ANN: Confluence -> Python for Hardware Verification

[Tom Hawkins]

averilog at hotmail.com (Ameet) wrote in message news:<e0d34534.0306040034.41823b66 at posting.google.com>...
> Very informative...can you please direct me to
> documentation/projects/research which uses Confluence. I did find the
> pdf document on the website. Is any additional material available? Is
> Confluence really free??
> Thank you.
> ameet

There are several OpenCore projects based on Confluence;
some have already found their way to implementation:

  http://www.opencores.org/projects/cf_cordic/
  http://www.opencores.org/projects/cf_fft/
  http://www.opencores.org/projects/cf_fp_mul/
  http://www.opencores.org/projects/cf_fir/
  http://www.opencores.org/projects/cf_interleaver/
  http://www.opencores.org/projects/cf_ssp/
  http://www.opencores.org/projects/cf_ldpc/

The documentation (tutorial + examples + reference) covers the whole
language; its 75 pages is an indication of the simplicity of the Confluence.
We believe you don't need a big language to accomplish big designs.

Once you are familiar with the syntax of component definitions,
component instantiations, and a handful of operators, you're 90% there.
We've found experienced RTL designs can pick up the language and
become productive in a matter of hours -- after 3 or 4 days of cf coding
they catch on to the nifty tricks (recursion, first class components)
that make life easy.

Yes, the first license to the Confluence compiler is free -- we
only charge for additional seats.  Because licenses are floating
and our tools are strictly command line, one free compiler goes
a long way -- more than adequate for hobbyists and small design firms.

Regards,
Tom

--
Tom Hawkins
Launchbird Design Systems, Inc.
952-200-3790
tom1 at launchbird.com
http://www.launchbird.com/


> tom1 at launchbird.com (Tom Hawkins) wrote in message news:<833030c0.0306031015.5dcebf7a at posting.google.com>...
> > christopher.saunter at durham.ac.uk (Christopher Saunter) wrote in message news:<bbi8rq$glp$1 at sirius.dur.ac.uk>...
> > > Tom Hawkins (tom1 at launchbird.com) wrote:
> > > : Over the weekend we released Confluence 0.4.6: the first
> > > : version to included the new Python model generator.
> > > 
> > > Neato.  I have found Python to be very well suited to removing some of the 
> > > pain of HDLs ;-)  - can you say how long the free trial licences of 
> > > Confluence are likely to last for?
> > > 
> > > ta
> > > cds
> > 
> > Confluence actually originated from a Python based HDL called
> > ParaCore (http://www.dilloneng.com/paracore.html).
> > 
> > The first Confluence seat is free, indefinite, and
> > enables the full compiler -- no size or performance restrictions.
> > Our revenue comes from the medium to larger design firms.
> > 
> > We just got an article in EEdesign.  Check it out:
> > 
> > http://www.eedesign.com/columns/max_bytes/OEG20030529S0070
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Tom
> > 
> > --
> > Tom Hawkins
> > Launchbird Design Systems, Inc.
> > 952-200-3790
> > tom1 at launchbird.com
> > http://www.launchbird.com/
> > 
> > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > : Confluence is a functional programming language for hardware
> > > : and logic design.  Though its syntax is much simpler than
> > > : either Verilog or VHDL, it's semantics enables a level of
> > > : design flexibility beyond the reach of either HDL.
>  
> > > : Til now, Confluence compiled into Verilog and VHDL for
> > > : logic synthesis and cycle-accurate C for high-speed simulation
> > > : and hardware-software co-development.
>  
> > > : With the addition of the Python model generator, hardware
> > > : designers can now use the high-level constructs of our
> > > : favorite language (Python!) to perform functional verification.
>  
> > > : We were very surprised by Python's simulation performance;
> > > : Python simulation of our benchmarks was right on par with
> > > : HDL event-based simulators.  Not bad for a "scripting" language!
>  
> > > : For more info on Confluence:
>  
> > > :   http://www.launchbird.com/
>  
> > > : To see Confluence output, including generated Python models
> > > : visit any of the Confluence projects at:
>  
> > > :   http://www.opencores.org/
>  
> > > : Regards,
> > > : Tom
>  
> > > : --
> > > : Tom Hawkins
> > > : Launchbird Design Systems, Inc.
> > > : 952-200-3790
> > > : tom1 at launchbird.com
> > > : http://www.launchbird.com/