VHDL Users' Group Newsletter 127 Beaumont Avenue San Francisco, CA 94118 31 July 1989 Vol II, No. 2 Fall General Meeting Enclosed is the Invitation and Preliminary Agenda for the second Fall General Meeting. Excitement is already building for the meeting right on the tails of the recently completed Spring meeting in Washington. The Fall meeting will reflect the infusion of new ideas by an enlarged steering committee and user base. The time and area devoted to vendor demonstrations will be expanded from last years meeting. Please register early as the hotel and tutorials are expected to sell out! Newsletter The VHDL Users' Group newsletter project has received a fresh start. Rachael Rusting and Fred Hinchliffe have agreed to become Co-Editors on a new and expanded format. We encourage everyone to submit news worthy items that are of interest to the VHDL community. Please submit all ideas, comments, and articles for publication to Rachael or Fred directly. Articles submitted to the VHDL Users' Group address will be forwarded to the editors also. They can be reached at: Rachael Rusting Fred Hinchliffe Intermetrics, Inc. CLSI 733 Concord Avenue 51 Monroe Street, Suite 606 Cambridge, MA 01238 Rockville, MD 20850 (617) 661-1840 (301) 424-9445 New Books There were several new books released just in time for the Spring 1989 VHDL Users' Group meeting in Washington. They all offer additional insights into views of using VHDL. Contact Kluwer Academic Publishers, () or Prentice Hall, () for further details. We look forward to submissions of book reviews for publication in the newsletter. Make it easier for the next person by sharing your conclusions, thoughts, and experiences. Bibliography Many people have been asking for a bibliography update of the one submitted by John Hines in the Fall 1988 meeting notebook. Has anyone been scouring the trade journals and book lists for interesting sources of information? If you have a rough list, submit it for publication to the newsletter. We will make sure it is distributed in time for the Fall 1989 meeting. Validation Efforts There are two efforts underway to develop VHDL analyzer and simulator validation suites. Intermetrics, under government funding, and VPI, under industry funding, have both made progress. There efforts are loosely coordinated and it is expected the results of both will be picked up by the NIST or a similar organization by next year. Those interested in assisting in the development and therefore getting preliminary releases should contact Victor Berman, Intermetrics, (301) 657-3775 or Dr. James Armstrong, VPI, (703) 961-4723. There are additional efforts underway to develop model validation methods. This would provide a standard mechanism to determine that a VHDL model meets minimum criteria of usefulness and interoperability. There is a strong interest within the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency and industry for such a standard. For updates, watch for items in future newsletters. Or contact John Wilner, Hughes Aircraft, (714) 670-4873 or Scott Calhoun, ITD, (601) 325-2240 directly. CALS Picks UP VHDL It was verified at the Spring 1989 Users' Group meeting that VHDL will become part of the CALS standards currently under development within the Defense Production and Logistics Agency. VHDL, along with EDIF, IPC, and IGES are currently called out in the recently revised MIL-STD-1840, version B. Concurrently, the PDES Electrical Subcommittee, an industry group defining the CALS standards, has begin to show interest in VHDL. There is a commitment by both the VHDL and PDES communities to expand cooperation. Those interested in being a part of this new effort are encouraged to contact Larry O'Connell, (505) 844-1061. VASG Resolution Report The VASG, the group providing maintenance and clarification to the VHDL Language Reference Manual Standard by the IEEE, is expected to release their current results in time for the Fall 1989 VHDL Users' Group Meeting. Consideration is being given to provide as wide a distribution as possible of the document. Look for further information in future newsletters. It is important to note that the document represents a consensus by the attendees at the Working Group committees. Anyone with an interest can attend the meetings or comment on the resolutions. Only with this wider, industry support can the resolutions become part of the actual standard practice. Call for Logo The VHDL Users' Group and Community need a recognizable logo to use. We are currently looking for submissions of ideas from aspiring designers. The logo should serve to promote the language standard for all that it represents. For an idea at a good, recognizable logo look at any EDIF documentation. The author of the selected entry will be acknowledged at the following VHDL Users' Group meeting and in the newsletter. Call for Benchmarks There is a desire to have a few system, board, and ASIC designs for use as benchmarks. The benchmarks are desired to show the interoperability of VHDL based tools and systems rather than simulator performance. In addition, they should serve to highlight what can be represented in VHDL. The examples will allow users of other standards to see where overlap occurs. Anyone wishing to submit a benchmark should contact Randy Harr at (415) 387-8262 or at the VHDL Users' Group address above. VHDL Users' Group Becomes an Entity At the recent Steering Committee meeting of the VHDL Users' Group, it was decided to become a part of the Computer Society of the IEEE for a trial period of one year. The reasons are to increase the liability and indemnification coverage of the group in running its activities. The IEEE is a large and stable organization which is looking to support the standards community more fully. The steering committee is committed to guarantee that the group maintain independence for its members so that anyone with an interest in VHDL, no matter what their affiliation, will be welcome members. Calendar of Events 24 Jul 1989 VHDL Design Exchange Group Meeting @ Gateway Design Automation, Boston, MA Ghulam Nurie (415) 960-6348 14-16 Aug 1989 VHDL Methods Workshop @ University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA Ron Williams (804) 924-7960 22-24 Aug 1989 CAD Framework Initiative (CFI) @ ?, Boston, MA M.P. Associates (303) 503-4562 29-31 Aug 1989 International Test Conference (ITC) @ Sheraton, Washington, D.C. Contact (201) 895-5260 11-14 Sep 1989 EDIF World (USA EDIF Users' Group meeting) @ ?, San Jose, Ca ?-? Oct 1989 IGES/PDES Industry Meeting @ ?, Albuquerque, NM Larry O'Connell (505) 844-1061 22-25 Oct 1989 VHDL Users' Group General Meeting @ Sheraton @ Redondo Beach, CA Conference Management Services (415) 329-0510 26-27 Oct 1989 IEEE Design Automation Standards Subcommittee (DASS) @ Sheraton @ Redondo Beach, CA Larry Saunders (507) 253-2509 6-8 Nov 1989 IEEE International Conference on Computer Aided Design (ICCAD) @ Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA MP Associates (303) 503-4562 7-9 Nov 1989 Government Microelectronics Conference (GOMAC) @ Hyatt Orlando, Orlando, FL C. Edward Holland (919) 541-9400 March 1990 Spring VHDL Users' Group Meeting @ ?, Boston, MA Fred Hinchliffe (301) 424-9445 12-15 Mar 90 European Design Automation Conference (EDAC) @ Hospitality Inn Convention Center, Glasgow Jochen Jess 44-31-557-2478 =========================his would prov