Code generation and analysis for the functional verification of microprocessors

A collection of code generation tools which assist designers in the functional verification of high performance microprocessors is presented. These tools produce interesting test cases by using a variety of code generation methods including heuristic algorithms, constraint-solving systems, user-provided templates, and pseudo-random selection. Run-time analysis and characterization of the generated programs provide an evaluation of their effectiveness in verifying a microprocessor design, and suggest improvements to the code generation process. An environment combining the code generation tools with the analysis tools has been developed, and it has provided excellent functional coverage for several generations of high-performance microprocessors