Observability-based RTL simulation using Java

In this article, a set of Java classes and description styles are proposed to allow the use of the language to specify and simulate RTL descriptions. Components are made reactive to signals using Java observability. A clock is modeled using the multithreaded features of Java. The proposed classes and styles, named RTLJava, implement a cycle-based simulator by defining a notifying-set method for the signal class and both set and update methods for the registers. The steady state of a signal may take several simulation cycles until no further new notifications of signal value changes are reported. The proposed methodology allows both behavioral and structural descriptions of RTL circuits.