On 4/17/07, James Richard Tyrer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Timothy Normand Miller wrote:
> I've been trying to figure out which language/toolkit to use to
> quickly develop a timing diagram editor. Lots of ideas have been
> suggested, but none simple, and none point-n-click interfaces that let
> the user concentrate more on the problem of designing a timing diagram
> than the problem of using the timing diagram program.
Do you need to make exact timing diagrams or just a diagram to indicate
how a clocked system works?
For clocked systems, I just use a spreadsheet.
You could use a spreadsheet for exact timing or asynchronous systems but
it would be a pain.
Would GNUplot work for the output display?
What I want is a simple computer-aided design tool that's specialized
for creating wave forms. The things I need involve indicating what
signals are (one-bit, clock, multi-bit, etc.), what their values are
at any given time, and then, importantly, a way to indicate their
dependencies.
Look at the docs on fifos, and you'll see what I mean. The way the
interface works is efficient but not perfectly intuitive. I often end
up hand-drawing a timing diagram so I can make sure that I'm
generating the right signals at the right times.
It's also a great way to debug your thoughts. Like you have two
processes going on in parallel, and the diagram will help you realize
when you are mistaken about when two events will line up.
When I code logic from a diagram, it's invariably more intuitively
laid out than it is when I just hack something together. The diagram
helps me keep my thoughts straight, and that shows in the quality of
my design. When I've coded it up, I create a stimulus like that of
the design diagram and then make sure they match. Then I develop
other tests. When other tests fail, I can diagram the new situation
(very tedious by hand on graph paper), figure out where I went wrong,
fix the code, etc.
--
Timothy Normand Miller
http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~millerti
Open Graphics Project
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