Conveying data from a hardware device to a circuit simulation

Abstract

system and method is described for connecting a logic circuit simulation to a hardware peripheral that includes a computer running software for communicating data to and from the hardware peripheral. The software transmits the data received from the hardware peripheral to the device being simulated by the logic circuit simulation. The computer also transmits the data received from the device being simulated by the electronic circuit simulation to the hardware peripheral. This allows the user to test the device being simulated using real hardware for input and output instead of simulated hardware.

1 - 33 . (canceled) 
     
     
         34 . A method, comprising:
 receiving first data at a computer system from a hardware device coupled to the computer system using interface software executing on the computer system;   transmitting the first data to a circuit simulator program using a programming language interface, the circuit simulator program executing on the computer system and configured to simulate an electronic device for interacting with the hardware device;   receiving second data from the circuit simulator program at the interface software using the programming language interface; and   transmitting the second data to the hardware device using the interface software, wherein the interface software implements a multithreaded program for receiving the first data and transmitting the second data.   
     
     
         35 . The method as recited in  claim 34 , wherein:
 the receiving the first data from the hardware device occurs at a first rate; and   the transmitting the first data to the circuit simulator program occurs at a second rate less than the first rate.   
     
     
         36 . The method as recited in  claim 34 , further comprising:
 the computer system storing the first data, after the receiving, in a memory of the computer system.   
     
     
         37 . The method as recited in  claim 36 , further comprising:
 reformatting at least a portion of the first data in a format compatible with the circuit simulator program.   
     
     
         38 . The method as recited in  claim 37 , wherein:
 the transmitting the first data includes accessing the first data stored in the memory.   
     
     
         39 . The method as recited in  claim 34 , wherein:
 the hardware device is not a hardware emulator configurable to emulate functionality identical to that of another hardware device.   
     
     
         40 . A computer readable storage device storing instructions executable to cause a computer system to perform operations comprising:
 receiving first data at the computer system from a hardware device coupled to the computer system using interface software executing on the computer system;   transmitting the first data to a circuit simulator program using a programming language interface, the circuit simulator program executing on the computer system and configured to execute instructions to simulate an electronic device for interacting with the hardware device;   receiving second data from the circuit simulator program at the interface software using the programming language interface; and   transmitting the second data to the hardware device using the interface software, wherein the interface software implements a multithreaded program for receiving the first data and transmitting the second data.   
     
     
         41 . The computer readable storage device as recited in  claim 40 , wherein:
 the receiving the first data from the hardware device occurs at a first rate; and   the transmitting the first data to the circuit simulator program occurs at a second rate less than the first rate.   
     
     
         42 . The computer readable storage device as recited in  claim 40 , wherein:
 the hardware device is not a hardware emulator configurable to emulate functionality identical to that of another hardware device.   
     
     
         43 . A computer system, comprising:
 a processor;   an interface configured to interact with a hardware device coupled to the computer system;   a memory having stored thereon instructions executable to cause the computer system to perform operations comprising:   receiving first data at the computer system from the hardware device coupled to the computer system using interface software executing on the computer system;   transmitting the first data to a circuit simulator program using a programming language interface, the circuit simulator program executing on the computer system and configured to execute instructions to simulate an electronic device for interacting with the hardware device;   receiving second data from the circuit simulator program at the interface software using the programming language interface; and   transmitting the second data to the hardware device using the interface software, wherein the interface software implements a multithreaded program for receiving the first data and transmitting the second data.   
     
     
         44 . The computer system as recited in  claim 43 , wherein:
 the receiving the first data from the hardware device occurs at a first rate; and   the transmitting the first data to the circuit simulator program occurs at a second rate less than the first rate.   
     
     
         45 . The computer system as recited in  claim 43 , wherein:
 the hardware device is not a hardware emulator configurable to emulate functionality identical to that of another hardware device.   
     
     
         46 . The computer system as recited in  claim 43 , wherein:
 the memory is configured to store the first data.   
     
     
         47 . The computer system as recited in  claim 43 , wherein:
 the hardware device is not a hardware emulator configurable to emulate functionality identical to that of another hardware device.