Puzzled Simulating with 'X' input Quartus II v4.0 sp1

[Rajeev]

I was simulating with some inputs set to 'X'=unknown on the inputs and
observing
defined outputs where I thought the output should be indeterminate.
Playing around some, I've reduced things to the following example.
The outputs are as determined by QuartusII v4.0SP1. No optimizations
turned on. The logic is not inside a process, but that doesn't make a
difference. Quartus II v3.0 sp2 behaves exactly the same.

A,B,Sel : in std_logic;
Y,Z : out std_logic;

-- Straight Combinatorial Logic:

Y <= A when Sel='1' else B;
Z <= (A and Sel) or (B and (not Sel));

Simulation Results:

Inputs -> Outputs
Sel A B -> Y Z
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 1
0 1 0 0 0
0 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 0 0
1 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 so far so good !

X 0 0 0 0
X 0 1 0 U :-( why is Y==A when Sel='X' ??
X 1 0 1 U
X 1 1 1 U ! simulator is able to figure out Z=0 when A=B=0
but
isn't able to figure out the case A=B=1
X X 0 X U
X X 1 X U ok no surprises here...

X 0 X 0 U
X 1 X 1 U well its consistent...

X X X 0 U @#$% Zero ???

So here's my questions...

(1) Is it a bad idea to use 'X' in a simulation ?

(2) Is there something I'm missing that explains this behavior ?

(3) I tried other logic functions and all possible 2-input
combinations with
9-valued inputs. The mux is the only thing that I find puzzling. Is
there
a preferred way to write the mux ?

P.S.:
1.As one might expect, the following behaves the same as the above
expr for Y

process (A,B,Sel) begin
if Sel='1' then Y<=A; else Y<=B;end if;
end process;

2.I looked at the synthesis equations but was not illuminated.
QIIv4.0sp1 does
simulation with a separate Functional Simulation Netlist, but I don't
know where
to find this in a readable form.

Thanks for any insights,
-rajeev-

 

[Subroto Datta]

rrr@ieee.org (Rajeev) wrote in message

So here's my questions...

(1) Is it a bad idea to use 'X' in a simulation ?

(2) Is there something I'm missing that explains this behavior ?

(3) I tried other logic functions and all possible 2-input
combinations with
9-valued inputs. The mux is the only thing that I find puzzling. Is
there
a preferred way to write the mux ?

Hi Rajeev,

The Quartus simulator is not a behavioral simulator. It simulates a
synthesized circuit which is functionally equivalent to the users
specification. The synthesizer is free to assign an 'X' signal to
either 1 or 0 to reduce the logic.

Hope this helps.
- Subroto

 

[Rajeev]

sdatta@altera.com (Subroto Datta) wrote in message news:<ca4d800d.0407061027.203ab84e@posting.google.com>...

rrr@ieee.org (Rajeev) wrote in message
So here's my questions...

(1) Is it a bad idea to use 'X' in a simulation ?

(2) Is there something I'm missing that explains this behavior ?

(3) I tried other logic functions and all possible 2-input
combinations with
9-valued inputs. The mux is the only thing that I find puzzling. Is
there
a preferred way to write the mux ?

Hi Rajeev,

The Quartus simulator is not a behavioral simulator. It simulates a
synthesized circuit which is functionally equivalent to the users
specification. The synthesizer is free to assign an 'X' signal to
either 1 or 0 to reduce the logic.

Hope this helps.
- Subroto

Subroto,

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I'm not sure what to
conclude
from your email however.

Let me mention a few things...

a. There is no 'X' value in the design. The synthesizer never sees an
'X'. The 'X' is a simulation input (and output) only.

b. I'm afraid I cannot see what synthesized circuit is equivalent to
my specification but gives output=0 for all 3 inputs = 'X'.

c. In v4.0 (I should look in 3.0 also) the synthesis results in a
_single_
equation that is fed to both outputs Y and Z. That equation is

A1L7 = A & (B # Sel) # !A & B & !Sel;
Y = OUTPUT(A1L7);
Z = OUTPUT(A1L7);

Yet Y and Z simulate differently ! So, what is the simulator
simulating ?

Incidentally I can't help being curious why the synthesizer prefers
this form to

A1L7 = A & Sel # B & !Sel;

Regards,
-rajeev-

 

[rickman]

Let me make a few comments that may or may not be relavent.

Rajeev wrote:

I was simulating with some inputs set to 'X'=unknown on the inputs and
observing
defined outputs where I thought the output should be indeterminate.
Playing around some, I've reduced things to the following example.
The outputs are as determined by QuartusII v4.0SP1. No optimizations
turned on. The logic is not inside a process, but that doesn't make a
difference. Quartus II v3.0 sp2 behaves exactly the same.

A,B,Sel : in std_logic;
Y,Z : out std_logic;

-- Straight Combinatorial Logic:

Y <= A when Sel='1' else B;
Z <= (A and Sel) or (B and (not Sel));

Simulation Results:

Inputs -> Outputs
Sel A B -> Y Z
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 1 1
0 1 0 0 0
0 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 0 0
1 1 0 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 so far so good !

X 0 0 0 0
X 0 1 0 U :-( why is Y==A when Sel='X' ??
X 1 0 1 U
X 1 1 1 U ! simulator is able to figure out Z=0 when A=B=0
but
isn't able to figure out the case A=B=1
0 AND anything is always 0. But 1 AND X is not 1. So the OR of two

unknowns is not a known. The value of X is not the same as "don't care"
or not sure if it is a 0 or a 1. It can also be hi-z and will result in
an unknown state on the output of the AND gate.

X X 0 X U
X X 1 X U ok no surprises here...

X 0 X 0 U
X 1 X 1 U well its consistent...

X X X 0 U @#$% Zero ???

So here's my questions...

(1) Is it a bad idea to use 'X' in a simulation ?

It would seem X is not a useful state in this simulator. In a proper
VHDL simulator X has a defined behavior and is the default for FFs that
are not init'd or inputs that are not assigned.

(2) Is there something I'm missing that explains this behavior ?

Try using a proper VHDL simulator. I use the Xilinx version of
Modelsim.

Is this simulation *after* synthesis? If so I have no idea why your two
results would be different. I read your later message and you show the
two outputs use the same equation, but your simulation gives different
results. It *must* be simulating before synthesis.

--

Rick "rickman" Collins

rick.collins@XYarius.com
Ignore the reply address. To email me use the above address with the XY
removed.

Arius - A Signal Processing Solutions Company
Specializing in DSP and FPGA design URL http://www.arius.com
4 King Ave 301-682-7772 Voice
Frederick, MD 21701-3110 301-682-7666 FAX

 

[Martin Thompson]

rickman <spamgoeshere4@yahoo.com> writes:
<much snippage>

Rajeev wrote:
(1) Is it a bad idea to use 'X' in a simulation ?

It would seem X is not a useful state in this simulator. In a proper
VHDL simulator X has a defined behavior and is the default for FFs that
are not init'd or inputs that are not assigned.

To be a bit more specific, 'U' is the undefined or "start-up" state.
'X' is what appears when you drive two clashing values onto a
std_logic. Or when the simulator sees a D input change inside the
setup-hold window of a FF.

I've never used an 'X' in simulation - created a few inadvertently
though...

If you want a "don't-care" use '-' instead.

Cheers,
Martin

--
martin.j.thompson@trw.com
TRW Conekt, Solihull, UK
http://www.trw.com/conekt

 

[Rajeev]

Thank you both for your responses.

rickman wrote:

0 AND anything is always 0. But 1 AND X is not 1. So the OR of two
unknowns is not a known. The value of X is not the same as "don't care"
or not sure if it is a 0 or a 1. It can also be hi-z and will result in
an unknown state on the output of the AND gate.

Your point about HiZ is well taken. I had been using 'X' mentally
thinking of it as "could be either 0 or 1".

Try using a proper VHDL simulator. I use the Xilinx version of
Modelsim.

I fully acknowledge the need to move to a different simulator. My
present project has been marching through the design steps, and
there's not been a stage where I've been willing to invest the time to
learn to use ModelSim.

While I have a ModelSim-Xilinx, it would be more straightforward to
use the ModelSim-Altera - in particular I anticipate it would be
straighforward to feed it Altera specific megafunctions (for example I
tend to use lpm_count after having Quartus not infer a couple of
counters - perhaps I should have put in more effort understanding how
to write the counter so it _would_ be inferred). Though I seem to
recall people mentioning in the group that ModelSim-Xilinx offers a
more complete feature set. Have you used ModelSim-Altera, and if so
has your experience been satisfactory ?

Is this simulation *after* synthesis? If so I have no idea why your two
results would be different. I read your later message and you show the
two outputs use the same equation, but your simulation gives different
results. It *must* be simulating before synthesis.

Now that's a mighty interesting question. In the original post I'd
given an example from QII v4.0sp1 where 2 expressions (that synthesize
the same) give different simulation results, so it sure doesn't appear
to be simulating what it's synthesizing. On the other hand, it does
force you to execute a step called "Generate Functional Simulation
Netlist" before doing the simulation. As I look at it, a netlist is
kind of like a wiring list, ie what to connect to what... but you have
to know what are the pieces (gates ?)you're connecting in order to
simulate -- and that sounds like synthesis to me.

The story with QII v3.0sp2 is a little different. I didn't have the
"check outputs" checkbox enabled when I ran it, so I must amend an
earlier post where I said the results are exactly the same as v4.0sp1.
In v3.0sp2, my equations Y and Z synthesize the same and simulate the
same, but like eqn Y in v4.0 they give definite results in situations
where I believe they should not. Then I plugged in the longer mux
expression that Quartus likes to generate, of course it synthesizes
the same, but it simulates differently ! So I would say that for QII
v3.0sp2 (where the "Generate Functional Simulation Netlist" step
doesn't exist) the simulator is not simulating what it has synthesized
!Remarkable. Either that or it is not synthesizing what the equations
are reporting. Pick your poison, so to speak. As you say, time to
move to ModelSim.

Martin Thompson <martin.j.thompson@trw.com> wrote in message news:<usmc2ime2.fsf@trw.com>...

rickman <spamgoeshere4@yahoo.com> writes:
much snippage
Rajeev wrote:
(1) Is it a bad idea to use 'X' in a simulation ?

It would seem X is not a useful state in this simulator. In a proper
VHDL simulator X has a defined behavior and is the default for FFs that
are not init'd or inputs that are not assigned.


To be a bit more specific, 'U' is the undefined or "start-up" state.
'X' is what appears when you drive two clashing values onto a
std_logic. Or when the simulator sees a D input change inside the
setup-hold window of a FF.

Also, Stratix MegaRAM cannot be initialized. When I inspect the
contents in the Quartus v4.0 simulator it is full of 'X'.

I've never used an 'X' in simulation - created a few inadvertently
though...

If you want a "don't-care" use '-' instead.

I had imagined '-' as something to be specified on an output that
would match any of the other 8 values. I guess I need to study the
definitions and usage of these other states.

I can see that there are a few things to explore, let me report back
perhaps in a couple of weeks.

Thanks,
-rajeev-

 

[Martin Thompson]

rrr@ieee.org (Rajeev) writes:
<snip>

To be a bit more specific, 'U' is the undefined or "start-up" state.
'X' is what appears when you drive two clashing values onto a
std_logic. Or when the simulator sees a D input change inside the
setup-hold window of a FF.

Also, Stratix MegaRAM cannot be initialized. When I inspect the
contents in the Quartus v4.0 simulator it is full of 'X'.

Ahh, I may have missed the fact you were using the Quartus simulator -
that may or may not be VHDL-compliant in its usage of these symbols -
my comments were aimed purely from the VHDl point of view.

If the Quartus memory model is full of X in a VHDL simulation, that's
because the model has 'initialised them' that way, the VHDL simulator
will put U everywhere until told otherwise...

I've never used an 'X' in simulation - created a few inadvertently
though...

If you want a "don't-care" use '-' instead.

I had imagined '-' as something to be specified on an output that
would match any of the other 8 values. I guess I need to study the
definitions and usage of these other states.

That is the case in VHDL, sort of. Don't know about Quartus.

I say sort of, because if you compare two std_logics using the "="
operator, a '-' will only match a '-', so it won;t act the way you
might expect. To do that you have to use (IIRC) std_match from the
numeric_std library. See here for more details:
http://www.vhdl.org/vi/comp.lang.vhdl/FAQ1.html#dont_cares

This is VHDl, though - not knowing anything else about the Quartus
built-in simulator, I'd better shut up now!

Cheers,
Martin

--
martin.j.thompson@trw.com
TRW Conekt, Solihull, UK
http://www.trw.com/conekt

 

[Mike Treseler]

Martin Thompson wrote:

Ahh, I may have missed the fact you were using the Quartus simulator -
that may or may not be VHDL-compliant in its usage of these symbols -
my comments were aimed purely from the VHDl point of view.

The Quartus simulator uses waveforms on the netlist.
It can't handle any HDL.

-- Mike Treseler

 

[Subroto Datta]

Hello Rajeev,

My apologies for not asking you first whether you were using the
builtin Quartus II simulator or an external simulator. The Quartus II
simulator in versions 4.1 and earlier ignores 'X' events on the select
signal of a mux. This is a bug and will be fixed in Quartus II 4.2.

To work around this problem you wil need to do a timing (aka
post-layout simulation). The post-layout netlist is written using VHDL
and Verilog library models which support the 'X' behavior correctly.
You will need access to a VHDL/Verilog simulator like the Modelsim or
NC-Sim among others.

- Subroto Datta
Altera Corp.