Principles of Verifiable RTL Design

The first edition of this text offered a common sense method for simplifying and unifying assertion specification by creating a set of pre-defined specification modules that could be instantiated within the designer’s RTL. Since the release of the first edition, an entire industry-wide initiative for assertion specification has emerged based on ideas presented in the first edition. This initiative is known as the Open Verification Library Initiative. This standard enables the design engineer to “specify once”, then target the same RTL assertion specification over multiple verification processes, such as traditional simulation, semi-formal and formal verification tools. The Open Verification Library Initiative is an empowering technology that should benefit design and verification engineers while providing unity to the EDA community. The second edition of “Principles of Verifiable RTL Design” expands the discussion of assertion specification.