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[libreriscv.git] / HDL_workflow.mdwn
1 # HDL workflow
2
3 This section describes the workflow and some best practices for developing
4 the Libre-SoC hardware. We use nmigen, yosys and symbiyosys, and this
5 page is intended not just to help you get set up, it is intended to
6 help advise you of some tricks and practices that will help you become
7 effective team contributors.
8
9 It is particularly important to bear in mind that we are not just
10 "developing code", here: we are creating a "lasting legacy educational
11 resource" for other people to learn from, and for businesses and students
12 alike to be able to use, learn from and augment for their own purposes.
13
14 It is also important to appreciate and respect that we are funded under
15 NLNet's Privacy and Enhanced Trust Programme <http://nlnet.nl/PET>. Full
16 transparency, readability, documentation, effective team communication
17 and formal mathematical proofs for all code at all levels is therefore
18 paramount.
19
20 # Collaboration resources
21
22 The main message here: **use the right tool for the right job**.
23
24 * mailing list: general communication and discussion.
25 * bugtracker: task-orientated, goal-orientated *focussed* discussion.
26 * ikiwiki: document store, information store, and (editable) main website
27 * git repositories: code stores (**not binary or auto-generated output store**)
28 * ftp server (<http://ftp.libre-riscv.org>): large file store.
29
30 we will add an IRC channel at some point when there are enough people
31 to warrant having one.
32
33 ## Main contact method: mailing list
34
35 To respect the transparency requirements, conversations need to be
36 public and archived (i.e not skype, not telegram, not discord,
37 and anyone seriously suggesting slack will be thrown to the
38 lions). Therefore we have a mailing list. Everything goes through
39 there. <http://lists.libre-riscv.org/mailman/listinfo/libre-riscv-dev>
40 therefore please do google "mailing list etiquette" and at the very
41 minimum look up and understand the following:
42
43 * This is a technical mailing list with complex topics. Top posting
44 is completely inappropriate. Don't do it unless you have mitigating
45 circumstances, and even then please apologise and explain ("hello sorry
46 using phone at airport flight soon, v. quick reply: ....")
47 * Always trim context but do not cut excessively to the point where people
48 cannot follow the discussion. Especially do not cut the attribution
49 ("On monday xxx wrote")
50 * Use inline replies i.e. reply at the point in the relevant part of
51 the conversation, as if you were actually having a conversation.
52 * Follow standard IETF reply formatting, using ">" for cascaded
53 indentation of other people's replies. If using gmail, please: SWITCH
54 OFF RICH TEXT EDITING.
55 * Please for god's sake do not use "my replies are in a different
56 colour". Only old and highly regarded people still using AOL are allowed
57 to get away with that (such as Mitch).
58 * Start a new topic with a relevant subject line. If an existing
59 discussion changes direction, change the subject line to reflect the
60 new topic (or start a new conversation entirely, without using the
61 "reply" button)
62 * DMARC is a pain on the neck. Try to avoid GPG signed messages. sigh.
63 * Don't send massive attachments. Put them online (no, not on facebook or
64 google drive or anywhere else that demands privacy violations) and provide
65 the link. Which should not require any kind of login to access. ask the
66 listadmin if you don't have anywhere suitable: FTP access can be arranged.
67
68 If discussions result in any actionable items, it is important not to
69 lose track of them. Create a bugreport, find the discussion in the
70 archives <http://lists.libre-riscv.org/pipermail/libre-riscv-dev/>,
71 and put the link actually in the bugtracker as one of the comments.
72
73 At some point in any discussion, the sudden realisation may dawn on one
74 or more people that this is an "actionable" discussion. at that point
75 it may become better to use <http://bugs.libre-riscv.org>
76 itself to continue the discussion rather than to keep on dropping copies
77 of links into the bugtracker. The bugtracker sends copies of comments
78 *to* the list however this is 'one-way' (note from lkcl: because this
79 involves running an automated perl script from email, on every email,
80 on the server, that is a high security risk, and i'm not doing it. sorry.)
81
82 Also, please do not use the mailing list as an "information or document
83 store or poor-man's editor". We have the wiki for that. Edit a page and
84 tell people what you did (summarise rather than drop the entire contents
85 at the list) and include the link to the page.
86
87 Or, if it is more appropriate, commit a document (or source code)
88 into the relevant git repository then look up the link in the gitweb
89 source tree browser and post that (in the bugtracker or mailing list)
90 See <http://git.libre-riscv.org>
91
92 ### gmail "spam"ifying the list
93
94 see <https://blog.kittycooper.com/2014/05/keeping-my-mailing-list-emails-out-of-gmails-spam-folder/>
95
96 basically it is possible to select any message from the list, create a "filter" (under "More"),
97 and, on the 2nd dialog box, click the "never send this to Spam" option.
98
99 ## Bugtracker
100
101 bugzilla. old and highly effective. sign up in the usual way. any
102 problems, ask on the list.
103
104 Please do not ask for the project to be transferred to github or other
105 proprietary nonfree service "because it's soooo convenient", as the
106 lions are getting wind and gout from overfeeding on that one.
107
108 ## ikiwiki
109
110 Runs the main libre-riscv.org site (including this page). effective,
111 stunningly light on resources, and uses a git repository not a database.
112 That means it can be edited offline.
113
114 Usual deal: register an account and you can start editing and contributing
115 straight away.
116
117 Hint: to create a new page, find a suitable page that would link to it,
118 first, then put the link in of the page you want to create, as if the
119 page already exists. Save that page, and you will find a questionmark
120 next to the new link you created. click that link, and it will fire up a
121 "create new page" editor.
122
123 Hint again: the wiki is backed by a git repository. Don't go overboard
124 but at the same time do not be afraid that you might "damage" or "lose"
125 pages. Although it would be a minor pain, the pages can always be
126 reverted or edited by the sysadmins to restore things if you get in a tiz.
127
128 Assistance in creating a much better theme greatly appreciated. e.g.
129 <http://www.math.cmu.edu/~gautam/sj/blog/20140720-ikiwiki-navbar.html>
130
131 ## git
132
133 we use git. more on this below. we also use gitolite3 running on a
134 dedicated server. again, it is extremely effective and low resource
135 utilisation. reminder: lions are involved if github is mentioned.
136
137 gitweb is provided which does a decent job. <http://git.libre-riscv.org>
138
139 ## ftp server
140
141 <http://ftp.libre-riscv.org> is available for storing large files
142 that do not belong in a git repository, if we have (or ever need)
143 any. images (etc.) if small and appropriate should go into the
144 wiki, however .tgz archives (etc.) and, at some point, binaries,
145 should be on the ftp server.
146
147 ask on the list if you have a file that belongs on the ftp server.
148
149 ## server
150
151 as an aside: all this is "old school" and run on a single core 512MB
152 VM with only a 20GB HDD allocation. it costs only 8 GBP per month from
153 mythic-beasts and means that the project is in no way dependent on anyone
154 else - not microsoft, not google, not facebook, not amazon.
155
156 we tried gitlab. it didn't go well. please don't ask to replace the
157 above extremely resource-efficient resources with it.
158
159 # Hardware
160
161 RAM is the biggest requirement. Minimum 16GB, the more the better (32
162 or 64GB starts to reach "acceptable" levels. Disk space is not hugely
163 critical: 256GB SSD should be more than adequate. Simulations and
164 FPGA compilations however are where raw processing power is a must.
165 High end Graphics Cards are nonessential.
166
167 What is particularly useful is to have hi-res screens (curved is
168 *strongly* recommended if the LCD is over 24in wide, to avoid eyeballs
169 going "prism" through longterm use), and to have several of them: the
170 more the better. Either a DisplayLink UD160A (or more modern variant)
171 or simply using a second machine (lower spec hardware because it will
172 run editors) is really effective.
173
174 Also it is really recommended to have a UHD monitor (4k - 3840x2160),
175 or at least 2560x1200. If given a choice, 4:3 aspect ratio is better
176 than 16:9 particularly when using several of them. However, caveat
177 (details below): please when editing do not assume that everyone will
178 have access to such high resolution screens.
179
180 # Operating System
181
182 First install and become familiar with Debian (ubuntu if you absolutely
183 must) for standardisation cross-team and so that toolchain installation
184 is greatly simplified. yosys in particular warns that trying to use
185 Windows, BSD or MacOS will get you into a world of pain.
186
187 Only a basic GUI desktop is necessary: fvwm2, xfce4, lxde are perfectly
188 sufficient (alongside wicd-gtk for network management). Other more
189 complex desktops can be used however may consume greater resources.
190
191 # editors and editing
192
193 Whilst this is often a personal choice, the fact that many editors are
194 GUI based and run fullscreen with the entire right hand side *and* middle
195 *and* the majority of the left side of the hi-res screen entirely unused
196 and bereft of text leaves experienced developers both amused and puzzled.
197
198 At the point where such fullscreen users commit code with line lengths
199 well over 160 characters, that amusement quickly evaporates.
200
201 Where the problems occur with fullscreen editor usage is when a project
202 is split into dozens if not hundreds of small files (as this one is). At
203 that point it becomes pretty much essential to have as many as six to
204 eight files open *and on-screen* at once, without overlaps i.e. not in
205 hidden tabs, next to at least two if not three additional free and clear
206 terminals into which commands are regularly and routinely typed (make,
207 git commit, nosetests3 etc). Illustrated with the following 3840x2160
208 screenshot (click to view full image), where *every one* of those 80x70
209 xterm windows is *relevant to the task at hand*.
210
211 [[!img 2020-01-24_11-56.png size=640x ]]
212
213 (hint/tip: fvwm2 set up with "mouse-over to raise focus, rather than
214 additionally requiring a mouseclick, can save a huge amount of cumulative
215 development time here, switching between editor terminal(s) and the
216 command terminals).
217
218 Once this becomes necessary, it it turn implies that having greater
219 than 80 chars per line - and running editors fullscreen - is a severe
220 hindance to an essential *and highly effective* workflow technique.
221
222 Additionally, care should be taken to respect that not everyone will have
223 200+ column editor windows and the eyesight of a hawk. They may only have
224 a 1280 x 800 laptop which barely fits two 80x53 xterms side by side.
225 Consequently, having excessively long functions is also a hindrance to
226 others, as such developers with limited screen resources would need to
227 continuously page-up and page-down to read the code even of a single
228 function, in full.
229
230 This helps explain in part, below, why compliance with pep8 is enforced,
231 including its 80 character limit. In short: not everyone has the same
232 "modern" GUI workflow or has access to the same computing resources as
233 you, so please do respect that.
234
235 # Software prerequisites
236
237 Whilst many resources online advocate "sudo" in front of all root-level
238 commands below, this quickly becomes tiresome. run "sudo bash", get a
239 root prompt, and save yourself some typing.
240
241 * sudo bash
242 * apt-get install vim exuberant-ctags
243 * apt-get install build-essential
244 * apt-get install git python3.7 python3.7-dev python-nosetest3
245 * apt-get install graphviz xdot gtkwave
246 * return to user prompt (ctrl-d)
247
248 This will get you python3 and other tools that are needed. graphviz is
249 essential for showing the interconnections between cells, and gtkwave
250 is essential for debugging.
251
252 ## git
253
254 Look up good tutorials on how to use git effectively. There are so many
255 it is hard to recommend one. This is however essential. If you are not
256 comfortable with git, and you let things stay that way, it will seriously
257 impede development progress.
258
259 If working all day you should expect to be making at least two commits per
260 hour, so should become familiar with it very quickly. If you are *not*
261 doing around 2 commits per hour, something is wrong and you should read
262 the workflow instructions below more carefully, and also ask for advice
263 on the mailing list.
264
265 Worth noting: *this project does not use branches*. All code is committed
266 to master and we *require* that it be either zero-impact additions or that
267 relevant unit tests pass 100%. This ensures that people's work does not
268 get "lost" or isolated and out of touch due to major branch diversion,
269 and that people communicate and coordinate with each other.
270
271 ## yosys
272
273 Follow the source code (git clone) instructions here:
274 <http://www.clifford.at/yosys/download.html>
275
276 Do not try to use a fixed revision (currently 0.9), nmigen is evolving
277 and frequently interacts with yosys
278
279 ## symbiyosys
280
281 Follow the instructions here:
282 <https://symbiyosys.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quickstart.html#installing>
283
284 You do not have to install all of those (avy, boolector can be left
285 out if desired) however the more that are installed the more effective
286 the formal proof scripts will be (less resource utilisation in certain
287 circumstances).
288
289 ## nmigen
290
291 nmigen may be installed as follows:
292
293 * mkdir ~/src
294 * cd !$
295 * git clone https://github.com/m-labs/nmigen.git
296 * cd nmigen
297 * sudo bash
298 * python3 setup.py develop
299 * ctrl-d
300
301 testing can then be carried out with "python3 setup.py test"
302
303 ## Softfloat and sfpy
304
305 These are a test suite dependency for the ieee754fpu library, and
306 will be changed in the future to use Jacob's algorithmic numeric
307 library. In the meantime, sfpy can be built as follows:
308
309 git clone --recursive https://github.com/billzorn/sfpy.git
310 cd sfpy
311 cd SoftPosit
312 git apply ../softposit_sfpy_build.patch
313 git apply /path/to/ieee754fpu/SoftPosit.patch
314 cd ../berkely-softfloat-3
315 # Note: Do not apply the patch included in sfpy for berkely-softfloat,
316 # it contains the same changes as this one
317 git apply /path/to/ieee754fpu/berkeley-softfloat.patch
318 cd ..
319
320 # install dependencies
321 python3 -m venv .env
322 . .env/bin/activate
323 pip3 install --upgrade -r requirements.txt
324
325 # build
326 make lib -j8
327 make cython
328 make inplace -j8
329 make wheel
330
331 # install
332 deactivate # deactivates venv, optional
333 pip3 install dist/sfpy*.whl
334
335 You can test your installation by doing the following:
336
337 python3
338 >>> from sfpy import *
339 >>> Posit8(1.3)
340
341 It should print out `Posit8(1.3125)`
342
343 ## Coriolis2
344
345 See [[coriolis2]] page, for those people doing layout work.
346
347 # Registering for git repository access
348
349 After going through the onboarding process and having agreed to take
350 responsibility for certain tasks, ask on the mailing list for git
351 repository access, sending in a public key (id_rsa.pub). If you do
352 not have one then generate it with ssh-keygen -t rsa. You will find it
353 in ~/.ssh
354
355 NEVER SEND ANYONE THE PRIVATE KEY. By contrast the public key, on
356 account of being public, is perfectly fine to make... err... public.
357
358 Create a file ~/.ssh/config with the following lines:
359
360 Host git.libre-riscv.org
361 Port 922
362
363 Wait for the Project Admin to confirm that the ssh key has been added
364 to the required repositories. Once confirmed, you can clone any of the
365 repos at http://git.libre-riscv.org:
366
367 git clone gitolite3@git.libre-riscv.org:REPONAME.git
368
369 Alternatively, the .ssh/config can be skipped and this used:
370
371 git clone ssh://gitolite3@git.libre-riscv.org:922/REPONAME.git
372
373 # git configuration
374
375 Although there are methods online which describe how (and why) these
376 settings are normally done, honestly it is simpler and easier to open
377 ~/.gitconfig and add them by hand.
378
379 core.autocrlf is a good idea to ensure that anyone adding DOS-formatted
380 files they don't become a pain. pull.rebase is something that is greatly
381 preferred for this project because it avoids the mess of "multiple
382 extra merge git tree entries", and branch.autosetuprebase=always will,
383 if you want it, always ensure that a new git checkout is set up with rebase.
384
385 [core]
386 autocrlf = input
387 [push]
388 default = simple
389 [pull]
390 rebase = true
391 [branch]
392 autosetuprebase = always
393
394 # Checking out the HDL repositories
395
396 * mkdir ~/src
397 * cd !$
398 * git clone gitolite3@git.libre-riscv.org:nmutil.git
399 * git clone gitolite3@git.libre-riscv.org:ieee754fpu.git
400 * git clone gitolite3@git.libre-riscv.org:soc.git
401
402 In each of these directories, in the order listed, track down the
403 setup.py file, then, as root (sudo bash), run the following:
404
405 * python3 setup.py develop
406
407 The reason for using "develop" mode is that the code may be edited
408 in-place yet still imported "globally". There are variants on this theme
409 for multi-user machine use however it is often just easier to get your
410 own machine these days.
411
412 The reason for the order is because soc depends on ieee754fpu, and
413 ieee754fpu depends on nmutil
414
415 If "python3 setup.py install" is used it is a pain: edit, then
416 install. edit, then install. It gets extremely tedious, hence why
417 "develop" was created.
418
419 # Development Rules
420
421 team communication:
422
423 * communicate on the mailing list or the bugtracker an intent to take
424 responsibility for a particular task.
425 * assign yourself as the bug's owner
426 * *keep in touch* about what you are doing, and why you are doing it.
427 * if you cannot do something that you have taken responsibility for,
428 then unless it is a dire personal emergency please say so, on-list. we
429 won't mind. we'll help sort it out.
430
431 regarding the above it is important that you read, understand, and agree
432 to the [[charter]] because the charter is about ensuring that we operate
433 as an effective organisation. It's *not* about "setting rules and meting
434 out punishment".
435
436 for actual code development:
437
438 * plan in advance to write not just code but a full test suite for
439 that code. **this is not optional**. large python projects that do not
440 have unit tests **FAIL** (see separate section below).
441 * only commit code that has been tested (or is presently unused). other
442 people will be depending on you, so do take care not to screw up.
443 not least because, as it says in the [[charter]] it will be your
444 responsibility to fix. that said, do not feel intimidated: ask for help
445 and advice, and you'll get it straight away.
446 * commit often. several times a day, and "git push" it. this is
447 collaboration. if something is left even overnight uncommitted and not
448 pushed so that other people can see it, it is a red flag. if you find
449 yourself thinking "i'll commit it when it's finished" or "i don't want to
450 commit something that people might criticise" *this is not collaboration*,
451 it is making yourself a bottleneck. pair-programming is supposed to help
452 avoid this kind of thing however pair-programming is difficult to organise
453 for remote collaborative libre projects (suggestions welcomed here)
454 * **do not commit autogenerated output**. write a shell script and commit
455 that, or add a Makefile to run the command that generates the output, but
456 **do not** add the actual output of **any** command to the repository.
457 ever. this is really important. even if it is a human-readable file
458 rather than a binary object file.
459 it is very common to add pdfs (the result of running latex2pdf) or configure.in (the result of running automake), they are an absolute nuisance and interfere hugely with git diffs, as well as waste hard disk space *and* network bandwidth. don't do it.
460 * if the command needed to create any given autogenerated output is not
461 currently in the list of known project dependencies, first consult on
462 the list if it is okay to make that command become a hard dependency of
463 the project (hint: java, node.js php and .NET commands may cause delays
464 in response time due to other list participants laughing hysterically),
465 and after a decision is made, document the dependency and how its source
466 code is obtained and built (hence why it has to be discussed carefully)
467 * if you find yourself repeating commands regularly, chances are high
468 that someone else will need to run them, too. clearly this includes
469 yourself, therefore, to make everyone's lives easier including your own,
470 put them into a .sh shell script (and/or a Makefile), commit them to
471 the repository and document them at the very minimum in the README,
472 INSTALL.txt or somewhere in a docs folder as appropriate. if unsure,
473 ask on the mailing list for advice.
474 * edit files making minimal *single purpose* modifications (even if
475 it involves multiple files. Good extreme example: globally changing
476 a function name across an entire codebase is one purpose, one commit,
477 yet hundreds of files. miss out one of those files, requiring multiple
478 commits, and it actually becomes a nuisance).
479 * prior to committing make sure that relevant unit tests pass, or that
480 the change is a zero-impact addition (no unit tests fail at the minimum)
481 * keep working code working **at all times**. find ways to ensure that this is the case. examples include writing alternative classes that replace existing functionality and adding runtime optiobs to select between old and new code.
482 * commit no more than around 5 to 10 lines at a time, with a CLEAR message
483 (no "added this" or "changed that").
484 * if as you write you find that the commit message involves a *list* of
485 changes or the word "and", then STOP. do not proceed: it is a "red flag"
486 that the commit has not been properly broken down into separate-purpose
487 commits. ask for advice on-list on how to proceed.
488 * if it is essential to commit large amounts of code, ensure that it
489 is **not** in use **anywhere** by any other code. then make a *small*
490 (single purpose) followup commit which actually puts that code into use.
491
492 this last rule is kinda flexible, because if you add the code *and* add
493 the unit test *and* added it into the main code *and* ran all relevant
494 unit tests on all cascade-impacted areas by that change, that's perfectly
495 fine too. however if it is the end of a day, and you need to stop and
496 do not have time to run the necessary unit tests, do *not* commit the
497 change which integrates untested code: just commit the new code (only)
498 and follow up the next day *after* running the full relevant unit tests.
499
500 the reason for all the above is because python is a weakly typed language.
501 make one tiny change at the base level of the class hierarchy and the
502 effect may be disastrous.
503
504 it is therefore worth reiterating: make absolutely certain that you *only*
505 commit working code or zero-impact code.
506
507 therefore, if you are absolutely certain that a new addition (new file,
508 new class, new function) is not going to have any side-effects, committing
509 it (a large amount of code) is perfectly fine.
510
511 as a general rule, however, do not use this an an excuse to write code
512 first then write unit tests as an afterthought. write *less* code *in
513 conjunction* with its (more basic) unit tests, instead. then, folliw up with
514 additions and improvements.
515
516 the reason for separating out commits to single purpose only becomes
517 obvious (and regretted if not followed) when, months later, a mistake
518 has to be tracked down and reverted. if the commit does not have an
519 easy-to-find message, it cannot even be located, and once found, if the
520 commit confuses several unrelated changes, not only the diff is larger
521 than it should be, the reversion process becomes extremely painful.
522
523 * all code needs to conform to pep8. use either pep8checker or better
524 run autopep8. however whenever committing whitespace changes, *make a
525 separate commit* with a commit message "whitespace" or "autopep8 cleanup".
526 * pep8 REQUIRES no more than 80 chars per line. this is non-negotiable. if
527 you think you need greater than 80 chars, it *fundamentally* indicates
528 poor code design. split the code down further into smaller classes
529 and functions.
530 * TBD there is a docstring checker. at the minimum make sure to have
531 an SPD license header, module header docstring, class docstring and
532 function docstrings on at least non-obvious functions.
533 * make liberal but not excessive use of comments. describe a group of
534 lines of code, with terse but useful comments describing the purpose,
535 documenting any side-effects, and anything that could trip you or other
536 developers up. unusual coding techniques should *definitely* contain
537 a warning.
538 * unless they are very closely related, only have one module (one class)
539 per file. a file only 25 lines long including imports and docstrings
540 is perfectly fine however don't force yourself. again, if unsure,
541 ask on-list.
542 * *keep files short and simple*. see below as to why
543 * create a decent directory hierarchy but do not go mad. ask for advice
544 if unsure
545 * please do not use "from module import \*". it is extremely bad practice,
546 causes unnecessary resource utilisation, makes code readability and
547 tracking extremely difficult, and results in unintended side-effects.
548 * try to keep both filenames and variable names short but not ridiculously
549 obtuse. an interesting compromise on imports is "from ridiculousfilename
550 import longsillyname as lsn", and to assign variables as well: "comb =
551 m.d.comb" followed by multiple "comb += nmigen_stmt" lines is a good trick
552 that can reduce code indentation by 6 characters without reducing clarity.
553
554 regarding code structure: we decided to go with small modules that are
555 both easy to analyse, as well as fit onto a single page and be readable
556 when displayed as a visual graph on a full UHD monitor. this is done
557 as follows:
558
559 * using the capability of nmigen (TODO crossref to example) output the
560 module to a yosys ilang (.il) file
561 * in a separate terminal window, run yosys
562 * at the yosys prompt type "read_ilang modulename.il"
563 * type "show top" and a graphviz window should appear. note that typing
564 show, then space, then pressing the tab key twice will give a full list
565 of submodules (one of which will be "top")
566
567 you can now fullsize the graphviz window and scroll around. if it looks
568 reasonably obvious at 100% zoom, i.e the connections can be clearly
569 related in your mind back to the actual code (by matching the graph names
570 against signals and modules in the original nmigen code) and the words are
571 not tiny when zoomed out, and connections are not total incomprehensible
572 spaghetti, then congratulations, you have well-designed code. If not,
573 then this indicates a need to split the code further into submodules
574 and do a bit more work.
575
576 The reasons for doing a proper modularisation job are several-fold:
577
578 * firstly, we will not be doing a full automated layout-and-hope
579 using alliance/coriolis2, we will be doing leaf-node thru tree node
580 half-automated half-manual layout, finally getting to the floorplan,
581 then revising and iteratively adjusting.
582 * secondly, examining modules at the gate level (or close to it) is just
583 good practice. poor design creeps in by *not* knowing what the tools
584 are actually doing (word to experienced developers: yes, we know that
585 the yosys graph != final netlist).
586 * thirdly, unit testing, particularly formal proofs, is far easier on
587 small sections of code, and complete in a reasonable time.
588
589 ## Special warning / alert to vim users!
590
591 Some time around the beginning of 2019 some bright spark decided that
592 an "auto-recommend-completion-of-stuff" option would be a nice, shiny
593 idea to enable by default from that point onwards.
594
595 This incredibly annoying "feature" results in tabs (or spaces) being
596 inserted "on your behalf" when you press return on one line, for your
597 "convenience" of not needing to type lots of spaces/tabs just to get
598 to the same indentation level.
599
600 Of course, this "feature", if you press return on one line in edit
601 mode and then press "escape", leaves a bundle-of-joy extraneous
602 whitespace **exactly** where you don't want it, and didn't ask for it,
603 pooped all over your file.
604
605 Therefore, *please*: **before** running "git commit", get into the
606 habit of always running "git diff", and at the very minimum
607 speed-skim the entire diff, looking for tell-tale "red squares"
608 (these show up under bash diff colour-syntax-highlighting) that
609 inform you that, without your knowledge or consent, vim has
610 "helpfully" inserted extraneous whitespace.
611
612 Remove them **before** git committing because they are not part
613 of the actual desired code-modifications, and committing them
614 is a major and constant distraction for reviewers about actual
615 important things like "the code that actually *usefully* was
616 modified for that commit"
617
618 This has the useful side-effect of ensuring that, right before
619 the commit, you've got the actual diff right in front of you
620 in the xterm window, on which you can base the "commit message".
621
622 ## Unit tests
623
624 This deserves its own special section. It is extremely important to
625 appreciate that without unit tests, python projects are simply unviable.
626 Python itself has over 25,000 individual tests.
627
628 This can be quite overwhelming to a beginner developer, especially one
629 used to writing scripts of only 100 lines in length.
630
631 Thanks to Samuel Falvo we learned that writing unit tests as a formal
632 proof is not only shorter, it's also far more readable and also, if
633 written properly, provides 100% coverage of corner-cases that would
634 otherwise be overlooked or require tens to hundreds of thousands of
635 tests to be run.
636
637 No this is not a joke or even remotely hypothetical, this is an actual
638 real-world problem.
639
640 The ieee754fpu requires several hundreds of thousands of tests to be
641 run (currently needing several days to run them all), and even then we
642 cannot be absolutely certain that all possible combinations of input have
643 been tested. With 2^128 permutations to try with 2 64 bit FP numbers
644 it is simply impossible to even try.
645
646 This is where formal proofs come into play.
647
648 Samuel illustrated to us that "ordinary" unit tests can then be written
649 to *augment* the formal ones, serving the purpose of illustrating how
650 to use the module, more than anything.
651
652 However it is appreciated that writing formal proofs is a bit of a
653 black art. This is where team collaboration particularly kicks in,
654 so if you need help, ask on the mailing list.
655
656 # TODO Tutorials
657
658 Find appropriate tutorials for nmigen and yosys, as well as symbiyosys.
659
660 * Although a verilog example this is very useful to do
661 <https://symbiyosys.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quickstart.html#first-step-a-simple-bmc-example>
662 * This tutorial looks pretty good and will get you started
663 <http://blog.lambdaconcept.com/doku.php?id=nmigen:nmigen_install> and
664 walks not just through simulation, it takes you through using gtkwave
665 as well.
666 * There exist several nmigen examples which are also executable
667 <https://github.com/m-labs/nmigen/tree/master/examples/> exactly as
668 described in the above tutorial (python3 filename.py -h)