[OT] Simulation Results Managment

[Neal Becker]

moogyd at yahoo.co.uk wrote:

> Hi,
> This is a general question, loosely related to python since it will be the
> implementation language. I would like some suggestions as to manage simulation
> results data from my ASIC design.
> 
> For my design,
> - I have a number of simulations testcases (TEST_XX_YY_ZZ), and within each of
> these test cases we have:
>   - a number of properties (P_AA_BB_CC)
>   - For each property, the following information is given
>     - Property name (P_NAME)
>     - Number of times it was checked (within the testcase) N_CHECKED
>     - Number of times if failed (within the testcase) N_FAILED
> - A simulation runs a testcase with a set of parameters.
>   - Simple example, SLOW_CLOCK, FAST_CLOCK, etc
> - For the design, I will run regression every night (at least), so I will have
> results from multiple timestamps We have < 1000 TESTCASES, and < 1000
> PROPERTIES.
> 
> At the moment, I have a script that extracts property information from
> simulation logfile, and provides single PASS/FAIL and all logfiles stored in a
> directory structure with timestamps/testnames and other parameters embedded in
> paths
> 
> I would like to be easily look at (visualize) the data and answer the
> questions - When did this property last fail, and how many times was it
> checked - Is this property checked in this test case.
> 
> Initial question: How to organize the data within python?
> For a single testcase, I could use a dict. Key P_NAME, data in N_CHECKED,
> N_FAILED I then have to store multiple instances of testcase based on date
> (and simulation parameters.
> 
> Any comments, suggestions?
> Thanks,
> Steven

One small suggestion,
I used to store test conditions and results in log files, and then write parsers 
to read the results.  The formats kept changing (add more conditions/results!) 
and maintenance was a pain.

Now, in addition to a text log file, I write a file in pickle format containing 
a dict of all test conditions and results.  Much more convenient.