An Algorithmic Methodology for Validation of Mixed Hardware/Software Systems

现代集成系统通常是硬件和软件组件的混合体。嵌入式计算机系统的验证需要硬件和软件验证机制的集成，本研究通过验证嵌入式系统（硬件和软件）设计的描述是否具有由一系列输入激励引起的正确行为，来研究检查嵌入式系统设计正确性的方法。这种方法被称为覆盖导向验证，覆盖度量正在设计中。这些措施的程度提供了一组功能模拟向量，计算语句执行计数（可控性信息），并检查，看看是否可能的错误激活的程序刺激的影响可以观察到在电路输出（可观察性信息）的设计验证。特别是，该项目正在探索有效的方法来计算可用于嵌入式软件和HDL覆盖的基于可观察性的代码覆盖度量。

Modern integrated systems are often a mixture of hardware and softwarecomponents. Debugging and verifying these embedded computer systemsrequires the integration of hardware and software verification mechanisms.This research is investigating methods for checking correctness of anembedded system (hardware and software) design by verifying that adescription of the design has the proper behavior as elicited by a seriesof input stimuli. The approach is called coverage directed validation, andcoverage metrics are being devised. These measure the extent of designverification provided by a set of functional simulation vectors, whichcompute statement execution counts (controllability information), and checkto see whether effects of possible errors activated by program stimuli canbe observed at the circuit outputs (observability information). In particular, the project is exploring efficient methods to compute observability-basedcode coverage metrics that can be used for both embedded software andHDL coverage.