The IEEE Verilog 1364-2001 StandardWhat's New, and Why You Need ItStuart SutherlandSutherland HDL, Inc.(presented at HDLCon in March 2000 — minor updates made October, 2001) AbstractAt the time of this conference, the proposed IEEE 1364-2000 Verilog standard is complete, and in the ballotingprocess for final IEEE approval [update: official IEEEratification was not completed until March 2001, makingthe official name IEEE 1364-2001, and the nicknameVerilog-2001]. Verilog-2001 adds many significantenhancements to the Verilog language, which add greatersupport for configurable IP modeling, deep-submicronaccuracy, and design management. Other enhancementsmake Verilog easier to use. These changes will affecteveryone who uses the Verilog language, as well as thosewho implement Verilog software tools. This paper presentsa summary of several of the enhancements in Verilog-2001.1. History of the IEEE 1364 Verilog standardThe Verilog Hardware Description Language was firstintroduced in 1984, as a proprietary language fromGateway Design Automation. The original Veriloglanguage was designed to be used with a single product,the Gateway Verilog-XL digital logic simulator. In 1989, Gateway Design Automation was acquired byCadence Design Systems. In 1990, Cadence released theVerilog Hardware Description Language and the VerilogProgramming Language Interface (PLI) to the publicdomain. Open Verilog International (OVI) was formed tocontrol the public domain Verilog, and to promote itsusage. Cadence turned over to OVI the FrameMakersource files of the Cadence Verilog-XL user’s manual. Thisdocument became OVI’s Verilog 1.0 Reference Manual.In 1993, OVI released its Verilog 2.0 Reference Manual,which contained a few enhancements to the Veriloglanguage, ...
