Fun with the SystemVerilog DPI
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This is a testbench for testing testbench components. Really. Verification components need to be verified.
You can make properties and assertions all day long and if they don't fire, that might mean the design is perfect. And it might mean that the properties are defective and they are not doing what you expected. You will need to test those assertions.
One option is to break the design for each and every one of the assertions you created. If you've ever done that sort of targeted crippling of a design you know how tedious it can be. It can also be quite difficult to orchestrate particular fails by selective breaking. And how do you coordinate that with particular sequences you run?
The testbench shown here contains a sample DPI-C based method for injecting errors in the design solely for the purpose of testing the verification components. Just make a function call to cripple the design in a particular way.
This is a work in progress. The most recent incarnation is on EDAplayground here:

The testbench

The diagram below is just for orientation. There are detailed comments in the code on EDAplayground. But, in brief, what the red arrows show are two situations:
  • Imagine a design with an embedded assertion aNoMoreThanOneGrant. How do we test it in vivo without changing the RTL? One way is to include the C-function Test_aNoMoreThanOneGrant and matched task forceTooManyGrants. At any time in any sequence, call Test_aNoMoreThanOneGrant and the task forceTooManyGrants in the module some_corruptor forces an extra grant to be asserted.
  • Imagine a scoreboard or coverpoint looking at possible mismatches w.r.t the RTL and reference model. How do we test it in vivo without deliberately modifying (breaking) the RTL? One way is to include a C function Test_Scoreboard_functionCMP and matched task forceBadCMP. This ensures that there is at least one instance where the match signal is incorrect.

    And what are the blue arrows? Just gratuitous DPI use for syntax reference.



    Other DPI things I have on EDA playground

    Here are some other places to look if you'd like some DPI-C usage examples. Find the EDA playground links on these pages:

    VirtualDSPtestbench
    The VirtualDSPtestbench contains a C-based signal generator that has behavior selectable from the command line via uvm_set_config_int. One of the functions includes a C-based file read via the DPI, values from which are brought into a sequence as part of the testbench stimulus. The VirtualDSPtestbench also uses signed values in the testbench as well as in the design. It's brand new and in its early stages, but one can insert a digital filter and apply to that filter +/- values from the signal generator.

    StreamProcessor
    The StreamProc project contains a C-based reference model that does some math and updates values in an array shared between the C-layer and the SystemVerilog layer. It's got the syntax for passing array references and accessing array members across the layers.

    Further work

    If you have code improvements or corrections, or you have a particularly interesting/non-standard use that you'd like to see or share, please let me know. Just go to the "Other Projects" link and navigate to "Contact".