HDL Designer Series TCL Reference Manual: Release v2019.4

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference
Manual
Release v2019.4
© 1996-2019 Mentor Graphics Corporation

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
HDS Library Contents API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
API Command Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Accessing the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Command Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Example Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Generated HDL File Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Reporting VHDL Packages Directly Referenced by a Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Reporting Verilog Include Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Simple Design Hierarchy Traversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Robust Design Hierarchy Traversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Design Hierarchy and Frames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Design Hierarchy and VHDL Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Pruning the Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Finding the Compilation Order. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 2
HDS Tcl API Command Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Pre-Defined Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
General Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
closeProject. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
configureInMemoryProperties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
configureProperties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
getDesignUnitFiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
getLibrarySearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
getVerilogIncludeSearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
invokeGUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
openProject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
removeInMemoryProperties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
removeProperties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
reportIncludeFiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
setDefaultView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
setDontTouchFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
setLibrarySearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
setVerilogIncludeSearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
unsetBlackBoxFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
DesignChecker Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
addDCExclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
enablePragmaExclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
getBlackBoxFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
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getLibraryDCConstraintsFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
getPolicyLocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
getRulesetLocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
setBlackBoxFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
setLibraryDCConstraintsFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
setPolicyLocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
setRulesetLocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
unsetDontTouchFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Block Diagram Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
addCmpInst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
addGenParam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
addModuleWareCmp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
addNet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
addPortIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
changeInstPMFUserText . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
closeBDBatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
connectCmpPortToNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
connectNetToInstPMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
createBD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
createEmbeddedBlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
enablePortMapFrame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
layoutDiagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
openBDBatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
setCptGenParam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
setMWCmpParam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
HDL2Graphics Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
runH2G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
runHdlImport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
runHtmlExport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
setupH2G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
setupHdlImport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
setupHtmlExport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Batch Mode Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
runTask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
setCompileAlways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
setupTask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Generation Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
runConfigGenerate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
runGenerate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
setupGenerate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Library Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
addLibraryMapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
getLibrariesRootDirectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
getLibraryMacroDefinitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
getLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
library names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
library open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
refreshLibraries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
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setLibrariesRootDirectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
setLibraryMacroDefinitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
setLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Version Management Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
runVMChangeLock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
runVMCheckIn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
runVMCheckOut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
runVMGet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
runVMHistory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
runVMLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
runVMSynchronize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
runVMUndoCheckOut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
setupVM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
setupVMChangeLock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
setupVMCheckIn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
setupVMCheckOut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
setupVMGet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
setupVMHierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
setupVMLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
setupVMSynchronize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Dynamically Created Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Command Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
HDS objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Command List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
architecture object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
blockFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
caseFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
configuration object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
declaration object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
elseFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
embeddedFrame object commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
entity option object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
file object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
forFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
frameConfiguration object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
frame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
ifFrame object commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
elsifFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
whenFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
instance object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
library object commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
machineFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
packageHeader object commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
packageBody object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Command List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Table of Contents
Index
End-User License Agreement
with EDA Software Supplemental Terms

List of Figures
Figure 1-1. Log Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

List of Figures

List of Tables
Table 1-1. Generated HDL Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Table 2-1. architecture object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Table 2-2. blockFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Table 2-3. caseFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Table 2-4. configuration object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Table 2-5. declaration object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Table 2-6. elseFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Table 2-7. embeddedFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Table 2-8. entity option object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Table 2-9. file object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Table 2-10. forFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Table 2-11. frameConfiguration object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Table 2-12. frame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Table 2-13. ifFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Table 2-14. elsifFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Table 2-15. whenFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Table 2-16. instance object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Table 2-17. library object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Table 2-18. machineFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Table 2-19. packageHeader object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Table 2-20. packageBody object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

List of Tables

Chapter 1
HDS Library Contents API
This document is designed to help you use the HDS library contents API more effectively.
The HDS library contents API enables Tcl scripts to:
• Access the structure of a design

• Navigate the libraries, files and declarations of the design
• Examine the hierarchies produced by component instantiation.
For more information on the Tcl language refer to:
http://www.tcl.tk/man/tcl8.5/tutorial/tcltutorial.html
API Command Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Accessing the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Command Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Example Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Reporting VHDL Packages Directly Referenced by a Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Robust Design Hierarchy Traversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Design Hierarchy and Frames. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Design Hierarchy and VHDL Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Pruning the Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Finding the Compilation Order. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
API Command Modes

The API commands can be used in one of two modes.
• Interactive: via the console page of the HDS log window. This mode provides a
convenient way of learning about the API and debugging scripts, since the commands
provide considerable feedback on how they should be used.This is described in more
detail in the following sections.
• Batch: via the -tcl command line switch in HDS.
Note - Viewing PDF files within a web browser causes some links not to function. Use HTML for full navigation.
Accessing the Console
Accessing the Console

Text entered here will be executed as Tcl commands and can use the API commands described
in the following sections.
Procedure
1. To access the log window:
2. Invoke HDS to display the Design Manager window.
3. Select Window > HDS Log Window.
Figure 1-1. Log Window
Document Conventions
In the following examples, text in bold represents commands typed into the console, text in
italics represents output from HDS in response to a command.
Command Basics
HDS API commands are either dynamically created or predefined.
To start using the API commands you should gain access to your design library using the
library open command:library open is an example of a predefined command. HDS responds
to the command by creating a handle that refers to the library object to be accessed. HDS
created handles are designated by hds followed by a unique number.
In this example hds0 is a handle referring to the library UART.

library open uart hds0
Command Basics
The following is an example of a dynamically created command composed of the above

returned UART library handle and the files option.The command returns a set of handles
referring to the UART library files. Refer to “library object commands” on page 156.
hds0 files hds1 hds2 hds3 hds4 hds5 hds6 hds7
hds8 hds9 hds10 hds11 hds12 hds13
hds14
The Tcl language supports the concept of variables. Variables are set and unset with the
standard Tcl set and unset commands. To ease the use of the created handles, they are stored in
variables. In the following example the set command stores the UART handle hds0 in variable
lib
set lib [library open uart] hds0
Notice the use of nested commands where the result of the second command [library open uart]
is used as a part of the first command.
You can now use the lib variable which carries a handle to the UART library instead of the
handle itself in the command.
$lib files hds1 hds2 hds3 hds4 hds5 hds6 hds7
hds8 hds9 hds10 hds11 hds12 hds13
hds14
All objects have a ‘configure’ command option, this provides access to the attributes of the
object. If you use the configure command with no arguments, it shows the names and values of
all the attributes.
To get a list of all object command options you can type:
$lib help
Error: bad option "help" should be configure or file
Example Scripts
Example Scripts
This section provides and explains some sample scripts that show how an HDS design can be
accessed using the Tcl API commands.
Reporting VHDL Packages Directly Referenced by a Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Robust Design Hierarchy Traversal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Design Hierarchy and Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Design Hierarchy and VHDL Configurations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Pruning the Hierarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Finding the Compilation Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Generated HDL File Paths

Some source files of a design may be HDS graphics files. Using the Tcl API commands you can
navigate to and print out the HDL text files generated from the graphics.
Steps
By copying the Tcl commands in the following table and pasting it into the HDS log window,
HDS responds with a set of handles referring to the designated HDS objects and finally prints
out the path to the uart_tb generated HDL file.
Table 1-1. Generated HDL Commands
Tcl Command HDS Response
set lib [library open uart] hds0
set tb [$lib declaration uart_tb struct] hds1
set generatedHdlFile [[$tb file] generated] hds43
puts [$lib configure hardHdlDir]/ C:/Lastbuild/32/LatestBuild/examples/
[$generatedHdlFile configure uart/hdl/uart_tb_struct.vhd
relativePathname]
Now let us see how this piece of code works.
set lib [library open UART]
A variable lib is automatically declared using the Set tcl command. The value of the variable lib
is substituted with the value of the command within []
Reporting VHDL Packages Directly Referenced by a Library
In other words the result of the library open command is given to the variable lib. Refer to
“library object commands” on page 156. When a '[' appears in a command, Tcl treats everything
between it and the matching ']' as a nested Tcl command. Tcl evaluates the nested API
command and substitutes its result into the enclosing command in place of the bracketed text.
So the above command is translated as follows:
set lib hds0
where hds0 is an HDS handle referring to the library UART
set tb [$lib declaration uart_tb struct]
Again the value of the automatically declared variable tb is substituted with the result of the
second command.
When a $ appears in a command, Tcl treats the letters and digits following it as a variable name,
and substitutes the value of the variable in place of the name.
So $lib carries the value hds0 mentioned in the first step which is a handle referring to the
UART library. The $lib together with the declaration option and the uart_tb struct argument
constitute a new command.This command returns hds1 which is a handle referring to an HDS
declaration. Refer to “library object commands” on page 156.
set generatedHdlFile [[$tb file] generated]
In this step you can see that there are multiple nested Tcl API commands. The value hds1of the
command [$tb file] is used to create a second dynamic command i.e. hds1 generated. The
value of the second command substitutes the value of the variable generatedHDLFile.
puts [$lib configure hardHdlDir]/[$generatedHdlFile configure relativePathname]
Finally you can print out the path of the UART_tb generated file using the puts Tcl command.
Refer to “library object commands” on page 156 and “file object commands” on page 148.
/home/designs/UART/hdl/uart_tb_struct.vhd
Reporting VHDL Packages Directly Referenced by a

Library
Instead of using discrete Tcl commands, Tcl procedures will be used. Procedures in Tcl serve
much the same purpose as functions in C. They may take arguments, and may return values.
The basic syntax for defining a procedure is:
proc name argList body
Reporting VHDL Packages Directly Referenced by a Library
Once a procedure is created, it is considered to be a command, just like any other built-in Tcl
command. As such, it may be called using its name, followed by a value for each of its
arguments. The return value from a procedure is equivalent to the result of a built-in Tcl
command. Thus, command substitution can be used to substitute the return value of a procedure
into another expression.
In this example the procedure showPkgs is considered a command which takes a library object
as an argument and finally prints out the VHDL packages directly referenced by that library.
The API refers to entities and architectures, since these correspond to the separation of interface
and implementation found both in VHDL designs and in HDS graphics files. A Verilog module
corresponds to both an entity and architecture, so each module in Verilog text files becomes
both an entity and an architecture in the API. This allows scripts using the API to treat VHDL
text, Verilog text and HDS graphics in a consistent fashion.
All objects have a class attribute. The class attribute may have one of the following values
(architecture, architectureFrame, blockFrame, caseFrame, configuration, directory, elseFrame,
embeddedFrame, entity, file, forFrame, frameConfiguration, ifFrame, instance, library,
machineFrame, packageBody or packageHeader).
Objects of class entity, architecture, packageHeader and packageBody support a 'packages'

command that returns a list of packages used by the declaration. Refer to“Dynamically Created
Commands” on page 137.
Steps
proc showPkgs {lib} {
foreach file [$lib files] {
foreach decl [$file declarations] {
foreach pkg [$decl packages] {
if {![info exists alreadyDone($pkg)]} {
puts "[$pkg configure fullName]"
set alreadyDone($pkg) 1
}
}
}
}
}
showPkgs [library open uart]
ieee.std_logic_1164
ieee.std_logic_arith
std.TEXTIO
Note
You can ask a Verilog declaration for its packages, the result is always an empty list. This
uniformity can be helpful when examining mixed language designs.
Reporting Verilog Include Files
Reporting Verilog Include Files

File objects support an 'includes' command that provides access to the files `included by a file.
Unlike most API functions, the include files are given in text form. This is because include files
are not constrained to reside within HDS libraries, they can be present anywhere in the
filesystem.
The following example reports all files included by the files of a library:
proc showIncls {lib} {

foreach file [$lib files] {
foreach inc [$file includes] {
if {![info exists alreadyDone($inc)]} {
puts $inc
set alreadyDone($inc) 1
}
}
}
}
Refer to “library object commands” on page 156 and “file object commands” on page 148.
Issue: our example designs have no include statements.
Note
You can ask a VHDL file for its includes, the result is always an empty list. This uniformity
can be helpful when examining mixed language designs.
Simple Design Hierarchy Traversal

The following example shows a script that walks the hierarchy of a design and reports its
structure:
proc indent {} { return [string repeat { } $::indent] }
The procedure indent is used as a command in the procedure walkArch. It adds indentations to
the produced results. Indent has 0 arguments and uses the string repeat command to return a
space repeated a number of times equal to the value of the variable $:: indent
Simple Design Hierarchy Traversal
proc walkArch {arch} {

puts "[indent]ARCH [$arch configure fullName]"
incr ::indent
foreach inst [$arch instances] {
puts "[indent]INST [$inst configure name]"
walkArch [$inst child]
}
incr ::indent -1
puts "[ indent]-- end [$arch configure fullName]"
}
set lib [library open uart]
set indent 0
walkArch [$lib declaration uart_tb struct]
Refer to “library object commands” on page 156, “instance object commands” on page 155 and
“architecture object commands” on page 140.
The procedure walkArch takes a library declaration as an argument and returns all the library
architectures and their instances.
ARCH UART.uart_tb(struct)
INST U_0
ARCH UART.tester(flow)
-- end UART.tester(flow)
INST U_1
ARCH UART.uart_top(struct)
INST U_1
ARCH UART.cpu_interface(intconx)
INST U_0
ARCH UART.control_operation(fsm)
-- end UART.control_operation(fsm)
-- end UART.cpu_interface(intconx)
INST U_2
ARCH UART.clock_divider(flow)
-- end UART.clock_divider(flow)
INST U_3
ARCH UART.address_decode(tbl)
-- end UART.address_decode(tbl)
INST U_4
ARCH UART.serial_interface(struct)
INST ser_out_mux
Error: Instance ser_out_mux is
unbound
In this case, the command reports an error, since moduleware instances do not have a
corresponding architecture.
Robust Design Hierarchy Traversal
Robust Design Hierarchy Traversal

If you want your script to trap unbound component instances and continue walking the
hierarchy, you need to use the 'catch' command. The catch command evaluates a script and traps
exceptional returns.
incr ::indent
foreach inst [$arch instances] {
if {![catch {$inst child} child]} {
walkArch $child
}
}
incr ::indent -1
}
set indent 0
INST U_0
INST U_1
INST U_1
INST U_0
INST U_2
INST U_3
INST U_4
INST U_0
ARCH UART.xmit_rcv_control(fsm)
-- end UART.xmit_rcv_control(fsm)
INST U_1
ARCH UART.status_registers(spec)
-- end UART.status_registers(spec)
-- end UART.serial_interface(struct)
-- end UART.uart_top(struct)
-- end UART.uart_tb(struct)
Design Hierarchy and Frames

The API uses the term 'frame' to refer to a number of constructs that add hierarchy within an
architecture.
• FOR frames, IF frames, ELSIF frames, ELSE frames, CASE frames, WHEN frames and
BLOCK frames in a VHDL block diagram
• FOR frames, IF frames and ELSE frames in a Verilog block diagram
• FOR GENERATE, IF GENERATE, ELSIF GENERATE, ELSE GENERATE, CASE
GENERATE, WHEN GENERATE and BLOCK statements in a VHDL text file
• FOR GENERATE statements in a Verilog text file
• Concurrent and hierarchical states in a state machine or algorithmic state machine
(ASM)
• Concurrent flowcharts and hierarchical actions in a flow chart
With a slightly more complex script, you can gain access to these additional details:

proc walkFrame {frame} {
puts "[indent][$frame configure]"
incr ::indent
foreach sub [$frame subFrames] {
walkFrame $sub
}
foreach inst [$frame instances] {
walkArch $child
}
}
incr ::indent -1
}
incr ::indent
walkFrame [$arch frame]
incr ::indent -1
}
set indent 0
“architecture object commands” on page 140 and “frame object commands” on page 151.
class architectureFrame name struct
INST U_0
class architectureFrame name flow
class machineFrame name tester_top
class machineFrame name {tester_top test_rcv}
class machineFrame name {tester_top test_status}
class machineFrame name {tester_top test_xmit}
INST U_1
INST U_1
class architectureFrame name intconx
class embeddedFrame name data_out_mux
INST U_0
class architectureFrame name fsm
class machineFrame name cntrl_op
class machineFrame name {cntrl_op RX}
class machineFrame name {cntrl_op TX}
INST U_2
class architectureFrame name flow
class machineFrame name clk_div
INST U_3
class architectureFrame name tbl
INST U_4
class embeddedFrame name convert
class machineFrame name conv
INST U_0
ARCH UART.xmit_rcv_control(fsm)
class architectureFrame name fsm
class machineFrame name rcv
class machineFrame name xmit
-- end UART.xmit_rcv_control(fsm)
INST U_1
ARCH UART.status_registers(spec)
class architectureFrame name spec
-- end UART.status_registers(spec)
-- end UART.serial_interface(struct)
-- end UART.uart_top(struct)
-- end UART.uart_tb(struct)
Design Hierarchy and VHDL Configurations
Design Hierarchy and VHDL Configurations

The previous examples walked the design hierarchy assuming that each component instance
was bound to a single architecture. In a design using VHDL configuration declarations, an
architecture can have multiple configurations, each with different bindings for the component
instances. Walking the hierarchy of such a design requires keeping track of the configuration.
The API includes configuration objects, which correspond to VHDL configuration declarations
and frameConfiguration objects which correspond to a single level within the hierarchical
structure of a configuration declaration. Designs containing FOR GENERATE, IF GENERATE
and BLOCK statements will need corresponding entries in the configuration declarations, so
when walking a design using configuration declarations, frames should be taken into account.
The following example shows how to walk a hierarchy using configuration declarations. It uses
configuredSubFrames in place of subFrames and configuredChild in place of child.

proc walkFrame {frame frameCfg} {
puts "[indent][$frame configure]"
incr ::indent
foreach {childFrame childFrameCfg} [$frame configuredSubFrames
$frameCfg] {
walkFrame $childFrame $childFrameCfg
}
foreach inst [$frame instances] {
if {![catch {$inst configuredChild $frameCfg} childInfo]} {
foreach {childCfg childArch childFrameCfg} $childInfo {break}
walkArch $childArch $childFrameCfg
}
}
incr ::indent -1
}
proc walkArch {arch frameCfg} {
incr ::indent
walkFrame [$arch frame] $frameCfg
incr ::indent -1
}
set lib [library open someLib]
set indent 0
set cfg [$lib declaration someCfg]
walkArch [$cfg architecture] [$cfg frameConfiguration]
“architecture object commands” on page 140 and “frame object commands” on page 151.
Issue: our sample designs do not use configurations.
Pruning the Hierarchy
Pruning the Hierarchy

The previous examples will expand each component instance, regardless of how many times it
has previously been encountered within the hierarchy. In some cases, it is appropriate to prune
the traversal so that a declaration is seen only once. This can be accomplished by adding a check
at the start of walkArch:
if {[info exists ::alreadyDone($arch)]} {
return
}

incr ::indent
walkFrame [$arch frame]
incr ::indent -1
}
Finding the Compilation Order

Most VHDL compilation tools and some Verilog compilation tools need to be given the source
files in an order which ensures that declarations are encountered before they are used. The API
can be used to determine an appropriate order.
The script shown below does this, though with some restrictions:
• For graphical VHDL designs, it assumes that the generation setting is for combined
entity and architecture files.
• It does not handle VHDL configuration declarations, these require a more sophisticated
form of pruning, since a single architecture can have a different structure for each
configuration
• It does not handle HDL text files containing declarations that are not part of the design
hierarchy
proc walkDependencies {decl} {

global alreadyDone
# Only look at each declaration once.

if {[info exists alreadyDone($decl)]} {
return
}
set alreadyDone($decl) 1
# Only report each file once.

set declFile [$decl file]
if {[info exists alreadyDone($declFile)]} {
set reportFile 0
} else {
set reportFile 1
set alreadyDone($declFile) 1
}
foreach pkg [$decl packages] {

walkDependencies $pkg
}
if {[$decl configure class] eq "architecture"} {

walkDependencies [$decl entity]
foreach inst [$decl instances] {

walkDependencies $child
}
}
}
set file [$decl file]

set fileType [$file configure type]
if {![regexp {Text$} $fileType]} {
if {[lsearch {symbol blockInterface} $fileType] != -1} {
# This assumes ent+arch are generated to a single file.
set reportFile 0
} else {
set file [$file generated]
}
}
if {$reportFile} {
set lib [$file library]
# Exclude standard and downstreamOnly libraries.
if {[$lib configure type] eq "regular"} {
puts "[$lib configure hardHdlDir]/[$file configure
relativePathname]"
}
}
if {[$decl configure class] eq "packageHeader"} {

walkDependencies [$decl body]
}
}
catch {unset alreadyDone}

walkDependencies [$lib declaration uart_tb struct]
Refer to “library object commands” on page 156, “declaration object commands” on page 144,
and “file object commands” on page 148.
/hds/install/UART/hdl/tester_flow.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/control_operation_fsm.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/cpu_interface_intconx.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/clock_divider_flow.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/address_decode_tbl.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/xmit_rcv_control_fsm.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/status_registers_spec.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/status_registers_spec.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/serial_interface_struct.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/uart_top_struct.vhd
/hds/install/UART/hdl/uart_tb_struct.vhd
Chapter 2
HDS Tcl API Command Reference
Mentor Graphics has added a number of command extensions to the Tcl language to handle and
support the HDL Designer operations. These commands are “built-in” and are executed the
same as the standard Tcl commands.
This chapter provides a set of commands that can be used to work with and reference HDS
objects. HDS Tcl commands are either pre-defined or dynamically created.
Pre-Defined Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
General Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
DesignChecker Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Block Diagram Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
HDL2Graphics Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Batch Mode Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Version Management Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Dynamically Created Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
HDS objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Command List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
embeddedFrame object commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
file object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
frameConfiguration object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
instance object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
machineFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

packageHeader object commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Command List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Pre-Defined Commands
Pre-Defined Commands
This section provides HDS Tcl commands pre-defined and dynamically created commands.
General Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
DesignChecker Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Block Diagram Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
HDL2Graphics Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Batch Mode Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Version Management Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
General Commands
General Commands
This section lists general, predefined commands.
closeProject. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
configureInMemoryProperties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
configureProperties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
getDesignUnitFiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
getLibrarySearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
getVerilogIncludeSearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
invokeGUI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
openProject. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
removeInMemoryProperties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
removeProperties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
reportIncludeFiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
setDefaultView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
setDontTouchFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
setLibrarySearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
setVerilogIncludeSearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
unsetBlackBoxFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
General Commands
closeProject
Closes current active project and automatically closes all open editors and/or browser tabs.
Usage
closeProject ()
Arguments
NA
General Commands
configureInMemoryProperties
Sets and gets in memory properties on a design object. This API only uses columns created by
it; using it with the fpf property columns has no effect.
Usage
configureInMemoryProperties (designObject args)
Arguments
• designObject:
Design object: {library|library/file|library.unit ?primaryName? ?secondaryName?
?filePath?}.
• args:
Optional sequence of property keys and values: key ?value? ?key value? ....
Examples
Pass only a design object to return it's property names/values as a list {{name1} val1 {name2}
val2}:
set properties [::configureInMemoryProperties $designObject]
Pass a design object and a property name to get the value of the property on this object:
set propertyValue [::configureInMemoryProperties $designObject

$propertyName]
Pass a design object and a list of property name/value pairs to set the value of properties on this
object:
::configureInMemoryProperties $designObject {$propertyName

$propertyValue}
General Commands
configureProperties
Set and get properties on a design object.
Usage
configureProperties (designObject args)
Arguments
• designObject:
?filePath?}.
• args:
Optional sequence of property keys and values: key ?value? ?key value? ....
Examples
Pass only a design object to return it's property names/values as a list {{name1} val1 {name2}
val2}:
set properties [::configureProperties $designObject]
Pass a design object and a property name to get the value of the property on this object:
set propertyValue [::configureProperties $designObject $propertyName]
Pass a design object and a list of property name/value pairs to set the value of properties on this
object:
::configureProperties $designObject {$propertyName $propertyValue}
General Commands
getDesignUnitFiles
Gets the files associated with a design unit (entity, architecture, module, package, configuration,
and so on).
Usage
getDesignUnitFiles
<unit> [-source | -text | -graphics] [-generated] [-defaultView] [-skipEntity] [-diskPath | -
libraryPath] [-propertyFiles] [-sideData] [-hierarchy | -throughLibraries] [-array] [-
throughBlocks] [-includeFiles]
Arguments
• unit:
The design unit name in the form "<library>.<unit>(<view>)" to get the associated files for
a specific view, or in the form "<library>.<unit>" to get the associated files for all/default
view(s), or in the form "<library>" to get all the associated files in this library. (check "-
defaultView:" option).
• -source:
Default option. Get all source HDL and graphic files.
• -text:
Get all source HDL files.
• -graphics:
Get all source graphic files.
• -generated:
Get all generated HDL files.
• -defaultView:
Applicable only when no view name is specified in the design unit name. Get the files
associated with the unit's default view only. If not specified, get the files associated with all
available views for the design unit.
• -skipEntity:
Skip all files associated with the specified view's entity or symbol.
• -diskPath:
Default option. Get the absolute file paths.
• -libraryPath:
Get file paths relative to the library HDL/HDS mappings.
• -propertyFiles:
Get the "*._epf" and "*._fpf" associated design unit files if any.
General Commands
• -sideData:
Get associated side data files if any.
• -hierarchy:
Get all files in the design unit hierarchy within the same design unit library; all other options
will be applied to the design unit and its hierarchical files.
• -throughLibraries:
Get all files in the design unit hierarchy within the same design unit library and through
other libraries in the project; all other options will be applied to the design unit and its
hierarchical files.
• -array <arrayName>:
Create an array <arrayName> that maps all the design unit files to a key in the array in the
form <Library.DesignUnit>; all other options will be applied to the design unit and its
hierarchical files.
• -throughBlocks:
Get all files in the design unit Block hierarchy within the same design unit library and
through other libraries in the project; all other options will be applied to the design unit and
its hierarchical files.
• -includeFiles:
Get all the direct ‘include files names in a design unit (even if they are missing from the
library); all other options will be applied to the design unit and its hierarchical files.
Return Values
List of design unit's associated files ordered sequentially.
Examples
Get all source HDL and graphics files for "accumulator" design unit.
getDesignUnitFiles "sequencer_vhd.accumulator" -source
Get all graphical view files (except the symbol file) for "accumulator" design unit.
getDesignUnitFiles "sequencer_vhd.accumulator" -graphics -skipEntity
Get all generated files for "flow" view of "accumulator" design unit.
getDesignUnitFiles "sequencer_vhd.accumulator(flow)" -generated
Get relative paths for all source files for "accumulator" design unit's default view.
General Commands
getDesignUnitFiles "sequencer_vhd.accumulator" -defaultView -libraryPath
Black-box all source HDL and graphic files for "accumulator" design unit.
eval setBlackBoxFile "sequencer_vhd" [getDesignUnitFiles

"sequencer_vhd.accumulator" -source] -justification {"black box for DC"}
General Commands
getLibrarySearchPath
Get the project libraries search path.
Usage
Arguments
None
Examples
Printing the list of libraries in the libraries search path
set libSearchPath [getLibrarySearchPath]

puts "Libraries in library search path..."
foreach lib $libSearchPath {
puts "Library: $lib"
}
Related Topics
setLibrarySearchPath
General Commands
getVerilogIncludeSearchPath
Gets the default Verilog include search path.
Usage
Arguments
None
Examples
Printing the list of directories specified in the default Verilog include search path
set libSearchPath [getVerilogIncludeSearchPath]

puts "Directories in default include search path..."
foreach dir $libSearchPath {
puts "Include directory: $dir"
}
Related Topics
setVerilogIncludeSearchPath
getLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath
General Commands
invokeGUI
Invoke the graphical user interface.
Usage
None
Arguments
None
General Commands
openProject
Opens a project after closing the current active project.
Usage
openProject (hdpPath)
Arguments
• hdpPath
Full path to HDS project you want to open.
General Commands
removeInMemoryProperties
Deletes in memory properties on a design object.
Usage
removeInMemoryProperties (designObject args)
Arguments
• designObject:
?filePath?}.
• args:
Optional sequence of property keys: {class1 ?name1?} {class2 ?name2?} ...
General Commands
removeProperties
Deletes properties on a design object. You can only use it with columns created by
configureProperties API. If you used it on in-memory columns, it has no effect
Usage
removeProperties (designObject args)
Arguments
• designObject
A design object that can be: Design object: a library, a file, or a unit. You need to specify the
name and path for this library, file, or unit.
• args
Optional sequence of property keys that you want to remove.
General Commands
reportIncludeFiles
Reports included files and checks if there are any associated problems.
Usage
reportIncludeFiles <library> (<file_1> <file_2> <file_3>...) (-all | -problems) (verbose) (-group
(MAIN_FILE | INCLUDED_FILE)) (-fix (-preview)) (-report)
Arguments
• <library>:
Library name to report included files for. Note that an empty library name, for example “ “,
can be used but in this case at least one file must be specified and the full paths on the disk
must be provided.
• <file>:
Path of the file(s) for which the included files shall be reported. Multiple files can be
provided separated by white space “ ”. If the library name is specified, then file paths can be
provided relative to the library’s HDL mapping; otherwise, if the library name is not
specified, then the full paths on disk must be provided. If no file paths are specified, all files
in the specified library are checked for include files. This is optional.
• -all:
Default option. All included files are reported.
• -problems:
Only included files which have problems are reported. The detected problems can be as
follows:
o The include file path cannot be resolved using the current Verilog include search
path and implicit includes libraries settings.
o The include file path is resolved but it is not added to any of the project's libraries.
o The include file type is not set properly.
• -verbose:
Shows the following details for each included file:
o Indicates if the included file is resolved to a file on disk or not, and indicates the file
path on disk if resolved.
o If the included file is resolved, indicates if it is added to any library in the project.
o If the included file is resolved, indicates if it has a proper type.
• -group (MAIN_FILE | INCLUDED_FILE):
Groups the reported included files by the main file (MAIN_FILE) or by the included file
(INCLUDED_FILE). If the argument is specified with no value, the reported included files
General Commands
are grouped by the main file. If the argument is not specified, then the included files are
reported in a flattened way (no groups).
• -fix:
Tries to fix the included files’ problems (if any).
• -preview:
Lists the actions to be taken to fix the included files’ problems (without applying these
actions). This argument can be used only with '-fix' argument.
• -report:
Returns the report text rather than the number of problems.
Note
Note that this API returns the number of problems by default (if any); but if the -
report option is used, it returns the report text itself (rather than the number of
problems).
Return Values
By default, this command returns the number of included files which have problems (returns '0'
if no problems are encountered). If the '-fix' option is provided, it returns the number of
problems found after the fix (it should return '0' if all problems can be fixed). Also, this
command reports all the included files in the output log.
Examples
Check all files in "ethernet" library and report any problem associated with the included files.
reportIncludeFiles "ethernet" -problems
Report all files included by "eth_top.v" and "eth_cop.v" files in library "ethernet" (paths are
relative to HDL mapping) and group the result.
reportIncludeFiles "ethernet" "data/rtl/verilog/eth_top.v" "data/rtl/

verilog/eth_cop.v" -all -verbose -group
Check all files in "ethernet" library and try to fix include files’ problems (if any).
reportIncludeFiles "ethernet" -fix
General Commands
setDefaultView
Set Default View.
Usage
setDefaultView (library file primary secondary)
Arguments
• library:
Library name.
• file:
File path, relative to the library HDS mapping.
• primary:
Primary HDL declaration (VHDL entity or verilog module).
• secondary:
Secondary HDL declaration (VHDL architecture, use module name for verilog).
Examples
Setting a view defined in an HDL file as the default one (view file name relative to the HDL
mapping).
setDefaultView "uart_txt" "xmit_rcv_control_fsm.vhd" "xmit_rcv_control"

"fsm"
Setting a view defined in a graphics file as the default one (view file name relative to the HDS
mapping).
setDefaultView "uart_v" "xmit_rcv_control/asm.am" "xmit_rcv_control"

"xmit_rcv_control"
General Commands
setDontTouchFile
Marks file(s) as don’t touch for all tasks.
Usage
setDontTouchFile <library> <file 1> <file 2> <file 3>… [-diskPath | -libraryPath] [-tool <tool
1> <tool 2> <tool 3>…] [-justification <comment>]
Arguments
• library:
Library name of the file(s) to be marked as don’t touch.
• file:
Path of the file to be marked as don’t touch (check -diskPath:, and -libraryPath: options).
Multiple files can be provided (separated by a white-space).
• -diskPath:
Default option. Accept file paths as absolute or relative path on disk.
• -libraryPath:
Accept file paths as relative to the library HDL/HDS mappings.
• -tool <tool 1> <tool 2> <tool 3>…:
Specifies tools to mark this file as dont touch for. This argument is optional. Multiple tools
can be specified. They could be one of the following:
ALL All the tools. This is the default value.
H2G Conversion to graphics
GENERATION Generation
VHDL_CONFIGURATION_GENERATION VHDL configuration generation
ALL_PLUGINS All the downstream plug-ins (any plug-in
which outputs files to downstream mapping).
SIMULATION_PLUGINS All simulation plug-ins
SYNTHESIS_PLUGINS All synthesis plug-ins
DESIGNCHECKER DesignChecker plug-in
PLUGIN:<downstream plug-in name> A specific downstream plug-in. Example"
"PLUGIN:QuestaSim Compiler".
• -justification <comment>:
Optional. Specifies a comment which explains why the file is marked as don’t touch.
General Commands
Examples
Don’t touch HDL file in "uart_txt" library providing the absolute path on disk
setDontTouchFile "uart_txt" "$env(HDS_PROJECT_DIR)/uart_txt/hdl/

clock_divider.v" -diskPath
Don’t touch two HDL files in "ethernet" library providing relative file paths
setDontTouchFile "ethernet" "bench/verilog/tb_eth_behcomp.v" "bench/

verilog/stimuli/eth_txethmac_stim.v" -libraryPath
Don’t touch a HDL file in "ethernet" library for DesignChecker and QuestaSim Compiler plug-
in only
setDontTouchFile "ethernet" "bench/verilog/tb_eth_behcomp.v" -libraryPath

-tool DESIGNCHECKER PLUGIN:QuestaSim\ Compiler
Don’t touch graphics file in "sequencer_vhd" library providing relative file path
setDontTouchFile "sequencer_vhd" "accumulator/flow.fc" -libraryPath -

justification "dont touch 'flow' flow chart view"
Don’t touch all source HDL and graphics files for "accumulator" design unit in
"sequencer_vhd" library
eval setDontTouchFile "sequencer_vhd" [getDesignUnitFiles

"sequencer_vhd.accumulator" -source] -justification {"dont touch"}
Related Topics
unsetDontTouchFile
General Commands
Sets the project libraries search path used when a missing component is referenced.
Usage
setLibrarySearchPath <libraries> [-start | -end]
Arguments
• <libraries>:
List of libraries to be searched for missing components (separated by white-space). It can be
empty. Example: "components_lib primitives_library".
• -start:
Appends the provided search path to the beginning of the current search path.
• -end:
Appends the provided search path to the end of the current search path.
Examples
Printing current library search path
puts "Current library search path \"[getLibrarySearchPath]\"."
Appending new libraries to the current search path
puts "Add 'components_lib' and 'primitives_lib' libraries to the search

path..."
setLibrarySearchPath "components_lib primitives_lib" -start
Printing the new library search path
puts "New library search path \"[getLibrarySearchPath]\"."
Related Topics
General Commands
Sets the default Verilog include search path. The include search path is used to search for
included files. This path is used if the library specific include search path is not specified.
Usage
setVerilogIncludeSearchPath <directories> [-start | -end]
Arguments
• <directory>:
Search path directories (separated by ";"). Referencing environment variables and library
names (where $<library name> points to the library's HDL mapping) is allowed. Example:
"c:\my_includes;c:\design\includes".
• -start:
• -end:
Examples
Setting the default include search path preference
setVerilogIncludeSearchPath "c:\my_includes;c:\design\includes"
Append a new directory (specified by referencing an environment variable) to the default

include search path preference
setVerilogIncludeSearchPath "\$MY_INCLUDES" -start
Related Topics
setLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath
General Commands
unsetBlackBoxFile
Unsets the black-box property for file(s).
Usage
unsetBlackBoxFile <library> <file 1> <file 2> <file 3>… [-diskPath | -libraryPath]
Arguments
• library:
Library name of the file(s) to have the black-box property unset for.
• file:
Path of the file to have the black-box property unset for (check -diskPath:, and -libraryPath:
options).
• -diskPath:
• -libraryPath:
Examples
Remove black-box property for HDL file in "uart_txt" library providing the absolute path on
disk
unsetBlackBoxFile "uart_txt" "$env(HDS_PROJECT_DIR)/uart_txt/hdl/

Remove black-box property for two HDL files in "ethernet" library providing relative file paths
unsetBlackBoxFile "ethernet" "bench/verilog/tb_eth_behcomp.v" "bench/

Remove black-box property for graphics file in "sequencer_vhd" library providing relative file
path
unsetBlackBoxFile "sequencer_vhd" "accumulator/flow.fc" -libraryPath
Related Topics
setBlackBoxFile
SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant API

Following is the way to configure HDS to run SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant in batch mode.
In this case, there will be two tcl files.
These files are as follows:
• A Tcl file having HDS APIs to create HDS project, customize HDS and configure
SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant to run in batch mode.
• A Tcl file to be passed to SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant which should contain
SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant APIs.
Note
For more information about SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant APIs, refer to
SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant API Reference manual located at
<HDS_install_location>/svassistant/docs/pdfdocs.
The following HDS API is used to configure SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant batch run:
setupTask {SVAssistant} –setting Options
• runBatchMode:
It takes the value "1" to force running the -tcl switch (batch mode) or the value "0" to
force running the -do switch (GUI mode). Its default value is "0".
• execFilePath "<filepath>":
Tcl file having Systemverilog-VHDL Assistant APIs.
• cmdLineOptions "<SVAssistant -options>":
This option is used to pass the command options to SVA.
• runMode "newProjectRun":
This option will open SVA with the newProjectWizard opened.
• runMode "projectFile":
This option will open the projects specified in the TCL list in the other TaskSetting
named "projectFile".
• projectFile "<TCL list of SVAssistant project files to open>":
TCL list of SVAssistant project files to open when TaskSetting "runMode" is set to
"projectFile".
Related Topics
setupTask
DesignChecker Commands
You can use DesignChecker commands in a Tcl file, then pass the file to an HDS batch file
through the ConfigFile option. You cannot use DesignChecker commands directly in HDS
batch files.
Use the ConfigFile option as follows to pass the Tcl file to HDS:
setupTask {DesignChecker} –setting ConfigFile {<absolute path of the tcl

file >}
For information on supported DesignChecker API commands you can use in the Tcl file, refer
to DesignChecker API Reference Manual.
addDCExclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
enablePragmaExclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
getBlackBoxFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
getLibraryDCConstraintsFile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
getPolicyLocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
getRulesetLocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
setBlackBoxFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
setLibraryDCConstraintsFile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
setPolicyLocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
setRulesetLocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
unsetDontTouchFile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
addDCExclusion
Sets up DesignChecker library or global constraints file by adding the necessary dc_exclude
command(s) to exclude selected library design unit(s), file(s) or line(s) from being checked by
the specified rule(s) or ruleset(s).
Usage
addDCExclusion -library <libraryName | * | all > (-design_unit <unitName | * | all> | -
source_file <path | * | all >) -start_line <lineNumber> -end_line <lineNumber>) -check
(<check1> <check2> <check3> ...) -comment <description>
Arguments
• -library <libraryName>
Specifies which library to exclude from.
• -design_unit <designUnit>
Specifies the design unit to be excluded.
• -source_file <sourceFile>
Specifies the source file to be excluded. Note that this argument accepts both relative and
full file paths. For relative paths, the path is relative to your current directory, or to the TCL
script where it is written in.
• -start_line <lineNumber>
Specifies the start line of the excluded range. Note that it only accepts integers. (Optional)
• -end_line <lineNumber>
Specifies the end line of the excluded range. Note that it only accepts a positive integer
greater than or equal the start_line.(Optional)
• -check <List<check>>
Specifies the rule or ruleset name(s) to be disabled. Note that they should be separated by
spaces.
• -comment <description>
Specifies the description/justification text that will be associated with the defined exclusion.
(Optional)
Examples
Exclude all design units of Library "UART" from "Allowed Constructs" base rule (and all its
configured rules)
addDCExclusion -library UART -design_unit {*} -check {Base Rules\Allow\

Allowed Constructs}
Exclude line 86 of source file "tester_flow.vhd" in library "UART" from "Sub-Program Body"
check
addDCExclusion -library UART -source_file {$HDS_HOME/examples/uart/hdl/

tester_flow.vhd} -start_line 86 -end_line 86 -check {RuleSets\Essentials\
Coding Practices\Sub-Program Body}
enablePragmaExclusions
Enables or disables the pragma exclusion feature for DesignChecker.
Usage
enablePragmaExclusions (yes_no)
Arguments
• yes_no
Required argument to enable/disable pragma exclusions feature. “1” for enabling pragma
exclusions feature and “0” for disabling the feature.
getBlackBoxFile
Gets the files marked as black-box for DesignChecker tasks.
Usage
getBlackBoxFile <library> <file 1> <file 2> <file 3>… [-diskPath | -libraryPath]
Arguments
• library:
Library name of the file(s) marked as black-box.
• file:
Path of the file for which you need to get black-box information (check -diskPath:, and -
libraryPath: options). Multiple files can be provided (separated by a white-space).
• -diskPath:
Default option. Accept absolute or relative file paths.
• -libraryPath:
Accepts file paths relative to the library HDL/HDS mappings.
Return Values
This command returns an empty string “ ” if the file has never been black-boxed before, “0” if
the file is not black-boxed but has been black boxed before, and “1” if the file is black-boxed.
Examples
Get black-box information for HDL file in "uart_txt" library providing the absolute path on disk
getBlackBoxFile "uart_txt" "$env(HDS_PROJECT_DIR)/uart_txt/hdl/

Get black-box information for two HDL files in "ethernet" library providing relative file paths
getBlackBoxFile "ethernet" "bench/verilog/tb_eth_behcomp.v" "bench/

Get black-box information for for graphics file in "sequencer_vhd" library providing the
relative file path
getBlackBoxFile "sequencer_vhd" "accumulator/flow.fc" -libraryPath
Get black-box information for all source HDL and graphics files for "accumulator" design unit
in "sequencer_vhd" library
eval getBlackBoxFile "sequencer_vhd" [getDesignUnitFiles

getLibraryDCConstraintsFile
Gets the path of DesignChecker library’s specific constraint Tcl file.
Usage
getLibraryDCConstraintsFile <library>
Arguments
• <library>
Library name for which to get the path of the associated constraints Tcl file.
getPolicyLocation
Gets the locations for DesignChecker policies.
Usage
getPolicyLocation ()
Arguments
NA
getRulesetLocation
Gets the location for DesignChecker rulesets.
Usage
getRulesetLocation ()
Arguments
NA
setBlackBoxFile
Marks file(s) as black-box for DesignChecker task.
Usage
setBlachBoxFile <library> <file 1> <file 2> <file 3>… [-diskPath | -libraryPath] [-justification
<comment>]
Arguments
• library:
Library name of the file(s) to be marked as black-box.
• file:
Path of the file to be marked as black-box (check -diskPath:, and -libraryPath: options).
Multiple files can be provided (separated by a white-space).
• -diskPath:
• -libraryPath:
• -justification <comment>:
Optional. Specifies a comment which explains why the file is marked as black-box.
Examples
Black-box HDL file in "uart_txt" library providing the absolute path on disk
setBlackBoxFile "uart_txt" "$env(HDS_PROJECT_DIR)/uart_txt/hdl/

Black-box two HDL files in "ethernet" library providing relative file paths
setBlackBoxFile "ethernet" "bench/verilog/tb_eth_behcomp.v" "bench/

Black-box graphics file in "sequencer_vhd" library providing relative file path
setBlackBoxFile "sequencer_vhd" "accumulator/flow.fc" -libraryPath -

justification "black-box 'flow' flow chart view"
Black-box all source HDL and graphics files for "accumulator" design unit in "sequencer_vhd"
library
eval setBlackBoxFile "sequencer_vhd" [getDesignUnitFiles

Related Topics
unsetBlackBoxFile
setLibraryDCConstraintsFile
Specifies the path of DesignChecker library’s specific constraint Tcl file.
Usage
setLibraryDCConstraintsFile <library> <path>
Arguments
• <library>
Library name for which to set the path of the associated constraints Tcl file.
• <path>
Path of DesignChecker library constraints Tcl file.
setPolicyLocation
Set the location for DesignChecker policies.
Usage
setPolicyLocation (location)
Arguments
• location:
Directory path beneath which the policies are located.
setRulesetLocation
Set the location for DesignChecker RuleSets.
Usage
setRulesetLocation (location)
Arguments
• location:
Directory path beneath which the rulesets are located.
unsetDontTouchFile
Unsets the dont touch property for file(s).
Usage
unsetDontTouchFile <library> <file 1> <file 2> <file 3>… [-diskPath | -libraryPath] [-tool
<tool 1> <tool 2> <tool 3>…]
Arguments
• library:
Library name of the file(s) to have the dont touch property unset for.
• file:
Path of the file to have the dont touch property unset for (check -diskPath:, and -libraryPath:
options). Multiple files can be provided (separated by a white-space).
• -diskPath:
• -libraryPath:
• -tool <tool 1> <tool 2> <tool 3>…:
Specifies tools to unmark this file as dont touch for. This argument is optional. Multiple
tools can be specified. They could be one of the following:
ALL All the tools. This is the default value.
H2G Conversion to graphics
GENERATION Generation
VHDL_CONFIGURATION_GENERATION VHDL configuration generation
ALL_PLUGINS All the downstream plug-ins (any plug-in
which outputs files to downstream mapping).
SIMULATION_PLUGINS All simulation plug-ins
SYNTHESIS_PLUGINS All synthesis plug-ins
DESIGNCHECKER DesignChecker plug-in
PLUGIN:<downstream plug-in name> A specific downstream plug-in. Example"
"PLUGIN:QuestaSim Compiler".
Examples
Remove dont touch property for HDL file in "uart_txt" library providing the absolute path on
disk
unsetDontTouchFile "uart_txt" "$env(HDS_PROJECT_DIR)/uart_txt/hdl/

Remove dont touch property for two HDL files in "ethernet" library
unsetDontTouchFile "ethernet" "bench/verilog/tb_eth_behcomp.v" "bench/

Remove dont touch property for a HDL file in "ethernet" library for Generation and
DesignChecker
unsetDontTouchFile "ethernet" "bench/verilog/tb_eth_behcomp.v" -

libraryPath -tool GENERATION DESIGNCHECKER
Remove dont touch property for graphics file in "sequencer_vhd" library
unsetDontTouchFile "sequencer_vhd" "accumulator/flow.fc" -libraryPath
Related Topics
setDontTouchFile
Block Diagram Commands

This section lists batch flow APIs that create and manage HDS Block Diagrams.
addCmpInst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
addGenParam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
addModuleWareCmp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
addNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
addPortIO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
changeInstPMFUserText . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
closeBDBatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
connectCmpPortToNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
connectNetToInstPMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
createBD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
createEmbeddedBlock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
enablePortMapFrame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
layoutDiagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
openBDBatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
save . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
setCptGenParam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
setMWCmpParam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
addCmpInst
Creates a component instance in the current active Block Diagram window.
Usage
addCmpInst <instName> <library> <component>
Arguments
• <instName>:
Name of the new instance you want to create from the component in the Block Diagram.
• <library>:
Name of the library that contains the instantiated component.
• <component>:
Name of the component you want to instantiate.
Note
If you use this API command in HDL Designer interactive mode, ensure that a Block
Diagram window is active using “setActiveWindow” API command. Note that if you are
creating a Block Diagram using “createBD” API command, the Block Diagram window opens
and is automatically set as active.
If you use this API command in batch mode, ensure that a Block Diagram document is open in
memory using “openBDBatch” API command.
Related Topics
connectCmpPortToNet
setCptGenParam
enablePortMapFrame
connectNetToInstPMF
changeInstPMFUserText
addGenParam
Creates a new generic/parameter for the current active Block Diagram.
Usage
addGenParam <name> [value] [comment] [type] [pragma]
Arguments
• <name>:
Name of the generic/parameter you want to create.
• [value]:
Initial value for the generic/parameter. This argument is required for Verilog parameters.
• [comment]:
"End of line" comment for the generic/parameter.
• [type]:
Data type of the VHDL generic. This argument applies to VHDL block diagrams only. If
you do not specify this argument, the genericis created with type "Integer".
• [pragma]:
This is a boolean that takes the value “1” to create a VHDL pragma. This argument is
ignored for Verilog parameters.
Note
Related Topics
setCptGenParam
addModuleWareCmp
Creates an instance of the ModuleWare model you specify.
Usage
addModuleWareCmp <instName> <model>
Arguments
• <instName>:
Name of the instance you want to create from the ModuleWare component.
• <model>:
Name of the ModuleWare component you want to instantiate.
Note
Related Topics
setMWCmpParam
addNet
Adds a new net in the current active Block Diagram window.
Usage
addNet <name> <bounds> <type>
Arguments
• <name>:
Name of the new net to create.
• <bounds>:
Dimensions of the net.
• <type>:
Data type of the net.
Note
addPortIO
Converts previously created NET to PORTIO with the specified mode.
Usage
addPortIO <mode> <name>
Arguments
• <mode>:
Mode of the port. This argument accepts one of the following values:
o input
o in
o output
o out
o inout
o buffer
This argument is case insensitive.
• <name>:
Name of the existing net to convert to port.
Note
Related Topics
addNet
Changes the Port Map Frame (PMF) user text for the instance you specify.
Usage
changeInstPMFUserText <instName> <text>
Arguments
• <instName>:
Name of the component instance for which you want to change the PMF user text.
• <text>:
New text for the instance’s PMF user text.
Note
Examples
Change the PMF text for the component instance U_1
::BDAPI::changeInstPMFUserText U_1 "addr = addr"
Related Topics
addCmpInst
enablePortMapFrame
connectNetToInstPMF
closeBDBatch
Closes the Block Diagram that is currently open in batch mode.
Usage
closeBDBatch
Parameters
• None
Related Topics
openBDBatch
connectCmpPortToNet
Connects the port of the component instance to a net you specify. You can optionally specify a
net slice.
Usage
connectCmpPortToNet <instName> <formalPort> <actualNet> [actualSlice]
Arguments
• <instName>:
Name of the component instance where the port will be connected.
• <formalPort>:
Name of the port you want to connect.
• <actualNet>:
Name of the net to connect to the specified port.
• [actualSlice]:
Name of the slice of the specified net to connect to the port.
Note
Related Topics
addCmpInst
connectNetToInstPMF
Connects the Port Map Frame (PMF) of the component instance to the net you specify. You can
optionally specify a net slice.
Usage
connectNetToInstPMF <instName> <actualNet> [actualSlice]
Arguments
• <instName>:
Name of the component instance where the PMF will be connected to an existing net.
• <actualNet>:
Name of the net to connect to the instance PMF.
• [actualSlice]:
The slice of the specified net to connect to the instance PMF.
Note
Related Topics
addCmpInst
enablePortMapFrame
createBD
Creates a structure diagram and defines its library, name, and dialect.
Usage
createBD <library> <name> <dialect>
Arguments
• <library>:
Name of an existing library where the new block diagram will be created.
• <name>:
Design unit name of the block diagram.
• <dialect>:
Language dialect of the block diagram. For example, VHDL_2008.
Note
If you use this API command in HDL Designer interactive mode, the Block Diagram is
opened and set as the active window.
If you use this API command in batch mode, the Block Diagram is created on disk and does not
open in memory. You can use “openBDBatch” API command to open the created Block
Diagram in memory.
Related Topics
layoutDiagram
save
createEmbeddedBlock
Creates an embedded text block with RTL text that you define.
Usage
createEmbeddedBlock <rtlText>
Arguments
• <rtlText>:
RTL text of the embedded text block.
Note
enablePortMapFrame
Enables Port Map Frame for the instance you specify and changes the connectByName option.
Usage
enablePortMapFrame <instName> <connectByName>
Arguments
• <instName>:
Name of the component instance where the PMF will be enabled.
• <connectByName>:
This is a boolean value that takes “1” to set the connectByName option and “0” to unset the
connectByName option.
Note
Related Topics
addCmpInst
connectNetToInstPMF
layoutDiagram
Lays out the current active Block Diagram window.
Usage
layoutDiagram
Arguments
• None
Note
Related Topics
createBD
openBDBatch
Opens a Block Diagram document in memory in batch mode.
Usage
openBDBatch <LibraryName> <BDName>
Arguments
• <LibraryName>:
Name of the library containing the Block Diagram document.
• <BDName>:
Name of the Block Diagram document to open.
Note
You must use the API command “closeBDBatch” to close the Block Diagram document
after performing all batch operations.
Related Topics
closeBDBatch
save
Saves the current active Block Diagram window.
Usage
save
Arguments
• None
Note
Using this API command in HDL Designer interactive mode saves the active Block
Diagram. On the other hand, using this API command in batch mode saves the open Block
Diagram document.
Related Topics
createBD
setCptGenParam
Sets a value of generic/parameter mapping in the component instance you specify.
Usage
setCptGenParam <instName> <genName> <newValue>
Arguments
• <instName>:
Name of the component instance where the generic/parameter mapping will be set.
• <genName>:
Name of the generic/parameter mapping for which to set the value.
• <newValue>:
The new value of the generic/parameter you specify.
Note
Examples
Set the value of generic mapping "gen1" for the instance U_1
::BDAPI::setCptGenParam U_1 gen1 "1^1"
Related Topics
addGenParam
addCmpInst
setMWCmpParam
setMWCmpParam
Sets a parameter value for the ModuleWare component instance you specify.
Usage
setMWCmpParam <instName> <paramName> <paramValue>
Arguments
• <instName>:
Name of the Modulware component instance where the parameter value will be set.
• <paramName>:
Name of the parameter for which to set the value.
• <paramValue>:
The new value of the parameter you specify.
Note
Examples
Set a new value of the parameter "value" for the moduleware component
"CMP_TIE_s_ones_31dt0"
::BDAPI::addModuleWareCmp CMP_TIE_s_ones_31dt0 constval

::BDAPI::setMWCmpParam CMP_TIE_s_ones_31dt0 value
"11111111111111111111111111111111"
Related Topics
addModuleWareCmp
setCptGenParam
HDL2Graphics Commands
This section lists predefined HDL2Graphics commands.
runH2G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
runHdlImport. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
runHtmlExport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
setupH2G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
setupHdlImport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
setupHtmlExport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
runH2G
Converts specified text declarations to graphics. Uses options set by setupH2G.
Usage
runH2G hierarchyType library file primary secondary
Arguments
• hierarchyType:
Type SINGLE | HIERARCHY.
• library:
Library name.
• file:
File path, relative to the library HDL mapping.
• primary:
Primary HDL declaration (VHDL entity or verilog module).
• secondary:
Secondary HDL declaration (VHDL architecture).
Examples
Converting all units of library UART_TXT to graphics
runH2G SINGLE UART_TXT "" "" ""
Converting the hierarchy beneath UART_TXT.uart_tb to graphics
runH2G HIERARCHY UART_TXT uart_tb.v uart_tb ""
Related Topics
setupH2G
runHdlImport
Imports HDL files to a new or an existing library. Options set by setupHdlImport are used.
Usage
runHdlImport <library> [<path to file 1> … <path to file n>] [-filelist <path to filelist>] [-
useSpecifiedLibraries] [-copy | -point] [-clean | -subDirectory]
Arguments
• <library>:
The name of the target library where files are imported. It could be an empty string. If an
empty string is provided (and no library specified in filelist), the project's default library is
used if -copy option is supplied and a made-up library name is used if -point option is
supplied. If the library does not exist, it is automatically created at the libraries root
directory preference (see setLibrariesRootDirectory).
• <path to file 1> … <path to file n>:
File paths to be imported. File paths can be specified relative to the current working
directory.
• -filelist <path to file-list>:
Imports a list of files specified in a filelist (see HDS User Manual for filelist format). Filelist
path can be specified relative to the current working directory.
• -useSpecifiedLibraries:
This option forces the import process to use the library(ies) specified in the file list or the
default library (as appropriate) when importing files. If this option is not used, the import
process will infer in which libraries the VHDL files belong by parsing “library”, “use” and
instance statements. New libraries will be created if necessary.
• -copy:
Imports the files by copying them to the target library HDL mapping. This option is the
default.
• -point:
Imports the files by pointing the library HDL mapping to them. If the target library is
already created, the HDL mapping must by enclosing all the files to import.
• -clean:
Applicable only when -point option is supplied. If the target library already exists, it cleans
the HDS mapping specified by the libraries root directory preference (see
setLibrariesRootDirectory) if it is not empty.
• -subDirectory {<library 1> <directory 1>} {<library 2> <directory 2>} ... :
Applicable only when -copy option is supplied. Specify a sub-directory (relative to library's
HDL mapping) to have the files copied to. If nothing specified, files are copied to target
libraries' HDL mapping directory.
Examples
Importing files by pointing to them (without copying)
runHdlImport "mylib" "d:/mydesign/file1.v" "d:/mydesign/file2.v" -point -

clean
Importing files specified in a file-list by copying them to the target library location
runHdlImport "mylib" -filelist "d:/mydesign/components/filelist.txt" -

copy
Importing a set of files specified in a Tcl list
set files {{d:/mydesign/file1.v} {d:/mydesign/file2.v}}

eval runHdlImport {""} $files -point -clean
Related Topics
setupHdlImport
runHtmlExport
Run the HTML export on the given design object. Uses options set by setupHtmlExport.
Usage
runHtmlExport (library unit view file)
Arguments
• library:
Library name.
• unit:
Design unit name.
• view:
View name for graphics or secondary declaration name for HDL (VHDL architecture).
View name can be left empty when exporting primary unit files (e.g. graphical symbol).
• file:
File path, relative to the library HDS/HDL mapping.
Examples
Run HTML Export for Block Diagram view "struct" of design unit UART.uart_top
runHtmlExport UART uart_top struct uart_top/struct.bd
Run HTML Export for Symbol view of design unit UART_V.uart_tb
runHtmlExport UART_V uart_tb "" uart_tb/symbol.sb
setupH2G
Set up the options for runHG2.
Usage
setupH2G (args)
Arguments
• args:
Option names and values.
View Styles Options:
• createAltSmFlowChart ON|OFF (ON):
If a State Diagram view cannot be created, create a FlowChart view instead.
• createBlockDiagram ON|OFF (ON):
Create a structural Block Diagram view.
• createFlowChart ON|OFF (OFF):
Create a Flow Chart view.
• createIBD ON|OFF (OFF):
Create an IBD view.
• createLeafBlockDiagram ON|OFF (OFF):
Create a leaf level Block Diagram view.
• createStateDiagram ON|OFF (OFF):
Create a State Diagram view.
• createSymbolAlways ON|OFF (OFF):
Create a symbol even if no view styles are selected.
General Options:
• overwrite ON|OFF (OFF):
If a graphical view already exists, overwrite it.
• copyOnOverwrite ON|OFF (OFF):
Copy a view before overwriting it.
• searchLibraries <libraries>:
Search for black box components in these libraries.
• setDefaultView ON|OFF (ON):
Set graphical views as default.
• setLibrary <unit> <library>:

Specify a library for a black box component.
• verbose ON|OFF (OFF):
Display additional information during conversion.
• setCreateForGenerate ON|OFF (ON):
Create graphical views rather than visualizations.
Block Diagram Options:
• assignmentShape RECTANGLE|BUFFER (RECTANGLE):
Specify the shape of concurrent assignments, if extracted.
• connectEmbedded ON|OFF (OFF):
Create signals between embedded blocks.
• createEmbeddedStateDiagram ON|OFF (OFF):
Create embedded state machines if possible.
• defaultInstanceView ON|OFF (OFF):
Apply to instances in preference to a specified view.
• diagramTextVisibility NONE|ALL|PREFS (NONE):
Specify the visibility of text associated with the diagram.
• extractAssignments ON|OFF (OFF):
Create separate embedded blocks for concurrent assignments.
• instanceLimit <positive integer> (1000):
Maximum number of instances allowed in a Block Diagram.
• netTextVisibility NONE|PORT_ONLY|ALL|PREFS (PORT_ONLY):
Specify the visibility of text associated with nets.
• portTextVisibility NONE|NAME_ONLY|NAME_AND_TYPE|PREFS (PREFS):
Specify the visibility of text associated with PortIO.
Placement Options:
• instanceAutoSize WIDTH|HEIGHT|WIDTH_AND_HEIGHT|NONE
(WIDTH_AND_HEIGHT):
Size component instances to fit the visible text.
• placementLimit <positive integer> (50):
Maximum number of auto-placed instances.
• preservePlacement ON|OFF (OFF):
Preserve placement of existing diagrams.
Routing Options:
• alignPorts ON|OFF (ON):
Align port I/O with connections.
• bundleLimit <positive integer> (5):
Maximum number of signals allowed in a bundle.
• bundleSignals DIRECT|INDIRECT|NONE (NONE):
Bundle signals between nodes.
• busReconstruct ON|OFF (OFF):
Reconstruct buses for signal slices.
• connectionLimit <positive integer>:
Maximum number of connections allowed for a net.
• globalConnectors ON|OFF (ON):
Create global connectors for global signals.
• movePorts ON|OFF (ON):
Allow connector end points to move during routing.
• routeSignals ON|OFF (ON):
Connect and route signals on the diagram.
• useDefaults:
Set all options to default values. Default values are shown in brackets, above.
Examples
Set up the Convert to Graphics operation to create leaf level Block Diagram, Flow Chart, State
Diagram views and to use the default values for other H2G options.
setupH2G -createLeafBlockDiagram ON -createFlowChart ON -

createStateDiagram ON –useDefaults
Related Topics
runH2G
setupHdlImport
Set up the options for runHdlImport.
Usage
setupHdlImport [-useDefaults] [-overwrite (ON | OFF)] [-importReferencedText (ON | OFF)] [-
importDirectoryStructure (ON | OFF)] [-defaultLanguage (VHDL | Verilog | UNKNOWN)]
[-defaultVhdlDialect (VHDL_ANY | VHDL_87 | VHDL_93 | VHDL_2002 | VHDL_2008)]
[-defaultVerilogDialect (VERILOG_ANY | VERILOG_95 | VERILOG_2001 |
SYSTEM_VERILOG_2002)]
Arguments
• -useDefaults:
Sets all options to default values. Default values are shown in brackets, above.
• -overwrite:
Overwrite existing files.
• -importReferencedText:
Reference files from their original location instead of copying.
• -importDirectoryStructure:
Imports directory structure of source files.
• -defaultLanguage:
Specifies the language of source files with unrecognized extensions. Use UNKNOWN to
import non-HDL files.
• -defaultVhdlDialect:
Sets the specific VHDL dialect that will be used during import. Its default value is
VHDL_ANY. If set to default, HDS will auto detect the dialect during the import operation.
• -defaultVerilogDialect:
Sets the specific verilog dialect that will be used during import. Its default value is
VERILOG_ANY. If set to default, HDS will auto detect the dialect during the import
operation. Note that if set to SYSTEM_VERILOG_2002, HDS will import the files as
System Verilog and if set to VERILOG_2001, HDS will import the files as Verilog 2005.
Examples
Set up an HDL import for the library “mylib” to create a directory called “import” beneath
library HDL mapping to contain the imported files as well as creating references to the imported
files instead of copying them. Also, keep the same directory structure for imported files and use
the default values for other HDL import options.
setupHdlImport -setTargetDirectory mylib import -importReferencedText ON -

importDirectoryStructure OFF –useDefaults
Related Topics
runHdlImport
setupHtmlExport
Set up the options for runHTMLExport.
Usage
setupHtmlExport (args)
Arguments
• args:
Option names and values.
HTML Settings:
• -reset_defaults:
Reset all options back to their defaults.
• -export_directory <path>:
Target directory for export.
• -hierarchy_levels ALL|<number> (ALL):
Levels of hierarchy to descend.
• -export_visualizations ON|OFF (ON):
Switch to creation of visualization.
• -include_doc_types ALL|<doc_types> (ALL):
Add a list of document types to include in the export (see the Documentation and
Visualization Options dialog box for document type names).
• -include_only_doc_types:
Make these document types the only ones included for export. More types can be added
with subsequent include_doc_types calls (see the Documentation and Visualization Options
dialog box for document type names).
• -export_all_ict ON|OFF:
Switch to export all ICT views.
• -export_generated ON|OFF (ON):
Switch to export generated files.
• -export_sidedata_files ALL|REGISTERED (ALL):
Set the types of sidedata files to export.
• -export_sidedata_type USER|DESIGN|ALL|NONE (ALL):
Set the types of sidedata to export.
• -title_page AUTO|<path> (AUTO):
Set the path to the title page to use.
• -index_page AUTO|<page> (AUTO):

Set the index page name.
Graphics Settings:
• -graphics_format JPEG|PNG|SVG (SVG):
Set the format to use when exporting graphics.
• -jpeg_quality <1- 100> (100):
Quality to use for JPEG graphics.
• -graphics_size <1- 100> (100):
Percentage size for graphics.
Related Topics
runHtmlExport
Batch Mode Tasks
Batch Mode Tasks

This section describes the following batch mode tasks.
Use these commands to set up and run tasks in batch mode.
When specifying a task, be aware that it is a tcl list, with each element of the list being a level of
hierarchy
As each element is separated with whitespace, be sure to escape whitespace that is part of a task
name
For example, if you have a flow arranged like this:
Flow 1
|--- Tool A
|--- Tool B
|--- Flow 2
|--- Tool C
|--- Tool D
This refers to "Flow 1" : {Flow\ 1}
This refers to "Tool A" : {Flow\ 1 Tool\ A}
This refers to "Tool D" : {Flow\ 1 Flow\ 2 Tool\ D}
runTask. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
setCompileAlways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
setupTask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Batch Mode Tasks
runTask
Run a task.
Usage
runTask
Arguments
• <taskName>:
Specify the task run. Must be specified.
• [library [unit [view [pathName] ] ] ]:
Specifies the view to run the task on. If none are specified uses design root.
• user:
If HDS finds a user and a team task with the same name, pick the user task. This is the
default.
• team:
If HDS finds a user and a team task with the same name, pick the team task.
Examples
Running DesignChecker on Verilog view "asm" for "xmit_rcv_control" design unit.
runTask DesignChecker "uart_v" "xmit_rcv_control" "xmit_rcv_control"

"xmit_rcv_control/asm.am"
Batch Mode Tasks
setCompileAlways
Enable or disable incremental compilation for all incremental compilers.
Usage
setCompileAlways (enable)
Arguments
• enable:
ON|OFF: Set the global compile always switch (defaults to off)
Batch Mode Tasks
setupTask
Set up options for a task.
Usage
setupTask (args)
Arguments
• <taskName>:
Specify the task to apply these set up options to. Must be specified.
• setting <name> <value>:
Changes the value of the setting given by <name> on the specified task.
• single:
Changes the hierarchy depth to be used when running the task to single level. This option is
not applied to SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant.
• hierarchical:
Changes the hierarchy depth to be used when running the task to hierarchy through blocks.
This option is not applied to SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant.
• throughCpt:
Changes the hierarchy depth to be used when running the task to hierarchy through
components. This option is not applied to SystemVerilog-VHDL Assistant.
• user:
If HDS finds a user and a team task with the same name, pick the user task. This is the
default.
• team:
If HDS finds a user and a team task with the same name, pick the team task.
Examples
Set up “ModelSim Compile” Task to always compile even if no changes have been made.
setupTask {ModelSim\ Compile} -setting compAlways 1
Set up “Precision Synthesis Prepare Data” Task to use safe FSM mode.
setupTask {Precision\ Synthesis Precision\ Synthesis\ Prepare\ Data} -

setting safeFsm 1
Generation Commands
Generation Commands
This section described the following generation commands.
runConfigGenerate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
runGenerate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
setupGenerate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Generation Commands
runConfigGenerate
Generate VHDL configuration files for the specified graphical objects. Uses options set by
setupGenerate.
Usage
runConfigGenerate (library entity arch)
Arguments
• library (= {}):
Library name.
• entity (= {}):
Design unit name for graphics.
• arch (= {}):
View name (file name without extension) for graphics file.
Generation Commands
runGenerate
Generate HDL for the specified graphical objects. Uses options set by setupGenerate.
Usage
runGenerate (library entity arch)
Arguments
• library (= {}):
Library name. (If you want to generate a whole library, then specify this value only).
• entity (= {}):
• arch (= {}):
Examples
Generating HDL for "asm" view for "xmit_rcv_control" design unit.
runGenerate "UART_V" "xmit_rcv_control" "asm.am"
Generation Commands
setupGenerate
Set up options for runGenerate and runConfigGenerate.
Usage
setupGenerate (args)
Arguments
• useDefaults:
Using this value will allow you to override your preference values to the following.
• generateAlways ON|OFF:
Always generate even if no changes have been made. Default (OFF).
• semanticChecking ON|OFF:
Default (ON).
• semanticWarnings ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• tabWidth (POSITIVE INTEGER):
Default (3).
• autoTypeConversion NONE | CONV_FUNC_ONLY | FULL>:
Default (FULL).
• combineEntityArch ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• embedConfigStatements ON|OFF:
Default (ON).
• embedViewNameInConfig ON|OFF:
Default (ON).
• embedViewNameInConfig ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• hierarchicalConfigSpecification ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• thruCptsConfigSpecification ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• synopsysPragmasForEmbeddedConfig ON|OFF:
Default (ON).
Generation Commands
• single:
This is the default.
• hierarchical:
Goes down through blocks.
• throughCpt:
Goes down through blocks and components.
• genericsInConfig ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• workAsLibInConfig ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• leafInConfig ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• viewInStandaloneConfig ON|OFF:
Default (OFF).
• customCodeGen ON|OFF:
Default (OFF). If you require a flat configuration file, when using runConfigGenerate
specify -hierarchicalConfigSpecification and -thruCptsConfigSpecification with OFF.
• useDefaultCustomCodeScript ON|OFF:
Default (ON). Specify whether you want to use the default custom code script.
• includeVhdlGenProps ON|OFF:
Include generation properties after header in generated VHDL.
• includeVerilogGenProps ON|OFF:
Include generation properties after header in generated Verilog.
Examples
Setting up the Generation operation to go down through blocks and components, combine
VHDL entity and architecture in generated files, use conversion functions for type conversion,
always generate even if no changes have been made, use VHDL 93 style to generate end
statements and the default values for other generation options.
setupGenerate -throughCpt -combineEntityArch ON -autoTypeConversion

conv_func_only -generateAlways ON -vhdlEndStmtStyle VHDL_93 -useDefaults
Related Topics
runGenerate
runConfigGenerate
Library Commands
Library Commands
This section describes the following library commands.
addLibraryMapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
getLibrariesRootDirectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
getLibraryMacroDefinitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
getLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
library names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
library open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
refreshLibraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
setLibrariesRootDirectory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
setLibraryMacroDefinitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
setLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Library Commands
addLibraryMapping
Adds (or changes) a library mapping and sets the library type and mode. Project file is edited
and saved.
Usage
addLibraryMapping <library> [-hdl <path>] [-hds <path>] [-downstream <path>] [-regular | -
protected] [-all | -specified]
Arguments
• library:
Library name to add or change mapping(s) for.
• -hdl <path>:
Adds (or changes) the HDL mapping and make it points to <path> location.
• -hds <path>:
Adds (or changes) the HDS mapping and make it points to <path> location.
• -downstream <path>:
Adds (or changes) a downstream mapping <mapping name> (example: ModelSim,
QuestaSim, DesignChecker, etc.) and make it points to <path> location.
• -regular:
Sets the library type to Regular. This option is the default.
• -protected:
Sets the library type to Protected.
• -all:
Sets the library mode to All. This option is the default.
• -specified:
Sets the library mode to Specified.
Examples
Adding a new HDL & HDS mappings for a library named "mylib"
addLibraryMapping "mylib" -hdl "d:/mydesign" -hds "d:/libraries/mylib/hds"

-all
Adding a downstream mapping for "ModelSim Compile" task
addLibraryMapping "mylib" -downstream ModelSim "d:/libraries/mylib/work"
Changing the library type to Protected
Library Commands
addLibraryMapping "mylib" -protected
Library Commands
getLibrariesRootDirectory
Gets the default root directory location for libraries' HDL and HDS mappings. The default root
directory is used when there is no specific location specified for HDL or HDS mappings.
Mappings directories are created under "<libraries root directory>/<library name>".
Usage
Arguments
None
Examples
Printing the default libraries root directory
puts "Libraries default root directory: [getLibrariesRootDirectory]"
Related Topics
setLibrariesRootDirectory
Library Commands
getLibraryMacroDefinitions
Gets the library macro definitions.
Usage
getLibraryMacroDefinitions <library> [-exact]
Arguments
• <library>:
Library name to get the macro definitions for.
• -exact:
Return the exact macro definitions strings.
Examples
Printing the list of macro definitions for "mylib" library
set libMacros [getLibraryMacroDefinitions "mylib"]

foreach macro $libMacros {
puts "Macro: $macro"
}
Getting the current exact macros string
set libMacros [getLibraryMacroDefinitions "mylib" -exact]
Append new macro definition to the currently defines ones
setLibraryMacroDefinitions "mylib" "$libMacros +define+WIDTH=8"
Related Topics
setLibraryMacroDefinitions
Library Commands
Gets the library Verilog include search path.
Usage
getLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath <library>
Arguments
• <library>:
Library name to get the search path for.
Examples
Printing the list of directories specified in the Verilog include search path for "mylib" library set
library "mylib"
set libSearchPath [getLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath $library]

puts "Directories in library '$library' include search path..."
foreach dir $libSearchPath {
puts "Include directory: $dir"
}
Related Topics
Library Commands
library names
Obtains the names of all libraries in the project.
Usage
library names ()
Arguments
• entity (= {}):
• arch (= {}):
Return Values
List of library names.
Library Commands
library open
Opens a library so its content can be examined.
Usage
library open (libraryName)
Arguments
• libraryName:
The library to open.
Return Values
The library object.
See “library object commands” on page 156.
Library Commands
refreshLibraries
Refreshes libraries by reloading files from the machine. You can use this command to refresh
current opened libraries, the whole project libraries, or library names you have chosen.
Usage
refreshLibraries (args)
Arguments
• args
An argument that accepts one of the following values: -opened | -project | {-libraries
<library names>}
Library Commands
Sets the default root directory location for libraries' HDL and HDS mappings. The default root
directory is used when there is no specific location specified for HDL or HDS mappings.
Mappings directories are created under "<libraries root directory>/<library name>".
Usage
setLibrariesRootDirectory <directory>
Arguments
• <directory>:
Directory path where libraries mapping created underneath by default.
Examples
Setting the libraries default root directory preference
setLibrariesRootDirectory "d:/design/libraries"
Importing some files to a library that does not exist
runHdlImport "newlib" "d:/design/file1.v" "d:/design/file2.v"
Mappings (HDL and HDS) for library "newlib" are created at "d:/design/libraries/newlib"
Related Topics
Library Commands
Sets the library macro definitions.
Usage
setLibraryMacroDefinitions <library> <macros>
Arguments
• <library>:
Library name to set the macro definitions for.
• <macros>:
Macro definitions (separated by white-space or new line). Example: "+define+WIDTH=16
+define+ADDRESS=1".
Examples
Setting the macro definitions for "mylib" library
setLibraryMacroDefinitions "mylib" "+define+WIDTH=16 +define+ADDRESS=1"
Related Topics
Library Commands
Sets the library Verilog include search path. The include search path is used to search for
included files. The default include search path is used if this library-specific search path is not
specified.
Usage
setLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath <library> <directories> [-start | -end]
Arguments
• <library>:
Library name to set the search path for.
• <directory>:
Search path directories (separated by ";"). Referencing environment variables and library
names (where $<library name> points to the library's HDL mapping) is allowed. Example:
"c:\my_includes;c:\design\includes".
• -start:
• -end:
Examples
Setting Verilog include search path for "mylib" library to path under the library's HDL mapping
setLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath "mylib" "\$mylib/includes"
Appending new directories to the Verilog include search path for "mylib" library
setLibraryVerilogIncludeSearchPath "mylib" "c:\my_includes;c:\design\

includes" -end
Related Topics
Version Management Commands

This section describes the following version management commands.
runVMChangeLock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
runVMCheckIn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
runVMCheckOut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
runVMGet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
runVMHistory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
runVMLabel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
runVMSynchronize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
runVMUndoCheckOut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
setupVM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
setupVMChangeLock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
setupVMCheckIn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
setupVMCheckOut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
setupVMGet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
setupVMHierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
setupVMLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
setupVMSynchronize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
runVMChangeLock
Change lock on a specified library, design unit, view. Uses options set by
setupVMChangeLock.
Usage
runVMChangeLock (args)
Arguments
• library:
The library name. This is required.
• view:
View name (optional, absent if design unit not specified).
runVMCheckIn
Check in a specified library, design unit, view. Uses options set by setupVMCheckIn.
Usage
runVMCheckIn (args)
Arguments
• library:
• designUnit:
Design unit name (optional).
• view:
runVMCheckOut
Check out a specified library, design unit, view. Uses options set by setupVMCheckOut.
Usage
runVMCheckOut (args)
Arguments
• library:
• designUnit:
• view:
runVMGet
Get a specified library, design unit, view. Uses options set by setupVMGet.
Usage
runVMGet (args)
Arguments
• library:
• designUnit:
• view:
runVMHistory
Get the history of a specified library, design unit, view.
Usage
runVMHistory (args)
Arguments
• library:
• designUnit:
• view:
runVMLabel
Label a specified library, design unit, view. Uses options set by setupVMLabel.
Usage
runVMLabel (args)
Arguments
• library:
• designUnit:
• view:
runVMSynchronize
Synchronize a specified library, design unit, view. Uses options set by setupVMSynchronize.
Usage
runVMSynchronize (args)
Arguments
• library:
• designUnit:
• view:
runVMUndoCheckOut
Undo the check out of a specified library, design unit, view.
Usage
runVMUndoCheckOut (args)
Arguments
• library:
• designUnit:
• view:
setupVM
Set up the options for Version Management.
Usage
setupVM (option arg)
Arguments
• option:
Option name.
• tool <string>:
The version management interface required.
• library <string>:
Specify the library on which you want to invoke these options (this is only necessary if you
want to set the repository mappings).
• repository <string>:
Specify the repository mapping.
• hds_repository <string>:
Specify the hds repository mapping.
• hdl_repository <string>:
The hdl repository mapping.
• include_default_view 1|0:
You can choose to version manage the default view file.
• include_side_data 1|0:
Side data for a version managed object is included.
• verbose 1|0:
Additional info is displayed in the log window.
• create_empty_side_data 1|0:
Automatically create side data directories if they do not exist.
• multiple_repository_mode 1|0:
Repository is defined on a mapping by mapping basis.
• include_generated_hdl 1|0:
Generated HDL for a version managed object is included.
setupVMChangeLock
Set up the change lock options for Version Management.
Usage
setupVMChangeLock (option arg)
Arguments
• option:
Option name.
• version <string>:
The version required.
• change_lock 1|0:
When you lock an object, the version in your private workspace is made editable. If you
unlock an object, the version in your workspace is made read-only.
setupVMCheckIn
Set up the check-in options for Version Management.
Usage
setupVMCheckIn (option arg)
Arguments
• option:
Option name.
• label <string>:
You can specify a symbolic label which is associated with a particular set of objects.
• description <string>:
Specify a description for the check in.
• overwrite_label 1|0:
Transfer the label to the new version number.
• retain_lock 1|0:
You can choose to retain a lock on the checked in objects.
setupVMCheckOut
Set up the check-out options for Version Management.
Usage
setupVMCheckOut (option arg)
Arguments
• option:
Option name.
• lock 1|0:
The objects are normally checked out with a lock to prevent concurrent editing by other
users but you can choose to unset this option.
• comment <string>:
If you are using ClearCase, you can enter a comment in the description field.
setupVMGet
Set up the Get options for Version Management.
Usage
setupVMGet (option arg)
Arguments
• option:
Option name.
• overwrite 1|0:
setupVMHierarchy
Set up the hierarchy options for Version Management.
Usage
setupVMHierarchy (option arg)
Arguments
• option:
Option name.
• hierarchy 1|0:
Include the hierarchy below the selected object.
• through_components 1|0:
If hierarchy selected, then include components.
• through_libraries 1|0:
You can choose to limit the scope to the current library or operate on objects through all
libraries.
• include_protected_libraries 1|0:
Include objects in protected libraries.
• packages 1|0:
Automatically include referenced VHDL packages or Verilog include files.
• -current_design_only 1|0:
Version Management operations on a parent design unit will run on the specified view for
each instance. If no view is specified, they will run on the default view.
setupVMLabel
Set up the label options for Version Management.
Usage
setupVMLabel (option arg)
Arguments
• option:
Option name.
• label <string>:
Specify the required label.
• add 1|0:
Add or remove the label.
• overwrite 1|0:
• description:
Specify a description for the label.
setupVMSynchronize
Set up the Synchronize options for Version Management.
Usage
setupVMSynchronize (option arg)
Arguments
• option:
Option name.
• add_files 1|0:
If this option is not set, only objects that already exist are synchronized.
Dynamically Created Commands
Dynamically Created Commands

This section lists dynamically created commands.
HDS objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Command List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
embeddedFrame object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
file object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
frameConfiguration object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
instance object commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
machineFrame object commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
packageHeader object commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Command List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Command Structure
A dynamically created Tcl command consists of an HDS object or a variable holding the value
of a handle to that object. The object is followed by an option possibly followed by one or more
arguments and is written according to the following format:
HDS object /Option/?Arguments
HDS objects
HDS objects
HDS Objects listing:
architecture forFrame
block frameConfiguration
blockFrame frame
caseFrame ifFrame
configuration instance
declaration library
elseFrame machineFrame
embeddedFrame package Body
file
For example:
$lib configure class
The command in the above example is a library command; in other words the HDS object
referenced in this command is a library object. The variable $lib holds the value of a handle
referring to the UART library.
Variables are created using the standard Tcl set command. HDS refers to objects through a set
of handles.The pre-defined library open command returns a handle to the UART library that
substitutes the value of the lib variable.
A variable can hold the value of one or more handles referring to HDS objects i.e
set fl [$lib files]
While the variable $lib holds the value of the handle hds0 which refers to the library UART,
variable $fl holds the values of a set of handles referring to the UART library files.
Notice that variable names are always preceded by a $.
Option
Option
Options listing:
configure architecture
entity configuredChild
file close
frame instances declaration
packages files
configuredSubFrames hdlDirectory
subFrames packages
For example:
$lib configure class
All objects have a ‘configure’ command option, this provides access to the attributes of the
object. If you use the configure command with no arguments, it shows the names and values of
all the attributes. Note that each command may have one or more arguments.
Command List
Command listing:
architecture forframe
block frameConfiguration
blockFrame frame
caseFrame ifframe
configuration instance
declaration library
elseFrame machineFrame
embeddedFrame package Body
file
architecture object commands

Associated with an implementation of an entity. Corresponds to a VHDL architecture, a Verilog
module and an HDS structural or leaf graphics file.
Example:
• $architecture configure (args)

• $architecture entity ()
• $architecture file ()
• $architecture frame ()
• $architecture instances ()
• $architecture packages ()
Refer to the following table.
Table 2-1. architecture object commands
Command Description
$architecture configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
The following arguments are available:
class: identifies the object as an architecture
name: name of the declaration itself
fullName: fully qualified name including those of parent
objects
startLine: the line number where the declaration begins
in the source file
refName: Name that can be to refer to the object when
running tasks or accessing properties
$architecture entity () Gets the entity associated with the architecture. Refer to
“entity option object commands” on page 147.
Returns: The entity object.
$architecture file () Obtains the file containing the object.
Returns: A single object, refer to“file object commands”
on page 148.
$architecture frame () Obtains the root frame of the architecture. Refer to “frame
object commands” on page 151.
Returns: The root frame.
$architecture instances () Gets all the instances in all frames of the architecture.
Refer to “instance object commands” on page 155.
blockFrame object commands
Table 2-1. architecture object commands (cont.)

Command Description
$architecture packages () Obtains the packages referenced.
Returns: A list of packages, refer to “packageHeader
object commands” on page 159, or an empty list if the
declaration is not VHDL.

A VHDL block statement.
Example:
• $blockFrame configure (args)

• $blockFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $blockFrame instances ()
• $blockFrame subFrames ()
Table 2-2. blockFrame object commands
Command Description
$blockFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
With one argument lists the value of the specified
option.
class: identifies the object as a blockFrame
name:
$blockFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
(frameConfiguration) The following argument is available:
frameConfiguration: defines a level in a VHDL
configuration declaration from which the bindings
are selected
Returns: A list of sub-frame information, each
consecutive pair represents a frame and a
frameConfiguration in that order.
caseFrame object commands
Table 2-2. blockFrame object commands (cont.)

Command Description
$blockFrame instances () Obtains the component instances; Instances
contained within a sub-frame are not included.
Refer to “instance object commands” on page 155.
Returns: A list of instances.
$blockFrame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.
Returns: A list of sub-frames.

A VHDL ‘case generate'’ statement.
Example:
• $caseFrame configure (args)

• $caseFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $caseFrame instances ()
• $caseFrame subFrames ()
Table 2-3. caseFrame object commands
Command Description
$caseFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
class: identifies the object as a caseFrame
name:
$caseFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
are selected
configuration object commands
Table 2-3. caseFrame object commands (cont.)

Command Description
$caseFrame instances () Obtains the component instances, directly contained
within the frame. Instances contained within a sub-
frame are not included. Refer to “instance object
commands” on page 155.
$caseFrame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.

A VHDL configuration declaration.
Example:
• $configuration architecture ()
• $configuration configure (args)
• $configuration file ()
• $configuration frameConfiguration ()
• $configuration packages ()
Table 2-4. configuration object commands
Command Description
$configuration architecture () Gets the architecture associated with the
configuration. Refer to“architecture object
Returns: The architecture object.
declaration object commands
Table 2-4. configuration object commands (cont.)

Command Description
$configuration configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of
all options.
With one argument lists the value of the
specified option.
class : identifies the object as a configuration
name : name of the declaration itself
fullName : fully qualified name including those
of parent objects
startLine : the line number where the
declaration begins in the source file
refName : Name that can be to refer to the object
when running tasks or accessing properties
$configuration file () Obtain the file containing the object.
Returns: A single object. Refer to “file object
$configuration frameConfiguration () Gets the frame configuration associated with the
configuration, refer to “frameConfiguration
$configuration packages () Obtains the packages referenced.
Returns: A list of packages, refer to
“packageHeader object commands” on page 159,
or an empty list if the declaration is not VHDL.

Declaration object commands.
Example:
• $declaration configure (args)

• $declaration file ()
• $declaration packages ()
elseFrame object commands
Table 2-5. declaration object commands

Command Description
$declaration configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
fullName: fully qualified name including those of
parent objects
startLine: the line number where the declaration
begins in the source file
refName: Name that can be to refer to the object
class: identifies the object as a declaration
$declaration file () Obtains the file containing the object.
Returns: A single object, refer to “file object
$declaration packages () Obtains the packages referenced.
Returns: A list of packages, see “packageHeader
object commands” on page 159, or an empty list if
the declaration is not VHDL.

A VHDL ‘else generate’ statement or a Verilog ‘else.
Example:
• $elseFrame configure (args)

• $elseFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $elseFrame instances ()
• $elseFrame subFrames ()
embeddedFrame object commands
Table 2-6. elseFrame object commands

Command Description
$elseFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
class: identifies the object as an elseFrame
name:
$elseFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
are selected
$elseFrame instances () Obtains the component instances, refer to“instance
object commands” on page 155, directly contained
frame are not included.
$elseFrame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.

Represents an embedded text within a graphics file.
Example:
• $embeddedFrame configure (args)

• $embeddedFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $embeddedFrame instances ()
• $embeddedFrame subFrames ()
entity option object commands
Table 2-7. embeddedFrame object commands

Command Description
$embeddedFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values
of all options.
specified option.
class : identifies the object as an
embeddedFrame
name :
$embeddedFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
frameConfiguration: defines a level in a
VHDL configuration declaration from which
the bindings are selected
$embeddedFrame instances () Obtains the component instances, refer to
“instance object commands” on page 155,
directly contained within the frame. Instances
contained within a sub-frame are not included.
$embeddedFrame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.

Associated with the interface to a design unit. Corresponds to a VHDL entity, a Verilog module
and an HDS symbol or block interface file.
Example:
• $entity architecture (name)

• $entity configure (args)
• $entity file ()
• $entity packages ()
file object commands
Table 2-8. entity option object commands

Command Description
$entity architecture (name) Obtains the architecture for an entity.
name (= {})
The name of the architecture to find, if omitted uses the
default view settings to choose between alternative
architectures.
Returns: The matching architecture, refer to
$entity configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
class: identifies the object as an entity
fullName: fully qualified name including those of parent
objects
startLine: the line number where the declaration begins
in the source file
$entity file () Obtains the file containing the object.
Returns: A single object, refer to “file object commands”
on page 148.
$entity packages () Obtains the packages referenced.
Returns: A list of packages, see “packageHeader object
commands” on page 159, or an empty list if the
declaration is not VHDL.

File object commands.
Example:
• $file configure (args)

• $file declarations ()
• $file generated ()
• $file includes ()
• $file library ()
Table 2-9. file object commands
Command Description
$file configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
relativePathname: pathname relative to the library
mapping
language: HDL language
version: version checked out from the version
management system
timestamp: time the file was last modified
type: identifies the type of the file
designDir: The full hard pathname of the design side
data directory
userDir: The full hard pathname of the design side data
directory
class: identifies the object as a file
$file declarations () Obtains the declarations in the file.
Returns: A list of declaration objects.
$file generated () Gets the HDL file generated from the current file.
Returns: The file.
$file includes () Gets the include files.
Returns: A list of files or the empty list of the language
is not Verilog.
$file library () Gets the library containing the file.
Returns: The library.
forFrame object commands

A VHDL 'for generate' statement.
Example:
• $forFrame configure (args)

• $forFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $forFrame instances ()
• $forFrame subFrames ()
Table 2-10. forFrame object commands
Command Description
$forFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
leftBound:
rightBound:
class: identifies the object as a forFrame
name:
$forFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
are selected
$forFrame instances () Obtains the component instances, refer to “instance
$forFrame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.
frameConfiguration object commands

Represents a single level within the hierarchical structure of a VHDL configuration declaration,
see configurationRefApi.tcl. These objects have do little in themselves but are passed as
arguments to control the path through the design hierarchy.
Example:
• $frameConfiguration configure (args)

Table 2-11. frameConfiguration object commands
Command Description
$frameConfiguration configure With no arguments lists the names and values of all
(args) options.
option.
name:
class: identifies the object as a frameConfiguration
Related Topics
instance object commands
frame object commands

Frame object commands.
Example:
• $frame configure (args)

• $frame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $frame instances ()
• $frame subFrames ()
ifFrame object commands
Table 2-12. frame object commands

Command Description
$frame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
name:
class: identifies the object as a frame
$frame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
are selected
$frame instances () Obtains the component instances, see “instance
$frame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.

A VHDL 'if generate' statement or a Verilog 'ifdef.
Example:
• $ifFrame configure (args)

• $ifFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $ifFrame instances ()
• $ifFrame subFrames ()
elsifFrame object commands
Table 2-13. ifFrame object commands

Command Description
$ifFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
class: identifies the object as an ifFrame
name:
$ifFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
are selected
$ifFrame instances () Obtains the component instances, see“instance
$ifFrame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.
elsifFrame object commands

A VHDL ‘elsif generate’ statement.
Examples:
• $elsifFrame configure (args)

• $elsifFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $elsifFrame instances ()
• $elsifFrame subFrames ()
Table 2-14 explains the elsifFrame commands available.
whenFrame object commands
Table 2-14. elsifFrame object commands

Command Description
$elsifFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
With one argument lists the value of the specified option.
class: identifies the object as an elsifFrame
name:
$elsifFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
configuration declaration from which the bindings are
selected
Returns: A list of sub-frame information, each consecutive
pair represents a frame and a frameConfiguration in that
order.
$elsifFrame instances () Obtains the component instances, see“instance object
commands” on page 155, directly contained within the
frame. Instances contained within a sub-frame are not
included.
$elsifFrame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.
whenFrame object commands

A VHDL ‘case generate’ alternative.
Examples:
• $whenFrame configure (args)

• $whenFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $whenFrame instances ()
• $whenFrame subFrames ()
Table 2-15 explains the whenFrame commands available.
Table 2-15. whenFrame object commands

Command Description
$whenFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
class: identifies the object as an whenFrame
name:
$whenFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
configuration declaration from which the bindings are
selected
Returns: A list of sub-frame information, each consecutive
pair represents a frame and a frameConfiguration in that
order.
$whenFrame instances () Obtains the component instances, see“instance object
commands” on page 155, directly contained within the
frame. Instances contained within a sub-frame are not
included.
$whenFrame subFrames () With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
class: identifies the object as an whenFrame
name:

A component instance in a block diagram, IBD or structural HDL text file.
Example:
• $instance child ()
• $instance configure (args)
• $instance configuredChild (frameConfiguration)
library object commands
Table 2-16. instance object commands

Command Description
$instance child () Obtains the architecture under the component
instance.
$instance configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
name:
class: identifies the object as an instance
$instance configuredChild Like 'child' but supporting VHDL configuration
(frameConfiguration) declarations.
The following argument is available:
frameConfiguration see “frameConfiguration
Returns: A 3 element list containing:
The configuration declaration object, if specified in
the component binding; see “configuration object
The architecture object, see“architecture object
The frame configuration for the root of the child
architecture.

A library object is obtained from the 'library open' command. It provides access to the files and
declarations within the library.
Example:
• $library close ()
• $library configure (args)
• $library declaration (primaryName secondaryName)
• $library file (relativePathname)
• $library files ()
• $library hdlDirectory ()
Table 2-17. library object commands
Command Description
$library close () Removes the library from memory.
It is an error to close a library while an editor
window or Design Explorer tab is showing design
items in the library.
Returns: None.
$library configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of all
options.
option.
name: name of the library
type: regular, standard or downstreamOnly
hdlDir: directory as literally given
hdsDir: directory as literally given
hardHdlDir: directory with variables expanded
hardHdsDir: directory with variables expanded
class: identifies the object as a library
$library declaration (primaryName Finds an entity, architecture, package or
secondaryName) configuration declaration by name. Raises an error
if a matching architecture is not available.
primaryName: name to look for
secondaryName (= {}): only specified when
looking for an architecture can be the empty string if
the default architecture should be used
Returns: The matching declaration.
$library file (relativePathname) Finds a file, raises an error if not available.
The following argument is available:
relativePathname: pathname of the file relative to
the root directory of the library.
Returns: The file object.
machineFrame object commands
Table 2-17. library object commands (cont.)

Command Description
$library files () Obtains the files of the library, see “file object
Returns: List of files.
$library hdlDirectory () Obtains the root HDL directory of the library.
Returns: Directory object.

Represents hierarchy or concurrency within a state machine, algorithmic state machine or flow
chart file.
Example:
• $machineFrame configure (args)

• $machineFrame configuredSubFrames (frameConfiguration)
• $machineFrame instances ()
• $machineFrame subFrames ()
Table 2-18. machineFrame object commands
Command Description
$machineFrame configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of
all options.
specified option.
class: identifies the object as a machineFrame
name:
$machineFrame configuredSubFrames Obtains the sub-frames.
configuration declaration from which the
bindings are selected
packageHeader object commands
Table 2-18. machineFrame object commands (cont.)

Command Description
$machineFrame instances () Obtains the component instances, see“instance
object commands” on page 155, directly
contained within the frame. Instances contained
within a sub-frame are not included.
$machineFrame subFrames () Obtains the sub-frames.

Package header object commands.
Example:
• $packageHeader body ()
• $packageHeader configure (args)
• $packageHeader file ()
• $packageHeader packages ()
Table 2-19. packageHeader object commands
Command Description
$packageHeader body () Gets the package body implementing the
interface of a package header, see “packageBody
Returns: The body object.
packageBody object commands
Table 2-19. packageHeader object commands (cont.)

Command Description
$packageHeader configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of
all options.
specified option.
class: identifies the object as a packageHeader
fullName: fully qualified name including those
of parent objects
$packageHeader file () Obtains the file containing the object.
Returns: A single object, see “file object
$packageHeader packages () Obtains the packages referenced.
object commands” on page 159, or an empty list
if the declaration is not VHDL.

A VHDL package body.
Example:
• $packageBody configure (args)

• $packageBody file ()
• $packageBody packages ()
Command List
Table 2-20. packageBody object commands

Command Description
$packageBody configure (args) With no arguments lists the names and values of
all options.
specified option.
class: identifies the object as a packageBody
fullName: fully qualified name including those
of parent objects
$packageBody file () Obtains the file containing the object.
Returns: A single object, see “file object
$packageBody packages () Obtains the packages referenced.
object commands” on page 159, or an empty list
if the declaration is not VHDL.
Command List
The following is a list of all HDS Tcl commands pre-defined and dynamically created
commands.
addLibraryMapping
configureInMemoryProperties
configureProperties
getBlackBoxFile
getDesignUnitFiles
invokeGUI
removeInMemoryProperties
reportIncludeFiles
Command List
setBlackBoxFile
setDefaultView
setDontTouchFile
setPolicyLocation
setRulesetLocation
unsetBlackBoxFile
unsetDontTouchFile
runH2G
runHdlImport
runHtmlExport
setupH2G
setupHdlImport
setupHtmlExport
runTask
setCompileAlways
setupTask
runConfigGenerate
runGenerate
setupGenerate
library names
library open
runVMChangeLock
runVMCheckIn
runVMCheckOut
runVMGet
runVMHistory
runVMLabel
runVMSynchronize
runVMUndoCheckOut
setupVM
setupVMChangeLock
setupVMCheckIn
setupVMCheckOut
setupVMGet
setupVMHierarchy
setupVMLabel
setupVMSynchronize
Command List

Command List

Index
$entity configure (args), 148

Index
— Symbols — $entity file (), 148

$architecture configure (args), 140 $entity option (arg), 147
$architecture entity (), 140 $entity packages (), 148
$architecture file (), 140 $file configure (args), 148, 149
$architecture frame (), 140 $file declarations (), 149
$architecture instances (), 140 $file generated (), 149
$architecture packages (), 141 $file includes (), 149
$architecture/option/arguments, 140 $file library (), 149
$blockFrame configure (args), 141 $forFrame configure (args), 150
$blockFrame configuredSubFrames $forFrame configuredSubFrames
(frameConfiguration), 141 (frameConfiguration), 150
$blockFrame instances (), 142 $forFrame instances (), 150
$blockFrame subFrames (), 142 $forFrame option (args), 150
$caseFrame configure (args), 142 $forFrame subFrames (), 150
$caseFrame configuredSubFrames $frame configure (args), 152
(frameConfiguration), 142 $frame configuredSubFrames
$caseFrame instances (), 143 (frameConfiguration), 152
$caseFrame option (args), 142 $frame instances (), 152
$caseFrame subFrames (), 143 $frame option (args), 151
$configuration architecture (), 143 $frame subFrames (), 152
$configuration configure (args), 144 $frameConfiguration configure (args), 151
$configuration file (), 144 $ifFrame configure (args), 153
$configuration frameConfiguration (), 144 $ifFrame configuredSubFrames
$configuration packages (), 144 (frameConfiguration), 153
$declaration configure (args), 145 $ifFrame instances (), 153
$declaration file (), 145 $ifFrame option (args), 152
$declaration packages (), 145 $ifFrame subFrames (), 153
$elseFrame configure (args), 145, 146 $instance child (), 156
$elseFrame configuredSubFrames $instance configure (args), 156
(frameConfiguration), 146 $instance configuredChild
$elseFrame instances (), 146 (frameConfiguration), 156
$elseFrame subFrames (), 146 $instance option (), 155
$embeddedFrame configure (args), 147 $library close (), 157
$embeddedFrame configuredSubFrames $library configure (args), 157
(frameConfiguration), 147 $library declaration (primaryName
$embeddedFrame instances (), 147 secondaryName), 157
$embeddedFrame option (args), 146 $library file (relativePathname), 157
$embeddedFrame subFrames (), 147 $library files (), 158
$entity architecture (name), 148 $library hdlDirectory (), 158

$library option (), 156 —F—
$machineFrame configure (args), 158 file object commands, 148
$machineFrame configuredSubFrames forFrame object commands, 150
(frameConfiguration), 158 frame object commands, 151
$machineFrame instances (), 159 frameConfiguration object commands, 151
$machineFrame option (args), 158
$machineFrame subFrames (), 159 —G—
$packageBody configure (args), 161 Generated HDL File Paths, 14
$packageBody file (), 161 —H—
$packageBody option (args), 160 HDS objects, 27
$packageBody packages (), 161 Hierarchy
$packageHeader body (), 159 Pruning, 23
$packageHeader configure (args), 160
$packageHeader file (), 160 —I—
$packageHeader packages (), 160 ifFrame object commands, 152
instance object commands, 155
—A— invokeGUI (), 39
addLibraryMapping, 109
API Command Modes, 11 —L—
architecture object commands, 140 library names (), 114
library object commands, 156
—B— library open (libraryName), 115
blockFrame object commands, 141
—M—
—C— machineFrame object commands, 158
caseFrame object commands, 142
Command Basics, 12 —P—
Compilation Order, 23 packageBody object commands, 160
configuration object commands, 143 packageHeader object commands, 159
configureProperties (designObject args), 33
Console —R—
Accessing, 12 runConfigGenerate (library entity arch), 104
runGenerate (library entity arch), 105
—D— runH2G (hierarchyType library file primary
declaration object commands, 144 secondary), 88
Design Hierarchy and Frames, 20 runHdlImport (library args), 89
Design Hierarchy and VHDL Configurations, runTask (args), 100
22 runVMChangeLock (args), 121
Design Hierarchy Traversal, Robust, 19 runVMCheckIn (args), 122
Design Hierarchy Traversal, Simple, 17 runVMCheckOut (args), 123
Document Conventions, 12 runVMGet (args), 124
runVMHistory (args), 125
—E— runVMLabel (args), 126
elseFrame object commands, 145 runVMSynchronize (args), 127
embeddedFrame object commands, 146 runVMUndoCheckOut (args), 128
entity option object commands, 147
Example Scripts, 14

—S—
setCompileAlways (enable), 101
setDefaultView (library file primary
secondary), 45
setRulesetLocation (location), 66
setupGenerate (args), 106
setupH2G (args), 92
setupHdlImport (args), 95
setupTask (args), 102
setupVM (option arg), 129
setupVMChangeLock (option arg), 130
setupVMCheckIn (option arg), 131
setupVMCheckOut (option arg), 132
setupVMGet (option arg), 133
setupVMHierarchy (option arg), 134
setupVMLabel (option arg), 135
setupVMSynchronize (option arg), 136
—V—
Verilog Include Files, 17
VHDL Packages, 15

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Use of software (including any updates) and/or hardware is subject to the End-User License Agreement together with the
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HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference

© 1996-2019 Mentor Graphics Corporation

Mentor Graphics Corporation

Send Feedback on Documentation: support.mentor.com/doc_feedback_form

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 3

4 HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 5

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Figure 1-1. Log Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 7

8 HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4

Table 1-1. Generated HDL Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

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• Access the structure of a design

API Command Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

API Command Modes

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 11

Accessing the Console

In this example hds0 is a handle referring to the library UART.

12 HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4

The following is an example of a dynamically created command composed of the above

To get a list of all object command options you can type:

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 13

Generated HDL File Paths

Now let us see how this piece of code works.

set lib [library open UART]

14 HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4

set lib hds0

where hds0 is an HDS handle referring to the library UART

set tb [$lib declaration uart_tb struct]

set generatedHdlFile [[$tb file] generated]

puts [$lib configure hardHdlDir]/[$generatedHdlFile configure relativePathname]

Reporting VHDL Packages Directly Referenced by a

proc name argList body

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 15

Objects of class entity, architecture, packageHeader and packageBody support a 'packages'

16 HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4

Reporting Verilog Include Files

proc showIncls {lib} {

Issue: our example designs have no include statements.

Simple Design Hierarchy Traversal

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 17

proc walkArch {arch} {

18 HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4

Robust Design Hierarchy Traversal

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 19

Design Hierarchy and Frames

proc indent {} { return [string repeat { } $::indent] }

20 HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 21

Design Hierarchy and VHDL Configurations

proc indent {} { return [string repeat { } $::indent] }

Issue: our sample designs do not use configurations.

22 HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4

Pruning the Hierarchy

puts "[indent]ARCH [$arch configure fullName]"

Finding the Compilation Order

HDL Designer Series™ Tcl Reference Manual, v2019.4 23