Assertion Synthesis: Catching RTL Assertions on the FPGA ======================================================================== Golden Gate can synthesize assertions present in FIRRTL (implemented as ``stop`` statements) that would otherwise be lost in the FPGA synthesis flow. Rocket and BOOM include hundreds of such assertions which, when synthesized, can provide great insight into why the target may be failing. Enabling Assertion Synthesis ---------------------------- To enable assertion synthesis prepend ``WithSynthAsserts`` config to your PLATFORM_CONFIG. During compilation, Golden Gate will print the number of assertions it's synthesized. In the generated header, you will find the definitions of all synthesized assertions. The ``synthesized_assertions_t`` bridge driver will be automatically instantiated. Runtime Behavior ---------------- If an assertion is caught during simulation, the driver will print the assertion cause, the path to module instance in which it fired, a source locator, and the cycle on which the assertion fired. Simulation will then terminate. An example of an assertion caught in a dual-core instance of BOOM is given below: .. code-block:: text id: 1190, module: IssueSlot_4, path: FireSimNoNIC.tile_1.core.issue_units_0.slots_3] Assertion failed at issue_slot.scala:214 assert (!slot_p1_poisoned) at cycle: 2142042185 Just as in a software-hosted RTL simulation using verilator or VCS, the reported cycle is the number of target cycles that have elapsed in the clock domain in which the assertion was instantiated (in Chisel specifically this is the implicit clock at the time you called ``assert``). If you rerun a FireSim simulation with identical inputs, the same assertion should fire deterministically at the same cycle. Related Publications -------------------- Assertion synthesis was first presented in our FPL2018 paper, `DESSERT `_.