Product category: Design and Development Software
News Release from: Mentor Graphics UK | Subject: ModelSim Version 5.7
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 16 April 2003
Simulator optimises performance and debugging
ModelSim Version 5.7 offers improved simulation performance, new debug capabilities, additional support for Verilog 2001, and new job-management functionality for simulation farms.
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ModelSim Version 5.7 offers improved simulation performance, new debug capabilities, additional support for Verilog 2001, and new job-management functionality for simulation farms. Intrinsix, a leading independent electronic design services company, has made extensive use of Model Technology's simulators. The company has implemented a large number of system-on-chip designs that have required very efficient HDL engines running Verilog, VHDL or mixed languages.
"Model Technology has made continuous improvements to ModelSim that we have capitalised on to streamline our overall design process", said Mark Beal, CTO and cofounder of Intrinsix Corp.
"In particular, improved code coverage reporting features have helped us understand design issues earlier in the design cycle, with greater ease.
With the extended capabilities added in V5.7 we have increased our usage of integrated features included with the MTI simulators and as a result we have realised significant savings on our bottom line".
"The release of the ModelSim 5.7 tool continues our strategy of offering the best simulator price/performance coupled with the best integrated verification solution", said Robert Hum, Vice-President and General Manager, design verification and Test Division, Mentor Graphics.
"We believe that reducing the time it takes to find and fix bugs is a critical metric in today's design flows, and the ModelSim 5.7 version offers engineers a balanced combination of performance and debug capability".
The ModelSim 5.7 product includes new simulation optimisations for VHDL, Verilog, and mixed-language designs.
Customers are realising performance gains between 1.3x and 2x over previous versions.
The ModelSim tool was the first simulator to have code coverage built into the kernel of the simulator, delivering the best performance possible and eliminating the need for users to instrument their source code.
With Version 5.7, the ModelSim tool has expanded the capability of its built-in code coverage tool to provide even more data and substantially improve ease-of-use.
New code-coverage features include instance-based coverage, statement and branch coverage, and a new user interface.
With the ModelSim 5.7 version, users can now debug C or C++ code directly in the ModelSim source window.
This allows users to debug VHDL, Verilog and C/C++ code within the same user interface, greatly simplifying the debug and analysis of mixed-language designs and testbenches.
Users can access all data structures used in the C code as easily as the HDL signals and nets, and 'single-step' from the HDL code into C code and back again.
For increased throughput during regression testing with simulation visibility and control, the ModelSim 5.7 tool introduces JobSpy.
This powerful new feature further enhances the functionality available in standard load balancing software, as well as being available to any batch users of the ModelSim product.
JobSpy technology now supports GridWare from Sun Microsystems in addition to the current support for Platform Computing's LSF software.
The ModelSim tool offers the most Verilog 2001 support of all major simulator vendors, and new Verilog constructs have been added in every release since the approval of IEEE1364-2001.
The ModelSim 5.7 product continues this legacy, adding more Verilog 2001 features, including the generate statement.
The ModelSim 5.7 version is available now.
Perpetual pricing starts at $4495 for the ModelSim PE tool and $19,000 for the ModelSim SE tool.
A variety of licensing options is available.
Term licences are also available.
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