Abbreviations

API

application programming interface

The commands and variables a software offers to other programs and scripts. OSVVM-Scripts is an API on top of Tcl: a build script calls its commands instead of a simulator’s own ones.

AXI4

Advanced eXtensible Interface 4

Arm’s on-chip bus protocol of the AMBA specification, in the variants AXI4 (full), AXI4-Lite and AXI4-Stream. OSVVM has a verification component for each of them (repository AXI4).

CD

continuous delivery

Releasing every change, which passed CI, automatically. Usually written together, as CI/CD.

CI

continuous integration

Building and testing every change automatically, usually on a server. A CI tool reads the JUnit XML build summary report of a build to show its test cases (see JUnit XML Report).

CSV

comma-separated values

A text format for tables: one line per row, the fields separated by commas (RFC 4180). OSVVM writes its build requirements report as CSV and reads a requirements specification from CSV (see Requirements Reports).

FIFO

first in, first out

A queue that returns its items in the order they were put in. A scoreboard keeps its expected values in a FIFO.

FSM

finite-state machine

A circuit in exactly one of a finite number of states at a time. The coverage kind fsm covers the states and transitions of a design’s FSMs.

GHDL

G Hardware Design Language

An open-source VHDL simulator (GHDL); “G” has no meaning.

HDL

hardware description language

A language describing the structure and behaviour of digital circuits, like VHDL, Verilog and SystemVerilog.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language

The markup language of web pages (HTML standard). OSVVM’s reports for humans are HTML files (see HTML Reports).

ID

identifier

A name, which identifies one element. In OSVVM, an AlertLog ID identifies an entry of the alert hierarchy, a requirement ID a requirement.

ISO 8601

Date and time - Representations for information interchange

The ISO standard for writing a date and a time as text, like 2026-10-11T07:30:15+02:00. OSVVM’s YAML files write the start and finish of a build in this form.

JSON

JavaScript Object Notation

A text format for structured data (RFC 8259). ProToJson writes what a build script analyzes and simulates as JSON.

MIT

Model Independent Transactions

OSVVM’s common transaction interfaces: one for address bus models (like AXI4), one for streaming models (like UART). A test case written with them works with every verification component implementing the interface.

OSVVM

Open Source VHDL Verification Methodology

A VHDL verification methodology and its libraries (osvvm.org): the utility library, the verification components, and OSVVM-Scripts, the script library documented here.

Tcl

Tool Command Language

A scripting language (tcl-lang.org), built into most simulators. An OSVVM build script is a Tcl script.

UART

universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter

A serial interface sending one character at a time, framed by start and stop bits. OSVVM has a verification component for it (repository UART).

UCDB

Unified Coverage Database

The coverage database format of the Siemens simulators. The Aldec simulators export their code coverage as UCDB XML.

VC

verification component

See verification component.

VHDL

VHSIC Hardware Description Language

The HDL standardized as IEEE 1076. OSVVM is written in VHDL.

VHSIC

Very High Speed Integrated Circuit

The US Department of Defense program, under which VHDL was developed.

VTI

Virtual Transaction Interface

A verification component variant, whose transaction interface a test case reaches through a VHDL external name instead of a port. OSVVM’s VTI test benches run in separate test suites, like AxiStream_VTI (RunAllTestsVti.pro).

XML

Extensible Markup Language

The W3C’s markup language for structured text documents (XML 1.0). OSVVM writes its build summary report also as JUnit XML, and exports code coverage as XML.

YAML

YAML Ain’t Markup Language

A text format for structured data (yaml.org). OSVVM writes all results as YAML first and creates its reports from these files (see YAML Data Files).