Runtime Environment

Mode

Origen supports the following operating modes:

  • Production - To be used whenever generating output destined for production use.
  • Debug - To be used whenever developing an application.
  • Simulation - To be used whenever generating output destined for a simulation.

The default operation mode is production, and in this mode Origen will enforce the following restrictions:

  • Origen will not run if there are modified files within the environment workspace (i.e. edits that are not checked in)
  • Origen will not run if plugins are imported from a local path reference

Both debug and simulation modes remove these restrictions and are essentially the same as far as Origen is concerned. However plugin and application developers may implement different behavior if the output is targeting simulation rather than real silicon.

Getting and Setting the Mode

The current default mode for a given application workspace can be queried by running the origen mode command, or origen m for short:

> origen m

debug

The mode can be changed by running the same command and supplying the desired mode:

> origen m production

> origen m debug

> origen m simulation

Any shortcut which provides enough detail to uniquely identify one of the available modes can be used:

> origen m sim

Additionally all Origen commands allow an override to be supplied at runtime. Aside from overriding the current default mode, this will also override any mode setting applied by the current environment or target:

> origen g my_pattern -m simulation

Programmatically Getting and Setting the Mode

Origen.mode returns an object representing the current mode, this provides the following API for sniffing the mode at runtime:

Origen.mode.production?   # => false
Origen.mode.debug?        # => true
Origen.mode.simulation?   # => false

Note that simulation is also considered a debug mode, the API will respond as follows if simulation mode is set:

Origen.mode.production?   # => false
Origen.mode.debug?        # => true
Origen.mode.simulation?   # => true

For example this API can be used to create simulation workarounds if required:

if Origen.mode.simulation?
  # Generate something that is more simulation-friendly
else
  # Generate a pattern construct which works on the tester, but doesn't simulate well
end

The mode can be set like this:

Origen.mode = :production
Origen.mode = :debug
Origen.mode = :simulation