simulate a design . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31

Other project operations . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33

Customizing project settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34

Changing compile order . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34

Setting compiler options . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-35

Accessing projects from the command line . . . . . . . . 2-36

System initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-37

Files accessed during startup . . . . . . . . . . . 2-37

Environment variables accessed during startup . . . . . . 2-38

Initialization sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-39

This chapter discusses ModelSim projects. Projects greatly simplify the process of

compiling and simulating a design and are a great tool for getting started with ModelSim.

This chapter also includes a section on ModelSim initialization.

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Projects and system initialization 2-25

Introduction

Introduction

What are projects?

Projects are collection entities for HDL designs under specification or test. At a minimum

projects have a root directory, a work libr ary, and "metadata" which are stored in a .mpf file

located in a project’s root directory. The metadata include compiler switch settings, compile

order, and fil e mappings. Projects may also consist of:

• HDL source files or references to source files

• other files such as READMEs or other project documentation

• local libraries

• references to global libraries

What are the benefits of pr ojects?

Projects offer benefits to both new and advanced users. Projects

• simplify interaction with ModelSim; you don’t need to understand the intricacies of
compiler switches and library mappings

• eliminate the need to remember a conceptual model of the design; the compile order is
maintained for you in the project

• remove the necessity to re-establish compiler switches and settings at each session; these
are stored in the project metadata as are mappings to HDL source files

• allow users to share libraries without copying f iles to a local directory; you can establish
references to source files that are stored remotely or locally

• allow you to change individual parameters across multiple files; in previous versions you
could only set parameters one file at a time

• enable "what-if" analysis; you can copy a project, manipulate the settings, and rerun it to
observe the new results

• reload .ini variable settings every time the project is opened; in previous versions you h ad
to quit ModelSim and restart the program to read in a new .ini file

2-26 Pr ojects and system initialization ModelSim SE User’s Manual

How do projects differ in version 5.5?

Projects have improved a great deal from earlier versions. Some of the key differences
include:

• A new interface eliminates the need to write custom scripts.

• You don’t have to copy files into a specific directory; you can establish references to files

in any location.

• You don’t have to specify compiler switches; the automatic defaults will work for many
designs. However, if you do want to customi ze the settings, you do it through a dialog
box rather than by writing a script.

• All metadata (compiler settings, compile order, file mappings) are stored in the project
.mpf file.

Important: Due to the significant changes, projects created in versions prior to 5.5 cannot

be converted automatically. If you created a project in an earlier version, you will need to
recreate it in version 5.5. With the new interface even the most complex p roject should take
less than 15 minutes to recreate. Follow the instructions in the ensuing pages to recreate
your project.

Introduction

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Projects and system initialization 2-27

Getting started with projects

Getting started with projects

This section describes the four basic steps to working with a project. For a discussion of
more advanced project features, see

"Customizing project settings" (2-34).

Step 1 — Create a new project

This creates a .mpf file and a working library.

Step 2 — Add files to the project (2-31)

Projects can reference or include HDL source files and any other files you want to
associate with the project. You can copy files into the project directory or simply create
mappings to files in other locations.

Step 3 — Compile the files (2-32)

This checks syntax and semantics and creates the pseudo machine code ModelSim uses
for simulation.

Step 4 — Simulate a design (2-33)

This specifies the design unit you want to simulate and opens a structure page in the
workspace.

(2-29)

2-28 Pr ojects and system initialization ModelSim SE User’s Manual

Step 1 — Create a new project

1 Select Create a Project from the Welcome to ModelSim screen that opens the first time

you start ModelSim. If this screen is not available, you can enable it by selecting Help >
Enable Welcome (Main window).

Getting started with projects

You can also use the File > New > Project (Main window) command to create a new
project.

2

Clicking the Create a Project button opens the Create Project dialog box.

ModelSim SE User’s Manual Projects and system initialization 2-29

Getting started with projects

3 Specify a Project Name and Project Location. The location is where the pro ject .mpf file

and any copied source files will be stored. You can leave the Default Library Name set to
"work," or specify a different name if desired. The name that is specified will be used to
create a working library subdirectory within the Project Location.

After selecting OK, you will see a blank Project page in the workspace area of the Main
window. You can hide or show the workspace at any time using the View > Hide/Show
Workspace command.

workspace

The name of the current project is shown at the bottom left corner of the Main window.

2-30 Pr ojects and system initialization ModelSim SE User’s Manual