Run same testbench with different parameter files in VUnit

Question

I have a project with the following structure:

tb_top
├── run.py
└── src
    ├── tb_top.vhd
    ├── test_a
    │   ├── top_parameter.vhd
    │   ├── input.csv
    │   └── output.csv
    ├── test_b
    │   ├── top_parameter.vhd
    │   ├── input.csv
    │   └── output.csv
    └── ...
src
├── bar.vhd
├── foo.vhd
└── top.vhd

top.vhd includes foo.vhd, bar.vhd as well as top_parameter.vhd of each test case. In run.py, first the files at src/ folder are compiled and then the top_parameter.vhd for each test case. All files are in the same library. When running run.py the following error is displayed:

tb_top/src/tb_top.vhd:44:20: entity "top" is obsoleted by package "top_parameter"
/usr/local/bin/ghdl: compilation error

Obviously, top.vhd should be recompiled everytime when top_parameter.vhd gets recompiled, but I can't figure out how to structure my run.py. Is there are way to compile the tests correctly, without:

recompiling foo.vhd and bar.vhd for each test?
duplicating identical files like tb_top.vhd and run.py for each test?

I'm using VUnit 4.2.0 and the current master of ghdl. If needed, I can prepare a MWE.

Marph Marph · Accepted Answer · 2019-11-28T17:52:36

The compiled libraries can't change between test runs in VUnit. The preferred solution is to pass the parameter as top level generics instead of using a separate file.

However, I didn't want to change the file structure. So in my case, top_parameter.vhd and all dependent files got compiled into a separate library for each test case. To chose the correct library, an extra generic got passed to the testbench.

More details and other options can be found here.

Run same testbench with different parameter files in VUnit

1 Answers