DVCon 2014: Standards on Display

One of the nice things about DVCon is the update one can get from the developers of IEEE and Accellera standards.  And this year’s DVCon is no exception.  The four days of DVCon begin and end with tutorials that cover updates to popular standards like UVM, UPF, SystemC and more.  For our part, Mentor Graphics is participating in the development and delivery of these updates with our peers.

I have written in the past about the productivity challenges before us to address the verification crisis and the emergence of machine-to-machine communication and the Internet of Things driving power aware design and verification.  To advance the demands on improved verification and help to address the verification crisis, the next round in the Universal Verification Methodology (UVM) standard is being readied for industry adoption.  UVM 1.2, the emerging update will be covered in some detail in a Monday morning tutorial to help you learn “What’s Now and What’s Next.”  Mentor Graphics’ Tom Fitzpatrick and Accellera Working Group representative will present in this tutorial.

UVM 1.2 is an active development project of Accellera and has not yet been released so there is no official standard available for download and use yet.  I’ll share standardization details as they happen.

At the same time on Monday, those who are concerned with power aware design and verification can attend the tutorial on the Unified Low Power Format (UPF), or as it is officially called IEEE 1801™-2013.  The tutorial will cover the full spectrum of UPF capabilities and methodology from basic to advanced applications.  So if you are new to UPF and want to learn, this is a great tutorial to attend.  And if you are already an expert, the advanced application of UPF as highlighted by those companies who have adopted UPF make this valuable for you as well.  Mentor Graphics’ Erich Marschner and IEEE 1801 Working Group vice-chair will participate in this tutorial.

UPF is an official IEEE standard.  Have you downloaded your copy yet?  Accellera has worked with the IEEE to make no-charge access to the official standard for you.  You can find the UPF standard here.

In the afternoon, there will be a session on case studies in SystemC.  User and vendor presentations will explore use of this standard.  SystemC offers much in the verification space, not just in technology but learning on how to bridge the RTL world with transaction level modeling world.  Mentor Graphics’ John Stickley will review what we have learned and how you can apply it to your most pressing verification needs.

SystemC is an official IEEE standard.  Have you downloaded your copy yet?  Under the Accellera agreement with the IEEE, you can download SystemC standard here.

There is a lot more to DVCon than just the use of current standards and planning adoption of emerging standards.  I encourage you to check out the whole agenda and join me at DVCon 2014 March 3-6.

Mentor Graphics presentations during the conference include:

• Tuesday Paper Sessions

• Amit Srivastava – Stepping Into UPF 2.1 World: Easy Solution to Complex
  Power Estimation
• Kenneth Bakalar – Interpreting UPF For A Mixed-Signal Design Under Test
• Gordon Allan – Tried and Tested Speedups for Software-Driven SoC Simulatio
• Tuesday Poster Sessions

• Rich Edelman – Debugging Communicating Systems: The Blame Game – Blurring
  the Line Between Performance Analysis and Debug
• Matthew Balance – Tackling Random Blind Spots with Strategy-Driven Stimulus Generation
• Gaurav K. Verma – Supercharge Your Verification Using Rapid Expression Coverage as the Basis of a MC/DC-Compliant Coverage Methodology
• Andreas Meyer – So You Think You Have Good Stimulus: System-Level Distributed Metrics Analysis and Results
• Rich Edelman – UVM SchmooVM – I Want My C Tests!
• Thom Ellis – Are  You Really Confident That You Are Getting the Very Best From Your Verification Resources?
• Jitesh Bansal – Is Your Power Aware Design Really X-Aware
• Wednesday Paper Sessions
• Avidan Efody – Wiretap Your SoC: Why Scattering Verification IPs Throughout Your Design Is A Smart Thing To Do
• Tom Fitzpatrick – Of Camels and Committees: Standards Should Enable Innovation, Not Strangle It

Mentor Graphics will host its traditional lunch at DVCon on Wednesday on the theme of Accelerating Verification.  And we have lively panel participants for the Tuesday and Wednesday panels.  And, as always, the Exhibit, CEO Keynote and Panels are open to all a no charge – you just have to REGISTER!

I look forward to seeing you there!