Incremental Modification of Instrumentation Logic

Abstract

A method and system for incremental updating of instrumentation logic in integrated circuit designs. During debugging of a circuit design, instrumented signals are modified without rerunning synthesis and place and route. According to an embodiment, instrumentation logic is incrementally changed by the following operations: Building a list of available signals, modifying one or more instrumented signals, connecting or disconnecting the modified signals, and rerouting the modified signals.

1 . A method to incrementally change instrumentation logic for a design of an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit having a plurality of signals, the method comprising:
 determining a first signal group including one or more signals that can be used for instrumentation from the plurality of signals based on a preset criterion;   selecting a second signal group, wherein the second signal group is selected from the first signal group; and   updating the instrumentation logic for the design based on the second signal group.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 selecting further comprises specifying an instrumentation type associated with each signal from the second signal group, the instrumentation type comprising at least one of the following: (a) sample-only, (b) trigger-only, or (c) sample-and-trigger.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 rerouting the design based on the updated instrumented logic.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the selecting further comprises associating additional data with each signal from the second signal group, the additional data comprising information regarding whether or not to instrument the each signal; and   the updating comprises at least one of (a) connecting signals to be instrumented, or (b) disconnecting signals to be de-instrumented.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 performing a synthesis operation on the design based on the updated instrumented logic; and   performing a place-and-route operation on the design based on the updated instrumented logic.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the design of the integrated circuit is initially written in HDL.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 issuing a warning to the user if a number of instrumentation signals for the instrumentation type in the second signal group is bigger than a maximum number of signals for the instrumentation type.   
     
     
         8 . A method for incrementally updating instrumentation logic for a design of an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit having a plurality of signals, wherein a first signal group from the plurality of signals can be used for instrumentation, the integrated circuit having at least one extra circuit element for instrumentation, the method comprising:
 providing a user with a first list of one or more signals in the first signal group available for instrumentation;   receiving, from the user, a second list including one or more signals, wherein the second list is selected from the first list;   modifying the instrumentation logic for the circuit design based on the second list, wherein the modifying comprises associating at least one signal from the second list with the at least one extra circuit element; and   performing at least one operation based the modifying.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 receiving an instrumentation type associated with each signal from the second list, the instrumentation type comprising at least one of the following: (a) sample-only, (b) trigger-only, or (c) sample-and-trigger.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , the method further comprising:
 issuing a warning to the user if a number of instrumentation signals for an instrumentation type in the second list is bigger than a maximum number of signals for the instrumentation type.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 receiving additional data associated with each signal from the second list, the additional data comprising information regarding whether or not to instrument the each signal.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 determining a region in the integrated circuit that is affected by the modifying;   first updating, based on the modifying, the design in the region, wherein the first updating comprises rerouting in the region; and   second updating, based on the first updating, the design of the integrated circuit, wherein the second updating comprises rerouting in the integrated circuit.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the region comprises at least one of a cell, a net, or a block. 
     
     
         14 . A data processing system, comprising:
 a processor;   a memory coupled to the processor, the memory receiving instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the data processing system to perform a process for incrementally changing instrumentation logic for a design of an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit having a plurality of signals, the process comprising:   determining at least one signal that can be used for instrumentation from the plurality of signals based on a preset criterion;   selecting one or more signals from the at least one signal; and   updating the instrumentation logic for the design based on the selected one or more signals.   
     
     
         15 . The data processing system of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 specifying an instrumentation type associated with each signal from the selected one or more signals, the instrumentation type comprising one of the following: (a) sample-only, (b) trigger-only, or (c) sample-and-trigger.   
     
     
         16 . The data processing system of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 rerouting the design based on the updated instrumented logic.   
     
     
         17 . The data processing system of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 associating additional data with each signal from the selected one or more signals, the additional data comprising information regarding whether or not to instrument the each signal; and   the updating comprises at least one of (a) connecting signals to be instrumented, or (b) disconnecting signals to be de-instrumented.   
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory machine readable medium containing executable computer program instructions which, when executed by a digital processing system, cause the system to perform a method for incrementally changing instrumentation logic for a design of an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit having a plurality of signals, the method comprising:
 determining a group of one or more signals that can be used for instrumentation from the plurality of signals based on a preset criterion;   selecting a set of one or more signals, wherein the set of signals is selected from the group of one or more signals; and   updating the instrumentation logic for the design based on the set of signals.   
     
     
         19 . The machine readable medium of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 specifying an instrumentation type associated with each signal from the set of signals, the instrumentation type comprising one of the following: (a) sample-only, (b) trigger-only, or (c) sample-and-trigger.   
     
     
         20 . The machine readable medium of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 associating additional data with each signal from the set of signals, the additional data comprising information regarding whether or not to instrument the each signal; and   the updating comprises at least one of (a) connecting signals to be instrumented, or (b) disconnecting signals to be de-instrumented.