On Sun, 12 Jan 2014 04:57:37 +0100 (CET)
[email protected] wrote:

> The history is quite simple.  I discovered VHDL during my studies,
> was fascinated by HDL, and wanted to know more.  At that time there
> were no free VHDL simulator (except maybe SAVANT - I think I tried
> it but was unable to run my project with it).
> 
> So to understand better VHDL, I decided to write a simulator.  Because
> I also wanted to train myself in Ada and because VHDL derives from
> Ada, I have written it in Ada.  I think I started in 1998.
> 
> In 2002, GHDL was complete enough to simulate many designs, so I
> release it.
> 

It is a remarkable accomplishment. I salute you.

> > Shock and awe aside for a moment, is there an architecture document
> > and an API/ABI document?
> 
> No. I am used to saying it has the classical architecture of a
> compiler: lexical analysis (scanner.adb), parser (parse.adb),
> semantic analysis (sem*), and code generation (translate.adb).  Ok, I
> agree that doesn't help a lot :-)
> 

Actually, it does help. Every little clue adds to my understanding. I
might write an Ada language handler for [autodia][1] so some diagrams
can be generated from the GHDL source code. It might be a first step
towards an architecture document.

[1]: http://www.aarontrevena.co.uk/opensource/autodia/

Many potential users of GHDL might not have had a compiler design class
during their education. Many, like myself, might not be willing to make
assumptions about the design and functionality of the system. Good
documentation, rich with examples and explanations can be tremendously
valuable to a new user.

Perhaps some of the more knowledgeable GHDL users would post examples of
their API/ABI experiments. Some of the discussions that follow might
lead to an API/ABI document.

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