300+ [UPDATED] System Verilog Interview Questions

1. What Is Callback ?

In computer programming, a callback is executable code that is passed as an argument to other code. It allows a lower-level software layer to call a subroutine (or function) defined in a higher-level layer.

2. What Is Factory Pattern ?

Factory Pattern Concept : 

Methodologies like OVM and VMM make heavy use of the factory concept. The factory method pattern is an object-oriented design pattern. Like other creational patterns, it deals with the problem of creating objects (products) without specifying the exact class of object that will be created. The factory method design pattern handles this problem by defining a separate method for creating the objects, whose subclasses can then override to specify the derived type of product that will be created. More generally, the term factory method is often used to refer to any method whose main purpose is creation of objects.

Or in simple terms factory pattern help in creation of the object when you dont know the exact type of the object. the normal way of creating the object is :

01.// Normal Type based object creation
02. 
03.// Class object
04.class my_class;
05.int i;
06.endclass
07. 
08.program main;
09.// Create object type my_class
10.my_class obj1;
11.obj1 = new
12.endprogram
13. 
14.// Using Factory I should be able to do the following
15. 
16.program main;
17.base_class my_class_object;
18. 
19.base_class = factory.create_object(“my_class”); // See here the type of the object to be created is passed as a string so we dont know the exact type of the object
20.endprogram

3. Explain The Difference Between Data Types Logic And Reg And Wire ?

Wire are Reg are present in the verilog and system verilog adds one more data type called logic. 

Wire :
 Wire data type is used in the continuous assignments or ports list. It is treated as a wire So it can not hold a value. It can be driven and read. Wires are used for connecting different modules. 

Reg :
 Reg is a date storage element in system verilog. Its not a actual hardware register but it can store values. Register retain there value until next assignment statement. 

Logic :
 System verilog added this additional datatype  extends the rand eg type so it can be driven by a single driver such as gate or module. The main difference between logic dataype and reg/wire is that a logic can be driven by both continuous assignment or blocking/non blocking assignment.

4. What Is The Need Of Clocking Blocks ?

• It is used to specify synchronization characteristics of the design
• It Offers a clean way to drive and sample signals
• Provides race-free operation if input skew > 0
• Helps in testbench driving the signals at the right time
•  Features

                  – Clock specification
                  – Input skew,output skew
                  – Cycle delay (##)

• Can be declared inside interface,module or program

Example :

01.Module M1(ck, enin, din, enout, dout);
02.input         ck,enin;
03.input  [31:0] din    ;
04.output        enout  ;
05.output [31:0] dout   ;
06. 
07.clocking sd @(posedge ck);
08.input  #2ns ein,din    ;
09.output #3ns enout, dout;
10.endclocking:sd
11. 
12.reg [7:0] sab ;
13.initial begin
14.sab = sd.din[7:0];
15.end
16.endmodule:M1

5. What Are The Ways To Avoid Race Condition Between Testbench And Rtl Using Systemverilog?

There are mainly following ways to avoid the race condition between testbench and RTL using system verilog 

1. Program Block
2. Clocking Block
3. Using non blocking assignments.

6. What Are The Types Of Coverages Available In Sv ?

Using covergroup :
variables, expression, and their cross

Using cover keyword :
properties

7. What Is Oops?

Here are some nice OOP links on SystemVerilog OOP which can be used as a good starting point/reference.

1. Object Oriented Programming for Hardware Verification
2. Improve Your SystemVerilog OOP Skills by Learning Principles and Patterns
3. SystemVerilog OOP OVM Feature Summary
4. Enhancing SystemVerilog with AOP Concepts (On how to mimic AOP features in OOP, good for guyz coming from e background)
5. Testbench.in OOP Tutorial

8. What Is The Need Of Virtual Interfaces ?

An interface encapsulate a group of inter-related wires, along with their directions (via modports) and synchronization details (via clocking block). The major usage of interface is to simplify the connection between modules.

But Interface can’t be instantiated inside program block, class (or similar non-module entity in SystemVerilog). But they needed to be driven from verification environment like class. To solve this issue virtual interface concept was introduced in SV.

Virtual interface is a data type (that implies it can be instantiated in a class) which hold reference to an interface (that implies the class can drive the interface using the virtual interface). It provides a mechanism for separating abstract models and test programs from the actual signals that make up the design. Another big advantage of virtual interface is that class can dynamically connect to different physical interfaces in run time.

9. What Is The Difference Between Mailbox And Queue?

A queue is a variable-size, ordered collection of homogeneous elements. A Queue is analogous to one dimensional unpacked array that grows and shrinks automatically. Queues can be used to model a last in, first out buffer or first in, first out buffer.

// Other data type as reference
// int q[]; dynamic array
// int q[5]; fixed array
// int q[string]; associate array 
// include <
// List#(integer) List1;    //

int q[$] = { 2, 4, 8 };
int p[$];
int e, pos;
e = q[0]; // read the first (leftmost) item
e = q[$]; // read the last (rightmost) item
q[0] = e; // write the first item
p = q; // read and write entire queue (copy)

A mailbox is a communication mechanism that allows messages to be exchanged between processes. Data can be sent to a mailbox by one process and retrieved by another.

10. What Data Structure You Used To Build Scoreboard?

In SV, we use mailbox to get data from different modules and compare the result.

class Scoreboard;
mailbox drvr2sb;
mailbox rcvr2sb;

function new(mailbox drvr2sb,mailbox rcvr2sb);
  this.drvr2sb = drvr2sb;
  this.rcvr2sb = rcvr2sb;
endfunction:new

task start();
  packet pkt_rcv,pkt_exp;
  forever
  begin
    rcvr2sb.get(pkt_rcv);
    $display(” %0d : Scorebooard : Scoreboard received a packet from receiver “,$time);
    drvr2sb.get(pkt_exp);
    if(pkt_rcv.compare(pkt_exp)) 
    $display(” %0d : Scoreboardd :Packet Matched “,$time);
    else
      $root.error++;
  end
endtask : start
endclass

In VMM, we use channels to connect all the modules and compare the result.

class Scoreboard extends vmm_xactor;
   Packet_channel   drvr2sb_chan;
   Packet_channel   rcvr2sb_chan;

function new(string inst = “class”,
             int unsigned stream_id = -1,
             Packet_channel   drvr2sb_chan = null,
             Packet_channel   rcvr2sb_chan = null);
      super.new(“sb”,inst,stream_id);
          if(drvr2sb_chan == null)
           `vmm_fatal(this.log,”drvr2sb_channel is not constructed”);
      else
           this.drvr2sb_chan = drvr2sb_chan;
            if(rcvr2sb_chan == null)
           `vmm_fatal(this.log,”rcvr2sb_channel is not constructed”);
      else
           this.rcvr2sb_chan = rcvr2sb_chan;
          `vmm_note(log,”Scoreboard created “);
endfunction:new

task main();
  Packet pkt_rcv,pkt_exp;
  string msg;
  super.main(); 
  forever
  begin
    rcvr2sb_chan.get(pkt_rcv);
    $display(” %0d : Scoreboard : Scoreboard received a packet from receiver “,$time);
    drvr2sb_chan.get(pkt_exp);
    if(pkt_rcv.compare(pkt_exp,msg)) 
    $display(” %0d : Scoreboard :Packet Matched “,$time);
    else
    `vmm_error(this.log,$psprintf(” Packet MissMatched n %s “,msg));
  end
endtask : main
endclass

11. What Is The Difference Between $random() And $urandom()?

1. $random system function returns a 32-bit signed random number each time it is called
2. $urandom system function returns a 32-bit unsigned random number each time it is called. (newly added in SV, not present in verilog)

12. What Is Scope Randomization?

Scope randomization ins SystemVerilog allows assignment of unconstrained or constrained random value to the variable within current scope

01.module MyModule;
02.integer var, MIN;     
03. 
04.initial begin
05.MIN = 50;         
06.for ( int i = 0;i begin             
07.if( randomize(var) with { var < 100 ; var > MIN ;})
 08.$display(” Randomization sucsessfull : var = %0d Min = %0d”,var,MIN);
09.else            
10.$display(“Randomization failed”);
11.end
12. 
13.$finish;    
14.end
15.endmodule

13. List The Predefined Randomization Methods.

1. randomize
2. pre_randomize
3. post_randomize

14. What Is The Dfference Between Always_combo And Always@(*)?

From SystemVerilog LRM 3.1a:-

1. always_comb get executed once at time 0, always @* waits till a change occurs on a signal in the inferred sensitivity list
2. Statement within always_comb can’t have blocking timing, event control, or fork-join statement. No such restriction of always @*
3. Optionally EDA tool might perform additional checks to warn if the behavior within always_comb procedure doesn’t represent combinatorial logic
4. Variables on the left-hand side of assignments within an always_comb procedure, including variables from the contents of a called function, shall not be written to by any other processes, whereas always @* permits multiple processes to write to the same variable.
5. always_comb is sensitive to changes within content of a function, whereas always @* is only sensitive to changes to the arguments to the function.

A small SystemVerilog code snippet to illustrate #5

01.module dummy;
02.logic a, b, c, x, y;
03. 
04.// Example void function
05.function void my_xor;
06.input a;         // b and c are hidden input here
07.x = a ^ b ^ c;
08.endfunction : my_xor
09. 
10.function void my_or;
11.input a;         // b and c are hidden input here
12.y = a | b | c;
13.endfunction : my_xor
14. 
15.always_comb          // equivalent to always(a,b,c)
16.my_xor(a);       // Hidden inputs are also added to sensitivity list
17. 
18.always @*          // equivalent to always(a)
19.my_or(a);     // b and c are not added to sensitivity list
20.endmodule

15. What Is The Use Of Packages?

In Verilog declaration of data/task/function within modules are specific to the module only. They can’t be shared between two modules. Agreed, we can achieve the same via cross module referencing or by including the files, both of which are known to be not a great solution.

The package construct of SystemVerilog aims in solving the above issue. It allows having global data/task/function declaration which can be used across modules. It can contain module/class/function/task/constraints/covergroup and many more declarations (for complete list please refer section 18.2 of SV LRM 3.1a)

The content inside the package can be accessed using either scope resolution operator (::), or using import (with option of referencing particular or all content of the package). 

01.package ABC;
02.// Some typedef
03.typedef enum {RED, GREEN, YELLOW} Color;
04. 
05.// Some function
06.void function do_nothing()
07….
08.endfunction : do_nothing
09. 
10.// You can have many different declarations here
11.endpackage : ABC
12. 
13.// How to use them
14.import ABC::Color;   // Just import Color
15.import ABC::*;     // Import everything inside the package

16. What Is The Use Of $cast?

Type casting in SV can be done either via static casting (‘, ‘, ‘) or dynamic casting via $cast task/function. $cast is very similar to dynamic_cast of C++. It checks whether the casting is possible or not in run-time and errors-out if casting is not possible.

17. How To Call The Task Which Is Defined In Parent Object Into Derived Class ?

super.task_name();

18. What Is The Difference Between Rand And Randc?

rand – Random Variable, same value might come before all the the possible value have been returned. Analogous to throwing a dice.

randc – Random Cyclic Variable, same value doesn’t get returned until all possible value have been returned. Analogous to picking of card from a deck of card without replacing. Resource intensive, use sparingly/judiciously

19. What Is $root?

$root refers to the top level instance in SystemVerilog

1.package ABC;
2.$root.A;     // top level instance A
3.$root.A.B.C; // item C within instance B within top level instance A

20. What Are Bi-directional Constraints?

Constraints by-default in SystemVerilog are bi-directional. That implies that the constraint solver doesn’t follow the sequence in which the constraints are specified. All the variables are looked simultaneously. Even the procedural looking constrains like if … else … and -> constrains, both if and else part are tried to solve concurrently. For example (a==0) -> (b==1) shall be solved as all the possible solution of (!(a==0) || (b==1)).

21. What Is Solve And Before Constraint ?

In the case where the user want to specify the order in which the constraints solver shall solve the constraints, the user can specify the order via solve before construct. i.e.

1….
2.constraint XYZ  {
3.a inside {[0:100]|;
4.b < 20;
5.a + b > 30;
6.solve a before b;
7.}

The solution of the constraint doesn’t change with solve before construct. But the probability of choosing a particular solution change by it.

22. Without Using Randomize Method Or Rand,generate An Array Of Unique Values?

1….
2.int UniqVal[10];
3.foreach(UniqVal[i]) UniqVal[i] = i;
4.UniqVal.shuffle();
5….

23. Explain About Pass By Ref And Pass By Value?

Pass by value is the default method through which arguments are passed into functions and tasks. Each subroutine retains a local copy of the argument. If the arguments are changed within the subroutine declaration, the changes do not affect the caller.

In pass by reference functions and tasks directly access the specified variables passed as arguments.Its like passing pointer of the variable.

example:

task pass(int i)    //  task pass(var int i) pass by reference 
{
delay(10);
i = 1;
printf(” i is changed to %d at %dn”,i,get_time(LO) );
delay(10);
i = 2;
printf(” i is changed to %d at %dn”,i,get_time(LO) );
}

24. What Is The Difference Between Byte And Bit [7:0]?

byte is signed whereas bit [7:0] is unsigned. 

25. What Is The Difference Between Program Block And Module ?

Program block is newly added in SystemVerilog. It serves these purposes

1. It separates testbench from DUT
2. It helps in ensuring that testbench doesn’t have any race condition with DUT
3. It provides an entry point for execution of testbench
4. It provides syntactic context (via program … endprogram) that specifies scheduling in the Reactive Region.

Having said this the major difference between module and program blocks are

1. Program blocks can’t have always block inside them, modules can have.
2. Program blocks can’t contain UDP, modules, or other instance of program block inside them. Modules don’t have any such restrictions.
3. Inside a program block, program variable can only be assigned using blocking assignment and non-program variables can only be assigned using non-blocking assignments. No such restrictions on module 
4. Program blocks get executed in the re-active region of scheduling queue, module blocks get executed in the active region
5. A program can call a task or function in modules or other programs. But a module can not call a task or function in a program.

26. What Is The Use Of Modports ?

Modports are part of Interface. Modports are used for specifing the direction of the signals with respect to various modules the interface connects to.

1. …
2. interface my_intf;
3. wire x, y, z;
4. modport master (input x, y, output z);
5. modport slave  (output x, y, input z);

27. Write A Clock Generator Without Using Always Block.

Use of forever begin end. If it is a complex always block statement like always (@ posedge clk or negedge reset_)

always @(posedge clk or negedge reset_) begin

   if(!reset_) begin
       data <= '0;
   end else begin
       data <= data_next;
   end
end

// Using forever : slightly complex but doable

forever begin
   fork
   begin : reset_logic
       @ (negedge reset_);
       data <= '0;
   end : reset_logic
   begin : clk_logic
       @ (posedge clk);
       if(!reset_)    data <= '0;
       else           data <= data_next;
   end : clk_logic
   join_any
   disable fork
end

28. What Is Circular Dependency And How To Avoid This Problem ?

Over specifying the solving order might result in circular dependency, for which there is no solution, and the constraint solver might give error/warning or no constraining. Example

1….
2.int x, y, z;
3.constraint XYZ  {
4.solve x before y;
5.solve y before z;
6.solve z before x;
7…..
8.}

29. What Is Cross Coverage ?

Queue has a certain order. It’s hard to insert the data within the queue. But Linkedlist can easily insert the data in any location.

30. How To Randomize Dynamic Arrays Of Objects?

class ABC;
// Dynamic array
rand bit [7:0] data [];
// Constraints
constraint cc {
// Constraining size
data.size inside {[1:10]};
// Constraining individual entry
data[0] > 5;
// All elements
foreach(data[i])
if(i > 0)
data[i] > data[i-1];|
}
endclass : ABC

31. What Is The Need Of Alias In Sv?

The Verilog has one-way assign statement is a unidirectional assignment and can contain delay and strength change. To have bidirectional short-circuit connection SystemVerilog has added alias statement.

32. What Is “this”?

“this” pointer refers to current instance.

33. What Is Tagged Union ?

An union is used to stored multiple different kind/size of data in the same storage location.

1.typedef union{
2.bit [31:0]  a;
3.int         b;
4.} data_u;

Now here XYZ union can contain either bit [31:0] data or an int data. It can be written with a bit [31:0] data and read-back with a int data. There is no type-checking done.

In the case where we want to enforce that the read-back data-type is same as the written data-type we can use tagged union which is declared using the qualifier tagged. Whenever an union is defined as tagged, it stores the tag information along with the value (in expense of few extra bits). The tag and values can only be updated together using a statically type-checked tagged union expression. The data member value can be read with a type that is consistent with current tag value, making it impossible to write one type and read another type of value in tagged union. (the details of which can be found in section 3.10 and 7.15 of SV LRM 3.1a).

01.typedef union tagged{
02.bit [31:0]  a;
03.int         b;
04.} data_tagged_u;
05. 
06.// Tagged union expression
07.data_tagged_u data1 = tagged a 32’h0;
08.data_tagged_u data2 = tagged b 5;
09. 
10.// Reading back the value
11.int xyz = data2.b;

34. What Is “scope Resolution Operator”?

extern keyword allows out-of-body method declaration in classes. Scope resolution operator ( :: ) links method declaration to class declaration.

class XYZ;
// SayHello() will be declared outside the body 
// of the class
extern void task SayHello();
endclass : XYZ
void task XYZ :: SayHello();
$Message(“Hello !!!n”);
endtask : SayHello

35. What Is The Difference Between Bits And Logic?

bits is 2-valued (1/0) and logic is 4-valued (0/1/x/z)

36. What Is The Difference Between $rose And Posedge?

posedge return an event, whereas $rose returns a Boolean value. Therefore they are not interchangeable.

37. What Is Layered Architecture ?

In SystemVerilog based constrained random verification environment, the test environment is divided into multiple layered as shown in the figure. It allows verification component re-use across verification projects.

38. What Is The Difference Between Initial Block And Final Block?

There are many difference between initial and final block. I am listing the few differences that is coming to mind now.

1. The most obvious one : Initial blocks get executed at the beginning of the simulation, final block at the end of simulation
2. Final block has to be executed in zero time, which implies it can’t have any delay, wait, or non-blocking assignments. Initial block doesn’t have any such restrictions of execution in zero time (and can have delay, wait and non-blocking statements)

Final block can be used to display statistical/genaral information regarding the status of the execution like this:-

1.final begin
2.$display(“Simulation Passed”);
3.$display(“Final value of xyz = %h”,xyz);
4.$display(“Bye :: So long, and Thanks for all the fishes”);
5.end

39. How To Check Weather A Handles Is Holding Object Or Not ?

It is basically checking if the object is initialized or not. In SystemVerilog all uninitialized object handles have a special value of null, and therefore whether it is holding an object or not can be found out by comparing the object handle to null. So the code will look like:-

01.usb_packet My_usb_packet;
02….
03.if(My_usb_packet == null) begin
04.// This loop will get exited if the handle is not holding any object
05…..
06.end else begin
07.// Hurray … the handle is holding an object
08….
09.end