Animating the Semantics of VERILOG using Prolog

Eclogue:1 The logic programming language Prolog is used to provide a rapid-prototype simulator for the VERILOG Hardware Description Language (HDL). The simulator is based on an operational semantics of a significant subset of the language. Using this approach allows the exploration of sometimes subtle behaviours of parallel programs and the possibility of rapid changes or additions to the semantics of the language covered. It also acts as a check on the validity of the original operational semantics. 1Eclogue, n. [L. ecloga, Gr. ? a selection, choice extracts, fr. ? to pick out, choose out; ? out + ? to gather, choose: cf. F. égloque, écloque.] Source: Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary via http://www.dictionary.com/. Jonathan Bowen is a lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, The University of Reading, UK. His research interests include formal methods, safety-critical systems, the Z notation, provably correct systems, rapid prototyping using logic programming, decompilation, hardware compilation, software/hardware co-design and on-line museums. Travelogue: Jonathan Bowen was on leave as a Visiting Research Fellow at UNU/IIST in Macau from 19 July to 10 September 1999. The research reported here was undertaken during this period. Contact information: Jonathan Bowen Department of Computer Science The University of Reading Whiteknights, PO Box 225 READING Berkshire RG6 6AY UNITED KINGDOM Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.cs.reading.ac.uk/people/jpb/ Dedicated to Prof. C.A.R. Hoare, FRS on the occasion of his retirement It is necessary to be slightly underemployed if you want to do something significant. — James Crick (1928–), The Eighth Day of Creation Copyright c 1999 by UNU/IIST, Jonathan Bowen