Release Notes For ModelSim Intel FPGA 10.

5d

Feb 14 2017
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_______________________________________________________________________

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ModelSim Intel FPGA is supported by Intel
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_______________________________________________________________________

Index to Release Notes

* [2]Key Information
* [3]Release Announcements in 10.5d
* [4]Base Product Specifications in 10.5d
* [5]Compatibility Issues with Release 10.5d
* [6]User Interface Defects Repaired in 10.5d
* [7]SystemVerilog Defects Repaired in 10.5d
* [8]VHDL Defects Repaired in 10.5d
* [9]SystemC Defects Repaired in 10.5d
* [10]Mixed Language Defects Repaired in 10.5d
* [11]WLF and VCD logging Defects Repaired in 10.5d
* [12]General Enhancements in 10.5d
* [13]User Interface Enhancements in 10.5d
* [14]SystemVerilog Enhancements in 10.5d
* [15]Document Revision History in 10.5d
_______________________________________________________________________
Key Information
* The following lists the supported platforms:
+ win32aloem - Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10
+ linuxaloem - RedHat Enterprise Linux 5 and 6, SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server 10 and 11
_______________________________________________________________________

Release Announcements in 10.5d

* In the next major release (10.6), support for Redhat Enterprise
Linux (RHEL) 5 and Suse Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 will be
dropped.
* Release 10.5 uses FLEXnet v11.13.1.2 server, v11.13.0.2 client.
For floating licenses, it will be necessary to verify that the
vendor daemon (i.e., mgcld) and the license server (i.e., lmgrd)
have FLEXnet versions equal to or greater than 11.13.0.2. If the
current FLEXnet version of your vendor daemon and lmgrd are less
than 11.13.0.2 then it will be necessary to stop your license
server and restart it using the vendor daemon and lmgrd contained
in this release.
If you use node locked licenses you don't need to do anything. This
release will update licensing to MSL v2015_1_patch2 with MGLS
v9.13_5.4 and PCLS v9.13.5.2
In summary, this release uses the following license versions:
+ FLEXnet v11.13.1.2 server, v11.13.0.2 client
+ MSL v2015_1_patch2
+ MGLS v9.13_5.4
+ PCLS v9.13.5.2
+ 10.5 release onwards, Questa will be using Microsoft Visual
Studio 12 a.k.a Visual Studio 13. This would mean that all the
executables shipped with the 10.5 release and onwards would be
linked in with "msvcr120.dll". If you have SystemC or
PLI/VPI/DPI/FLI libraries compiled with older release with any
gcc compiler shipped with the product, those will have to be
re-compiled with 10.5. Windows platform compiler details is as
follows:
o "gcc-4.2.1-mingw32vc9" has been replaced with
"gcc-4.2.1-mingw32vc12" and is shipped with the product.
o "gcc-4.5.0-mingw64" has been replaced with
"gcc-4.5.0-mingw64vc12" and is shipped with the product.
o "gcc-4.5.0-mingw32vc9" has been replaced with
"gcc-4.5.0-mingw32vc12" and will be available for
download on a request basis.
Compiler versions have not been changed compared to
previous release. Please refer to User's Manual for more
details.
o (source) In the next major release (10.6)
# support for Windows 8.0 will be dropped. No change
for Windows 8.1
# support for gcc-4.3.3-linux and
gcc-4.3.3-linux_x86_64 will be dropped
o Due to enhanced security restrictions in web browser
plug-ins used for viewing PDF files, manual-to-manual
links do not resolve. Clicking a link may result in no
action, or it may load the title page of the current PDF
manual (instead of the target in the intended PDF
manual).
The unresolved link behavior occurs in all web browsers
on Windows and Linux platforms. This behavior does not
affect the links in the table of contents, the index, or
 the links to content within the same PDF manual. Because
of this behavior, the navigational experience of PDF
manuals is compromised. However, PDF is still ideal for
printing.
Mentor Graphics continues to monitor the situation and
will adapt to future industry developments. For a
fully-functional navigational experience, use the HTML
manuals.
o In 10.8 major release, support for windows 7 and windows
8.1 will be dropped.
______________________________________________________________

Base Product Specifications in 10.5d

+
[Supported Platforms]
Linux RHEL 5 x86/x86-64
Linux RHEL 6 x86/x86-64
Linux RHEL 7 x86/x86-64
Linux SLES 10 x86/x86-64
Linux SLES 11 x86/x86-64
Windows 7 x86/x64
Windows 8.1 x86/x64
Windows 10 x86/x64
[Supported GCC Compilers (for SystemC)]
gcc-4.7.4-linux/gcc-4.7.4-linux_x86_64
gcc-4.5.0-linux/gcc-4.5.0-linux_x86_64
gcc-4.3.3-linux/gcc-4.3.3-linux_x86_64
gcc-4.2.1-mingw32vc12
[OVL (shipped with product)]
v2.8.1
[VHDL OSVVM (shipped with product)]
v2014.07
[Licensing]
FLEXnet v11.13.1.2 server, v11.13.0.2 client
MSL v2015_1_patch2
MGLS v9.13_5.4
PCLS v9.13.5.2
___________________________________________________________________

Compatibility Issues with Release 10.5d

Key Information Compatibility

* [nodvtid] - (source) A bug related to Windows DLL symbol export is

fixed in 10.5 and later. A side effect of the fix is that there may
be incompatibility on Windows platforms regarding existing DPI
usage. The required setup change is one of the followings:
1) Use vlog -dpiheader to generate DPI routine prototype
declarations. Include generated DPI header file in the DPI code.
OR
2) If DPI header is not being generated or used, one needs to
manually attach DPI_DLLESPEC in front of all DPI routines.
DPI_DLLESPEC is a standard macro defined inside svdpi.h
The generated DPI header flow is recommended. Failing to do the
above will incur the following warning at elab time
# ** Warning: (vsim-3770) Failed to find user specified function 'foo' in DPI
C/C++ source files.

and the fatal error at runtime:

# ** Fatal: (vsim-160) test.sv(11): Null foreign function pointer encountered wh
en calling 'foo'

SystemVerilog Compatibility
* dvt89393 - (results) A concatenation of nets connected to an out or
inout unpacked net array port was connected in reverse order.

VHDL Compatibility
* dvt93451 - (results) Vsim crashed when bit slices wider than 256,
of VHDL signals, were read through built-in UVM backdoor functions.

Mixed Language Compatibility

* dvt95057 - (source) Fixed a bug where a SystemVerilog task was
being allowed inside a SystemVerilog function even if it contained
a DPI task call. The DPI task call can potentially have delays in
it. It is illegal to call a task from a function in SystemVerilog
but we do allow it in case task does not contain any delays. Now,
the check for the delay in the task also includes the check for DPI
task call. This change may result in some of the customer designs
failing to compile. It is recommended to fix the designs.
* dvt96160 - (results) Now built-in version of uvm_hdl_read,
correctly reads the values from arbitrary slices of VHDL array
signals with non-zero LSB/MSB indices.

Release Announcements Compatibility

* [nodvtid] - (source) In the next major release (10.6)
+ support for Windows 8.0 will be dropped. No change for Windows
8.1
+ support for gcc-4.3.3-linux and gcc-4.3.3-linux_x86_64 will be
dropped
_______________________________________________________________________

User Interface Defects Repaired in 10.5d

* dvt69668 - The UI can freeze unpredictably when the Coverage
Analysis window is opened when invoking vsim. This issue has been
resolved.
* dvt91564 - Searching in the Structure window can cause the user
interface to freeze under some circumstances. This issue has been
resolved.
* dvt90075 - When viewing FSM coverage analysis, filtering out
covered states and transitions did not work correctly. This issues
has been resolved.
* dvt90155 - A force operation on a wreal interconnect would resault
in a crash. This issue has been resolved.
* dvt92169 - Objects window Kind filtering was not being restored
correctly after a restart operation.
* dvt89554 - Use of "examine -time" inside a "when -fast" command
fails to read data values correctly. This issues has been resolved.
* dvt94499 - Running vsim from a .BAT file on Windows can fail when
some arguments contain a trailing backslash ('\'). This issue has
been resolved.
* dvt94465 - The Code Coverage Analysis window does not track by-file
toggle coverage. This is intended as by-file toggle coverage is not
supported. The CCA window will not display a message to this effect
when the window is in by-file mode.
* dvt95571 - The GUI will crash when trying to perform wildcard
expansion in a Primitive scope. This issue has been resolved.
_______________________________________________________________________

SystemVerilog Defects Repaired in 10.5d

 * dvt87810 - Vopt would give errors like this:
** Error: test.sv(17): (vopt-2132) Instance 'dut' has a
non-optimizable form of recursive instantiation.
with recursively instantiated modules within generate loops and
conditions.
* dvt89393 - (results) A concatenation of nets connected to an out or
inout unpacked net array port was connected in reverse order.
_______________________________________________________________________

VHDL Defects Repaired in 10.5d

* dvt90896 - Vcom could crash when trying to report an invalid field
of a record if the prefix of the selected name was an index on an
array access type.
* dvt91137 - A generic of a record type might receive an incorrect
actual value when the actual was a function call and there existed
another different function call actual for a different formal.
* dvt91565 - If an architecture called a subprogram in a package, and
if that subprogram contained a call to another subprogram, defined
only in the package body and found via a forward declaration also
in the package body, then subprogram inlining could produce bad
code that would crash the simulator when the design was loaded.
* dvt92840 - Access to a shared variable through an interface package
could cause the elaboration phase of the simulator to crash.
* dvt93089 - A call to a shared variable's method from within a
subprogram of an uninstantiated package could cause the simulator
to crash.
* dvt93451 - (results) Vsim crashed when bit slices wider than 256,
of VHDL signals, were read through built-in UVM backdoor functions.
* dvt94049 - The compiler incorrectly reported the following error
when encountering an alias of an operator function instance:
** Error: Alias with operator symbol designator must denote a function.

The compiler also incorrectly generated code for newly-defined

operator functions with generic-typed parameters.
* dvt93277 - The vmake command would not work when there was a
dependency on an encrypted design unit.
* dvt95670 - The attributes A'range and A'reverse_range would give
incorrect ranges if A's bounds are defined with impure function
calls.
_______________________________________________________________________

SystemC Defects Repaired in 10.5d

* dvt92791 - Bug in the sccom distributed flow with missing systemc
exported modules has been fixed.
* dvt95642 - sccom merge error (sccom-6165) with a circular dependent
forward declared module instantiation has been fixed.
_______________________________________________________________________

Mixed Language Defects Repaired in 10.5d

* dvt95057 - (source) Fixed a bug where a SystemVerilog task was
being allowed inside a SystemVerilog function even if it contained
a DPI task call. The DPI task call can potentially have delays in
it. It is illegal to call a task from a function in SystemVerilog
but we do allow it in case task does not contain any delays. Now,
the check for the delay in the task also includes the check for DPI
task call. This change may result in some of the customer designs
failing to compile. It is recommended to fix the designs.
* dvt96160 - (results) Now built-in version of uvm_hdl_read,
correctly reads the values from arbitrary slices of VHDL array
 signals with non-zero LSB/MSB indices.
_______________________________________________________________________

WLF and VCD logging Defects Repaired in 10.5d

* dvt93896 - The [wlfman filter] and [wlf2vcd] performance has been
dramatically improved for WLF files containing large numbers of
single bit Verilog nets.
_______________________________________________________________________

General Enhancements in 10.5d

* [nodvtid] - The "find signals", "find nets", and "find instances"
commands are now supported in -batch mode.
* dvt94809 - Added switch "-pdupath[=&ltlib_path>]" which can be used
with vsim to specify library path for PDU when library is moved
after top level optimized design unit creation. If optional
&ltlib_path> is not specified PDU will be looked into current
working directory.
_______________________________________________________________________

User Interface Enhancements in 10.5d

* dvt90505 - The Files View collapses the tree whenever there is an
update to the current context or run state. The view will now
remain expanded and the selection and filters will remain in place
during any updates.
* dvt91003 - The Coverage Report dialog box now has an option for the
user to select how the report is displayed. The options are
"notepad", "source viewer", "none", or "user-defined editor". The
user-defined editor choice uses the EDITOR environment variable, or
the PrefMain(Editor) preference variable to determine which editor
to invoke. Once a choice is made, it will be persistent across
sessions.
* dvt90333 - It is now possible to display a summary rollup of
coverage numbers in the Structure window. To enable the summary,
select the menu Structure->Code Coverage->View Code Coverage
Summary. The summary will appear at the top of the Structure
window.
* dvt88977 - "Add" -> "To Watch" has been added to the Source window
popup menu.
* dvt23220 - The "radix" command will now accept HEXADECIMAL to
indicate displaying base 16 numeric values using uppercase A-F
characters. The of "hexadecimal" in lowercase will continue to
display base 16 numeric values using lowercase a-f characters.
* dvt95331 - The color of the selected items highlight in the Wave
window scrollbar can be changed by setting
PrefWave(mapSelectColor).
_______________________________________________________________________

SystemVerilog Enhancements in 10.5d

* dvt93489 - The vlog/vopt -svext=dmsbw option can be used to drive
the MSB unconnected bits of the wider hiconn (output) or the wider
loconn (input) in an otherwise collapsible port connection. With
the option, the unconnected bits are driven with zero, otherwise
they float.
_______________________________________________________________________

Document Revision History in 10.5d

* Revision - Changes - Status/Date
+ 1.0 - Modifications to improve the readability and
comprehension of the content. Approved by Tim Peeke. All
 technical enhancements, changes, and fixes are listed in this
document for all products in this release. Approved by Bryan
Ramirez. - Released/February 2017
* Author: In-house procedures and working practices require multiple
authors for documents. All associated authors for each topic within
this document are tracked within the document source.
* Revision History: Released documents maintain a revision history of
up to four revisions. For earlier revision history, refer to
earlier releases of documentation which are available on Support
Center (http://support.mentor.com).