JPH0827806B2 - Test data editing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [Outline] An apparatus for editing test data for logic simulation, comprising at least data for an external terminal pin of an integrated circuit and means for inputting test data corresponding to the pin. A means for displaying each data from the data input means, by displaying the test data corresponding to the pin in the form of a waveform display when displaying the data of the pin on the display means. In addition, the efficiency of test data editing can be improved, the test data can be easily checked and input errors can be minimized.

[Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to a test data editing device, and more particularly, when designing a logic IC (integrated circuit) or a logic LSI (large-scale integrated circuit) such as a gate array or a standard cell using a CAD (computer-aided design) system. And a device having a function of designating an external terminal pin of the logic IC or logic LSI, inputting data of a test pattern corresponding to the pin, and editing test data for logic simulation.

[Prior art and problems to be solved by the invention]

When editing test data for logic simulation using a CAD system, the procedure usually used is that the operator first uses an IC or LSI from the keyboard.
The data for designating the external terminal pin is input, and subsequently, the data for the test pattern corresponding to the pin is input. Pin data is the external terminal name, such as VCC (power), CLK (clock), D (data), B (bus)
Etc. and its attributes, that is, designation of I (for signal input) or O (for signal output). On the other hand, in the test pattern data, the data of the signal actually input is input to the pin having the attribute for signal input, and the expected value data to be output is input to the pin having the attribute of signal output. , Defined by the combination of timing data and pattern data. The test data described in this way based on a predetermined rule is called "text" and employs a text method. Each data input from the keyboard based on this text system is displayed as it is on the CRT (cathode ray tube) display, that is, in the state of the language form at the time of key input.

FIG. 5 shows a display example of test data as an example of the conventional type, and FIG. 6 shows waveforms representing the display contents of FIG. In Fig. 5, DSP represents the display screen, V
, D0, D1, ..., CC, B0, B1, ..., External terminal names, I and O are attributes, and L5, H2, L1 ,. For example, the data corresponding to the terminal B1 for the bidirectional signal (in the signal output mode) is at the low (L) level until the time of 50 (ns), rises at that time, and goes high (up to the time of 70 (ns)). H) level is maintained, the signal falls at that point, changes similarly thereafter, and finally changes at 140 (ns).

As is clear from the display example shown in FIG. 5, according to the conventional test data editing mode, the test data corresponding to the external pin is displayed in the language mode. It is difficult to immediately and accurately recognize that the displayed contents shown in the figure represent the waveform shown in FIG. 6, and therefore, when the operator inputs the test data once displayed, the operator can check the input later. Has a problem in that the work becomes extremely complicated and may cause an input error by the operator in some cases, which inevitably reduces the efficiency of editing the test data as a whole.

The present invention was created in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and improves the efficiency of test data editing, minimizes input errors by the operator, and enables easy test checking of test data. The purpose is to provide a device.

[Means for solving the problem]

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the principle of the test data editing apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a data input means for inputting data PNi indicating an external terminal pin of an integrated circuit, data PAi indicating an attribute of the pin, and test data TDi for logic simulation corresponding to the pin. It is for doing. Reference numeral 2 denotes display means for displaying each data input from the data input means.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a display control means, which causes the display means 2 to display the pin data PNi and the attribute data PAi input from the data input means 1 and the test data TDi corresponding to the pin in the form of waveform display. It has a function to display in graphic.

Therefore, the apparatus of the present invention is generally configured to display the input test data graphically.

[Work]

When the pin data PNi, the attribute data PAi and the test data TDi are input from the data input unit 1, the display control unit 3 normally displays the data PNi and PAi on the display unit 2, and the test data TDi is in the form of a waveform. Is displayed graphically.

As a result, the device of the present invention improves the degree of recognition of data by the operator, minimizes input errors, and enables easy input check of test data, and in turn, enables efficient test data editing. is there.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 shows a schematic CAD system configuration to which a test data editing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In the figure, 20 is a system bus including a data bus, a control bus, etc.
21, a display 22, a memory 23, an MPU (microprocessor unit) 24 and a mouse 25 are connected to each other.

The keyboard 21 includes, in addition to ordinary keys such as a numeric keypad and alphabets, data displayed on the screen of the display unit 22 (change), delete (delte), insert (insert),
Equipped with function keys to move. The keyboard 21 is for inputting data indicating an IC or LSI external terminal pin and data for a test pattern corresponding to this pin, and corresponds to the data input means 1 shown in FIG. . The data indicating a pin is a pin name, for example, VCC (power supply), CLK (clock), D (data), B (bus), etc. and its attributes, that is, I (for signal input) or O (for signal output). It is defined by a combination of the designation and, and in the actual input operation, data is input by operating the ten keys and the alphabet keys. On the other hand, for the test pattern data,
Timing is set using the direction keys, and test pattern data is input using the ten keys and the alphabet keys. For example, when inputting positive pulse data at the time of 20 (ns) as data for signal input, first operate the right direction directional key twice,
Then, the "1" key may be operated.

The display 22 is for displaying each data input from the keyboard 21, and displays the data designating the pin, that is, the pin name and its attribute as usual, and the test pattern data in the form of waveform display. To display a graphic. In this case, regarding the test data of the pin having the attribute for signal output, the state of the language form at the time of key input, that is, "H" or "L", is displayed along with the waveform display.
Is displayed. The display 22 corresponds to the display means 2 shown in FIG. The memory 23 is for storing each data input from the keyboard 21 in addition to the program representing the processing performed by the MPU 24.

The MPU 24 executes a predetermined process based on the program stored in the memory 23, and the main function thereof is to temporarily store each data input from the keyboard 21 in the memory 23, and to the display unit 22, The pin names and their attributes are displayed normally, and the test pattern data is displayed graphically in the form of waveform display. In this case, the MPU 24 causes the waveform display and the language form state (“H” or “L”) at the time of key input to be displayed for the test data of the pin having the attribute for signal output. Therefore, depending on whether or not the characters "H" or "L" are displayed on the screen of the display device 22, the operator determines whether the pin is a signal output pin or a signal input pin. Can be recognized easily, immediately and accurately.

In addition, MPU24, if the wrong input operation is made,
For example, when key input of "H" or "L" is performed as test data having a pin attribute of I (for signal input), or conversely, "1" is given as test data having a pin attribute of O (for signal output). When the key input of "" or "0" is performed, the display device 22 has a function of controlling not to display the input data graphically. Therefore, when the operator recognizes that the graphic display of the data is not displayed on the screen of the display 22, the operator can notice the mistake of the input operation. This MPU 24 corresponds to the display control means 3 shown in FIG.

The mouse 25 is used when a figure or the like is created on the screen of the display 22 based on a manual operation.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart for explaining test data editing by the apparatus shown in FIG.

First, in step 301, a test data name to be edited is defined, and in step 302, the IC or LSI sets the number of pins N and the variable i is initialized. In the next step 303, pin Pi names such as VCC, CLK, D, B, etc., and attributes for instructing signal input (I) or signal output (O) are defined. Steps 301 to 303 are executed by an input operation from the keyboard 21. The variable i assigned to the pin Pi name does not follow the pin arrangement order, but follows the pin data input order defined by the operator. Next Step 30
In 4, the test data name entered from the keyboard 21,
The pin name and its attribute are displayed on the display 22.

In step 305, the test data TDi (in this case T
The input operation of D ₁ ) is performed via the keyboard 21. In the actual input operation, first use the directional key, usually the right directional key, to move the cursor on the screen to set the timing data, and then use the alphabet keys or numeric keypad to input the pattern data. . This pattern data is "1" or "0" for a pin having an I (for signal input) attribute, and O
The pin having the attribute (for signal output) is “H” or “L”. In the next step 306, the input data TDi is the correct data (YE
Whether it is S) or not (NO) is judged by the MPU24, and the judgment is YE.
If S, go to step 307; if NO, go to step
Proceed to 308. For example, even though "I" is input as the attribute of the pin Pi in step 303, step 305
When the test data of "H" or "L" is erroneously input in step 308, the process proceeds to step 308, the test data TDi is re-input therein, and then the process returns to step 306.

In step 307, the MPU 24 determines whether the attribute of the pin Pi corresponding to the correct input data TDi is I (for signal input) or O (for signal output). If the determination is "I", step 309 Then, the test data TDi is displayed graphically, that is, as a waveform. On the other hand, if the determination is “O” in step 307, the process proceeds to step 310, in which the test data TDi is displayed graphically as well as the test data TDi. Therefore, the operator can check the test data input by himself / herself on the screen of the display unit 22 in the form of a waveform, so that the data can be grasped intuitively, which reduces input errors and reduces the test data. The input check can be performed easily and accurately.

Next, in step 311, the data displayed on the screen of the display 22, that is, the test data name, pin name, attribute and test data are stored in the memory 23, and step 312
Then, test data for logical simulation is created. Steps 311 and 312 are executed by the MPU 24. In the next step 313, it is determined whether the value of the variable i is equal to the value of the number of pins N (YES) or not (NO), and the determination is YES.
If the determination is NO, the flow ends, and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds to step 314. In step 314, the value of i is incremented (i = 2 in this case), and the process returns to step 303.

FIG. 4 shows an example of test data display on the display of the apparatus shown in FIG. In the figure, B3 to B0 are pin names representing B (bus) terminals in the signal input (I) mode, and D15 to D12 are pin names representing D (data) terminals for signal output (O).
Shown respectively. As mentioned above, since the test data corresponding to each pin is displayed graphically in the form of a waveform, the timing at which the signal change occurs, or the level relationship of each signal at any time It is possible to grasp at a glance whether or not there is, and it is also possible to immediately find an error in the data input timing. Therefore, the test data can be efficiently edited. In addition, pins with attributes for signal output, that is,
For the test data of D15, D14, ..., the state of the language form "H" or "L" at the time of key input is also displayed together with the waveform display, so it can be distinguished from the test data of the pin for signal input. Can be done intuitively and easily.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the input test data is graphically displayed on the screen, it is possible to immediately and accurately recognize the time relationship with the test data of other pins. it can. Therefore, it is possible to minimize the operator's input error, enable easy input check of test data, and improve the efficiency of test data editing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of a test data editing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a CAD system configuration diagram to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is an explanation of test data editing by the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of test data display by the display of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of conventional test data display, and FIG. 6 is a display of FIG. It is a waveform diagram showing the contents. (Explanation of symbols) 1 ... data input means, 2 ... display means, 3 ... display control means, PNi ... pin data, PAi ... attribute data, TDi ... test data.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Inputting data (PNi) designating an external terminal pin of an integrated circuit, data (PAi) designating an attribute of the pin, and test data (TDi) for logic simulation corresponding to the pin. Means (1), means (2) for displaying each data input from the data input means, and pin data (PNi) and attributes input to the display means from the data input means. Data (PAi) and display control means (3) for graphically displaying the test data (TDi) corresponding to the pin in the form of a waveform display. 2. When the display control means (3) indicates that the pin attribute data (PAi) is a signal output pin, the display control means (3) indicates the pin corresponding to the pin. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the test data (TDi) is controlled so as to be displayed in a character together with a waveform display.