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| '''Work is in progress to write a feature request for FEL'''
| | #REDIRECT [[Electronic Lab]] |
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| = Feature Name =
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| Fedora Electronic Lab
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| == Summary ==
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| Fedora Electronic Lab is Fedora's high-end hardware design and simulation platform. This platform provides different hardware design flows based on the semiconductor industry's current trend. FEL maps in new design, simulation and verification methodologies with opensource EDA software.
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| This page is a feature request to FESCo with respect to the work done behind the Fedora Electronic Lab.
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| == Definitions ==
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| Below are terms used in this page which has other meanings in a normal opensource software community. These definitions are to prevent any misunderstandings from any side.
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| * EDA Software : a design or simulation tool that can be compiled into a RPM package
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| * Package : Mechanical body that envelops a chip
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| == Owner ==
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| * Name: [[User:chitlesh| Chitlesh Goorah]]
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| * email: < chitlesh [AT] fedoraproject DOT org>
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| == Current status ==
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| * Targeted release: [[Releases/{{FedoraVersion||next}} | {{FedoraVersion|long|next}} ]]
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| * Last updated: 1 March 2009
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| * Percentage of completion: 70%
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| * The precise percentage of completion is listed on this [http://chitlesh.fedorapeople.org/FEL/devel/FEL_devel_timeline.html gantt diagram]
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| == Detailed Description ==
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| Below entails the highlights of the major development items :
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| * Perl modules to extend vhdl and verilog support. These perl modules together with rawhide's gtkwave improves chip testing support.
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| * Introduction of Verilog-AMS modeling into ngspice
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| * Improved VHDL debugging support with gcov.
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| * Improved support for re-usable HDL packages as IP core
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| * Improved PLI support on both iverilog and ghdl
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| * Introduction of C-based methodologies for HDL testbenches and models.
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| * Improved co-simulation based hardware design.
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| * Introduction of design tools for DSP design flow
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| * LiveDVD: inclusion of trac/git/svn and eclipse-cdt
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| == Benefit to Fedora ==
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| Fedora benefits from FEL in various ways as FEL extends Fedora's commitments to the hardware design community.
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| The Fedora Project during the last 3 Fedora releases has established its roots deep into the opensource EDA community as a robust and successful opensource EDA provider. With this fourth FEL release, Fedora Electronic Lab userbase is now
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| * Students/researchers
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| * Lecturers
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| * Analog/Digital/Mixed Signal hardware designers (even Test engineers)
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| * System Electronic Engineers
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| * Project Coordinators
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| * New opensource EDA developers
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| * Field application engineers (who have never heard of FEL)
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| * ...(but not software geeks)
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| FEL brings something unique that is missing in the opensource software community : a community that helps to foster EDA software development and support opensource EDA community.
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| Thereby, FEL is not a --package-only-EDA-tools-- community, but has a clear goal to strengthen the opensource EDA community, in terms of marketing, design methodologies, design flows,..
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| Fedora is the Leader and Expert in opensource EDA software deployment.
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| == Scope ==
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| FEL is the leader and expert in the opensource EDA community. Unlike other similar projects, FEL is an EDA solutions provider rather than a random EDA software provider. FEL's solutions include design tools that fit into hardware design methodologies and meet interoperability between other design tools in the design flows.
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| Those solutions also extend to support opensource EDA software development and existing opensource EDA software community.
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| FEL will focus on increasing its current quality barrier to match current semiconductor industry's needs.
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| == How To Test ==
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| <!-- This does not need to be a full-fledged document. Describe the dimensions of tests that this feature is expected to pass when it is done. If it needs to be tested with different hardware or software configurations, indicate them. The more specific you can be, the better the community testing can be.
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| Remember that you are writing this how to for interested testers to use to check out your feature - documenting what you do for testing is OK, but it's much better to document what *I* can do to test your feature.
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| A good "how to test" should answer these four questions:
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| 0. What special hardware / data / etc. is needed (if any)?
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| 1. How do I prepare my system to test this feature? What packages
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| need to be installed, config files edited, etc.?
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| 2. What specific actions do I perform to check that the feature is
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| working like it's supposed to?
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| 3. What are the expected results of those actions?
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| -->
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| 1. FEL is and should be computer hardware independent.
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| 2. No additional system setup is required to satisfy a basic design flow
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| 3. Each EDA software includes its examples and can be used to tell each tool individually. Perl modules bundled for hardware development have undergone self-testing during their builds, i.e %make check
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| == User Experience ==
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| Without FEL, users are on their own to deduce a proper design flow with the proper tools for each stage of the design flow. Only a couple of users using opensource design tools succeed in completing a hardware project with opensource tools.
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| FEL comes to solve this issue. The latest methodology included on FEL platform is the means for verifications and debugging for digital based designs.
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| == Dependencies ==
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| <!-- What other packages (RPMs) depend on this package? Are there changes outside the developers' control on which completion of this feature depends? In other words, completion of another feature owned by someone else and might cause you to not be able to finish on time or that you would need to coordinate? Other upstream projects like the kernel (if this is not a kernel feature)? -->
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| == Contingency Plan ==
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| There is no need for backup plan as the work done behind FEL-11 is only to improve hardware design experience and expand FEL targeted userbase to Test & Verification Engineers.
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| == Documentation ==
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| <!-- Is there upstream documentation on this feature, or notes you have written yourself? Link to that material here so other interested developers can get involved. -->
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| Each design tool includes its own documentation. Design methodologies are listed on FEL's website:
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| http://chitlesh.fedorapeople.org/FEL/
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| == Release Notes ==
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| <!-- The Fedora Release Notes inform end-users about what is new in the release. Examples of past release notes are here: http://docs.fedoraproject.org/release-notes/ -->
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| <!-- The release notes also help users know how to deal with platform changes such as ABIs/APIs, configuration or data file formats, or upgrade concerns. If there are any such changes involved in this feature, indicate them here. You can also link to upstream documentation if it satisfies this need. This information forms the basis of the release notes edited by the documentation team and shipped with the release. -->
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| == Comments and Discussion ==
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| * See [[Talk:Features/FedoraElectronicLab]] <!-- This adds a link to the "discussion" tab associated with your page. This provides the ability to have ongoing comments or conversation without bogging down the main feature page -->
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| ----
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| [[Category:FeaturePageIncomplete]]
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| <!-- When your feature page is completed and ready for review -->
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| <!-- remove Category:FeaturePageIncomplete and change it to Category:FeatureReadyForWrangler -->
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| <!-- After review, the feature wrangler will move your page to Category:FeatureReadyForFesco... if it still needs more work it will move back to Category:FeaturePageIncomplete-->
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| <!-- A pretty picture of the page category usage is at: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/Policy/Process -->
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