xactflow-archidesc

A XactFlow importer plugin that turns a design described in a Python script (which IPs it uses, and how they are connected) into an ipxact.Design object, built on ipxact-compiler's IEEE 1685-2022 object model.

IP-XACT design files are not made to be handwritten. With this package, a short script lists the IP instances, the bus connections between them, and any direct signal connections. The importer runs the script and returns the Design, which XactFlow's link() can then check against the IP-XACT rules.

The full description of the format is in doc/python-design-description.md. It describes the tool as it is meant to work once finished, so the current version can differ from it in small ways. The differences known today are listed in Known limitations.

Installation

pip install xactflow-archidesc

For local development, requirements-dev.txt overrides ipxact-compiler, xactflow and xactflow-design to local installations. It can be modified to adapt the paths or to keep any of them on PyPI.

pip install -r requirements-dev.txt -e .

Requires Python >= 3.9.

Usage

A design script builds a Design from an IP library and keeps it in a module-level variable named design:

from pathlib import Path

from xactflow import Library
from xactflow_archidesc import Design

library = Library.scan(Path(__file__).parent / "ip")
design = Design("example.org:soc:example:0.1", library)

cpu = design.add_ip("cpu", "example.org:ip:cpu:1.0", transforms=["tmrg"])
uart = design.add_ip("uart", "example.org:ip:uart:1.0", parameters={"BAUDRATE": 115200})
timer = design.add_ip("timer", "example.org:ip:timer:1.0")
debug = design.add_ip("debug", "example.org:ip:debug_module:1.0")
bus = design.add_ip("bus", "example.org:ip:interconnect:1.0")

design.connect_bus(cpu, bus)
design.connect_bus(bus.bus("m0"), uart, base_addr=0x4001_0000, size=0x1000)
design.connect_bus(bus, timer, base_addr=0x4002_0000, size=0x1000)

design.connect(debug.debug_req_o, cpu.debug_req_i)
design.connect(cpu.debug_resp_o, debug.debug_resp_i)

A runnable version of this script, with its IP library, is in tests/fixtures/soc.py.

In short:

• add_ip(name, vlnv, ...) adds an IP instance, with optional parameters overrides and transforms.
• connect_bus(a, b, ...) connects a bus interface of a to one of b. It picks them by itself, or uses the one named with instance.bus("name"). base_addr/size place a target in the address map.
• connect(source, target) connects two ports. instance.some_port is short for instance.port("some_port").

Each call checks its arguments right away, so a mistake is reported on the line that made it. All the details are in the format description.

Once installed, the importer registers itself under the xactflow.importers entry point group as archidesc, so it runs as a XactFlow CLI command. With xactflow-design installed too, --then hands the result straight to that exporter. To try it on the example of this repo, create a virtual environment and install the package in it first. The xactflow command only exists inside that environment, so activate it again in each new terminal:

python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"
xactflow archidesc tests/fixtures/soc.py --then design --output out/

This writes out/example.xml, named after the design's VLNV name.

Or as a library, for example to link the design first:

from pathlib import Path

from xactflow import Library, link
from xactflow_archidesc import ArchiDescImporter
from xactflow_design import DesignExporter

design = ArchiDescImporter().import_(Path("soc.py"))
linked = link(design, Library.scan("ip"))
DesignExporter().export(design, Path("out"))

The script runs like python soc.py would: a helper module next to it can be imported, and a relative path in it is read from the current folder. Path(__file__).parent gives paths that do not depend on where the command is run from. The importer takes no options.

Design notes

• Vendor extensions. Two things this format records have no place in IP-XACT, so they are written as vendor extensions in the https://github.com/IP-XACT/XactFlow namespace: <xactflow:transforms> on a component instance, listing the transformations in order, and <xactflow:addressMapping baseAddr="..." size="..."/> on the target side of a bus connection (a target or mirrored initiator interface).
• Transformations are not applied here. A separate tool, a transformer, reads <xactflow:transforms>, applies the transformations and returns the changed Design.
• Parameter overrides follow the standard. Only a parameter with a parameterId and resolve="user" can be overridden. The standard says an immediate parameter (the default) cannot be changed through configuration.
• Connection names are unique. A bus connection is named <a>_to_<b> and a port connection <instance>_<port>_to_<instance>_<port>. A number is added when a name is already taken, by any kind of connection.
• Monitors. Connecting a monitor interface adds a monitorInterconnection. The interface it watches stays free for a normal connection.

Known limitations

• connect_bus compares the bus VLNV of the two interfaces, but not the parameter values set on the bus type (a data width, for example). Comparing them needs XactFlow to evaluate those values first. This should be changed in a future update.
• XactFlow's link() does not use the parameter overrides from add_ip yet. They are written to the design and exported, but not applied during linking.
• connect checks direction only for wire ports. Two transactional or two structured ports are connected with no further check, only a mix of the two kinds is refused.
• connect does not compare port widths.
• A design describes one level only. Hierarchical designs, a real address mapping (instead of the addressMapping placeholder) and protocol bridges are not handled yet, see the open questions at the end of the format description.

Development

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements-dev.txt -e .
pytest

The tests use a small IP library in tests/fixtures/library. tests/test_end_to_end.py runs the example script through the importer, links the result, exports it with xactflow-design and reads the file back.

License

LGPL-3.0. See LICENSE.