Unified Debugging Platform for Multi-Simulation Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional debugging environments for computer system platforms require separate debuggers for each simulation, leading to unsynchronized simulations and the inability to set breakpoints or watchpoints across multiple simulations, limiting the efficiency of architecture exploration and design time.
Innovation Solution
A unified debugging platform that allows a single debugger to control and observe multiple simulations, including processor core and hardware simulations, with a simulation kernel thread and a debug support thread that provides a unified view and synchronizes simulations, enabling breakpoints and watchpoints across multiple simulations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If separate debuggers are used for each simulation, then each simulation can be controlled and observed independently, but the simulations become unsynchronized and cannot share breakpoints or watchpoints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate debugger instances into a single unified debugger that can control and observe multiple simulations simultaneously. This unified debugger maintains synchronization across all simulations by using a common control mechanism, allowing breakpoints and watchpoints to be shared across simulation boundaries while preserving independent controllability.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified debugger is designed with multi-functional capabilities to handle different simulation types (hardware, software, processor cores) through a single interface. It provides universal control mechanisms that work across diverse simulation domains, enabling synchronized debugging without requiring separate specialized debuggers for each simulation type.
2Reliability
If a unified debugger controls all simulations, then synchronization and multi-simulation breakpoints are enabled, but the complexity of managing multiple simulation interfaces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The unified debugger introduces intermediary components that act as adapters between the single debugger interface and multiple simulation-specific interfaces. These intermediaries translate and coordinate control signals, allowing the unified debugger to manage diverse simulations without exposing the underlying interface complexity to the user.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified debugger architecture is segmented into modular components, each responsible for specific simulation types or functions. This segmentation allows the system to manage complexity by dividing the debugging functionality into manageable modules while maintaining a unified user interface that coordinates all segments.
3Device complexity
If separate debuggers are used for each simulation, then the debugging interface for each simulation is simple, but the overall debugging process becomes time-consuming and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
By combining multiple simple debuggers into one unified debugger, the system eliminates the need to switch between separate debugging tools. This merger enables architects to set breakpoints and observe events across multiple simulations simultaneously, significantly improving productivity without sacrificing the simplicity of individual simulation debugging capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
Providing a unified view of multiple computer system simulations. A simulation process has a simulation thread that executes a plurality of computer system simulations. The simulation process also has a debug support thread that provides a unified view of the simulations. To provide the unified view, the debug support thread has an external interface, an internal interface to each of the simulations, and an interface converter that converts between the external interface and the internal interfaces. Thus, the external interface provides a unified view of the simulations. The external interface allows a single debugging platform to control and observe the simulations.