General Structure

Piparazzi is an automatic test generator that uses the description of a coverage model as input in order to produce a set of test programs covering the model. The generation is based on an externally-provided model of the microprocessor.   Piparazzi Input The Piparazzi test generator uses the following inputs: Architectural and micro-architectural model - a declarative specification of the architecture and micro-architecture of the micro-processor for verification. Coverage model - a description of a set of events (scenarios) to be tested. A coverage model is defined by specifying relationships between the micro-architecture properties of the test's instructions and the relevant micro-architecture mechanisms. Piparazzi provides a rich set of such properties.   Piparazzi Output Piparazzi has two main outputs: An architecture-level test program and expected architectural results - Piparazzi supports several output formats, such as those produced by other test generators (e.g., Genesys, Genesys-Pro, and AVPGen).The test file includes sections for initialization of registers and memory, and the final values of each resource used. A mismatch in the architectural results implies a functional bug of the design. A description of the expected micro-architectural behavior of the test - this includes a specification of the expected flow behavior of the instructions, including timing. This information can be compared with the actual timing of the simulated test. A mismatch in the micro-architectural results implies a performance bug of the design.