VHDL's Impact on Test

High-tech microcircuits command a modernized approach to design and test. This approach, born of harsh economic reality, mandates that effective test be inextricably tied to design. The test generation problem is enormous and requires automatic test program generators that in turn require computer-readable descriptions of the unit under test. The government-sponsored VHSIC Hardware Description Language, or VHDL, addresses both design and test needs, allowing both efforts to work together to reduce product cost while improving product quality. In this article, we focus on the needs of test throughout a product's life cycle and explain how VHDL serves those needs.