SPICE3 Model debugging

R

rahul

Guest
Hi All,

I am trying to understand the spice3 programming model

I have added new parameters to existing jfet model
by making changes to over 20 files. I wish
to know if there are debugging functions provided inside
spice3 which I can use during simulation to show
these variables.

Thanks in advance
Rahul
 
rahul wrote:
Hi All,

I am trying to understand the spice3 programming model

I have added new parameters to existing jfet model
by making changes to over 20 files. I wish
to know if there are debugging functions provided inside
spice3 which I can use during simulation to show
these variables.
Click to expand...
Spice 3 has nothing. It is the compiler that has the debugging features.
This question concerns me. How can you be compiling this without
understanding even the most basic feature of all compilers?

For example, in VC++ you simple right click and "add watch" to popup a
display of program variables.

Kevin Aylward
salesEXTRACT@anasoft.co.uk
http://www.anasoft.co.uk
SuperSpice, a very affordable Mixed-Mode
Windows Simulator with Schematic Capture,
Waveform Display, FFT's and Filter Design.
 
rahul is, and always will be:
I have added my version of amorphous Si TFT model
I was looking for error checking functions. I have
added fprintfs for now. I was looking for something
like cdump which I can type on the spice prompt.
Click to expand...
I don't know any debugger for C++ on Linux. (probably, there are various
debuggers... I just no know the name). If there is, use one.

Maybe GDB is what you need, but i've used it only for analyzing core
dumps.

[]s
--
Chaos MasterŽ, posting from somewhere near Porto Alegre, Brazil.
"... one either has a shit, or not. Do you have yours?"
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
http://marreka.blogspot.com --> news, hotter than high-power transistors!

To reply remove "DEAD-SPAM" from address.
 
Thanks Chaos.
I will try your suggestion.

I am using vi on linux.
I need a better ide and have been exploring
kdevelop on the side.

-Rahul

Chaos Master wrote:
rahul is, and always will be:

I have added my version of amorphous Si TFT model
I was looking for error checking functions. I have
added fprintfs for now. I was looking for something
like cdump which I can type on the spice prompt.


I don't know any debugger for C++ on Linux. (probably, there are various
debuggers... I just no know the name). If there is, use one.

Maybe GDB is what you need, but i've used it only for analyzing core
dumps.

[]s
Click to expand...
 
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:28:29 -0800, rahul <rahuls@hrl.com> wrote:

Hi All,

I am trying to understand the spice3 programming model

I have added new parameters to existing jfet model
by making changes to over 20 files. I wish
to know if there are debugging functions provided inside
spice3 which I can use during simulation to show
these variables.
Click to expand...
What characteristics of JFET operation do you hope to be able to
encompass that the existing model(s) don't?
--

"What is now proved was once only imagin'd." - William Blake, 1793.
 
In article <41A6AAAB.7050200@hrl.com>, rahul <rahuls@hrl.com> wrote:
Thanks Chaos.
I will try your suggestion.

I am using vi on linux.
I need a better ide and have been exploring
kdevelop on the side.
Click to expand...
"ddd" can be made to fire up you favorite editor and remake the program.
It is a shell for "gdb". I like it based on the limitted amoung of
debugging I've had to do.

I could not get the kdevelope tools to work. It seems way too complex for
the job its doing.

You could run the "Borland Turbo C" under "dosemu" It had about the best
IDE ever created.


--
--
kensmith@rahul.net forging knowledge
 
Paul Burridge wrote:
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:28:29 -0800, rahul <rahuls@hrl.com> wrote:

Hi All,

I am trying to understand the spice3 programming model

I have added new parameters to existing jfet model
by making changes to over 20 files. I wish
to know if there are debugging functions provided inside
spice3 which I can use during simulation to show
these variables.

What characteristics of JFET operation do you hope to be able to
encompass that the existing model(s) don't?
Click to expand...
Actually, raw Spice3/XSpice code jfets don't have the PSpice temperature
dependence in them, i.e Betatce (gm) and Vtotc (Vt) temp co's. I had to
add these in.

Kevin Aylward
salesEXTRACT@anasoft.co.uk
http://www.anasoft.co.uk
SuperSpice, a very affordable Mixed-Mode
Windows Simulator with Schematic Capture,
Waveform Display, FFT's and Filter Design.
 
I have added my version of amorphous Si TFT model
I was looking for error checking functions. I have
added fprintfs for now. I was looking for something
like cdump which I can type on the spice prompt.

I use linux ....

-Rahul


Kevin Aylward wrote:
rahul wrote:

Hi All,

I am trying to understand the spice3 programming model

I have added new parameters to existing jfet model
by making changes to over 20 files. I wish
to know if there are debugging functions provided inside
spice3 which I can use during simulation to show
these variables.


Spice 3 has nothing. It is the compiler that has the debugging features.
This question concerns me. How can you be compiling this without
understanding even the most basic feature of all compilers?

For example, in VC++ you simple right click and "add watch" to popup a
display of program variables.

Kevin Aylward
salesEXTRACT@anasoft.co.uk
http://www.anasoft.co.uk
SuperSpice, a very affordable Mixed-Mode
Windows Simulator with Schematic Capture,
Waveform Display, FFT's and Filter Design.
Click to expand...
 
rahul <rahuls@hrl.com> wrote:
: Thanks stuart,
: I am using ngspice. I generate an atft.log file and dump
: my results from the atftload.c.
: I have problems with DC convergence which is
: giving x440 as ckt->Mode. I was hopeing if I could actually see
: the G,C and w matrices (ie. Gx + Cx' = w) so that I can
: add some gmin resistors to gnd on the nodes to get around the
: singularity.

Sorry, I am not that familiar with the analysis part of the code. I
would like to be, however. It would take time, however, to come up to
speed. . . .

My suggestion: put #ifdef DEBUG directives [1] into your code along
with printfs showing the matricies you want. Also, please submit
those changes to Paolo (the project leader) as patches and he can
incorporate them so we can all benefit!

Someday I will write a fcn called "debug_spew" for ngspice which you
can pass a string and some variables and it will conditionally print
out the stuff if you have defined DEBUG. Right now the code is messy
with all the debug #ifdefs, along with all the other #ifdefs.

Thanks,

Stuart

[1] Actually, I may have used #ifdef TRACE (instead of DEBUG) in
ngspice. Take a look at the parser stuff to see what I did and just
use it.
 
I have added atft (amorphous Si TFT transistor)
model which is based on the spice3 JFET model. However
the device characteristics are quite different.
An amorphous-Si process has very low mobility, high leakage and
high capacitance. Mostly used in LCD for driver circuits.

-Rahul




Paul Burridge wrote:
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:28:29 -0800, rahul <rahuls@hrl.com> wrote:


Hi All,

I am trying to understand the spice3 programming model

I have added new parameters to existing jfet model
by making changes to over 20 files. I wish
to know if there are debugging functions provided inside
spice3 which I can use during simulation to show
these variables.


What characteristics of JFET operation do you hope to be able to
encompass that the existing model(s) don't?
Click to expand...
 
rahul <rahuls@hrl.com> wrote:
: Hi All,

: I am trying to understand the spice3 programming model

: I have added new parameters to existing jfet model
: by making changes to over 20 files. I wish
: to know if there are debugging functions provided inside
: spice3 which I can use during simulation to show
: these variables.

Are you using ngspice? I suggest you do so because it has an active
developer community. Ngspice is basically SPICE3f5 cleaned up with all
sorts of bugfixes, and ported to build under the usual GNU makefile
system. The latest is available for (free, unrestricted) download at:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ngspice

If you are, I have put in a call to memcheck (currently commented
out) into the ngspice.c. I have also used a DEBUG flag which -- when
set -- will allow you to do things like this:

#ifdef DEBUG
printf("In fcn foo, variable bar = %s\n", bar);
#endif

Setting DEBUG = 1 in config.h will allow you to trace the programs
operation through netlist input and parsing. (I haven't done anything
with analysis.) Look at the parsing functions in the frontend
directory for hints.

BTW: If you're not using ngspice, then you're on your own, and will
need to fix a lot of other bugs. The random SPICE3f5 code which is
floating around the web is in bad shape because it's unmaintained.
Ngspice is the way to go.

Stuart
 
Thanks stuart,
I am using ngspice. I generate an atft.log file and dump
my results from the atftload.c.
I have problems with DC convergence which is
giving x440 as ckt->Mode. I was hopeing if I could actually see
the G,C and w matrices (ie. Gx + Cx' = w) so that I can
add some gmin resistors to gnd on the nodes to get around the
singularity.

Thanks again
-Rahul

PS: ngspice is wonderful with all the fixes.

Stuart Brorson wrote:
rahul <rahuls@hrl.com> wrote:
: Hi All,

: I am trying to understand the spice3 programming model

: I have added new parameters to existing jfet model
: by making changes to over 20 files. I wish
: to know if there are debugging functions provided inside
: spice3 which I can use during simulation to show
: these variables.

Are you using ngspice? I suggest you do so because it has an active
developer community. Ngspice is basically SPICE3f5 cleaned up with all
sorts of bugfixes, and ported to build under the usual GNU makefile
system. The latest is available for (free, unrestricted) download at:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ngspice

If you are, I have put in a call to memcheck (currently commented
out) into the ngspice.c. I have also used a DEBUG flag which -- when
set -- will allow you to do things like this:

#ifdef DEBUG
printf("In fcn foo, variable bar = %s\n", bar);
#endif

Setting DEBUG = 1 in config.h will allow you to trace the programs
operation through netlist input and parsing. (I haven't done anything
with analysis.) Look at the parsing functions in the frontend
directory for hints.

BTW: If you're not using ngspice, then you're on your own, and will
need to fix a lot of other bugs. The random SPICE3f5 code which is
floating around the web is in bad shape because it's unmaintained.
Ngspice is the way to go.

Stuart
Click to expand...
 
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