SystemVerilog Data Types

This tutorial describes the new data types that Systemverilog introduces. Most of these are synthesisable, and should make RTL descriptions easier to write and understand.

Integer and Real Types

SystemVerilog introduces several new data types. Many of these will be familiar to C programmers. The idea is that algorithms modelled in C can more easiliy be converted to SystemVerilog if the two languages have the same data types.
Verilog’s variable types are four-state: each bit is 0,1,X or Z. SystemVerilog introduces new two-state data types, where each bit is 0 or 1 only. You would use these when you do not need X and Z values, for example in test benches and as for-loop variables. Using two-state variables in RTL models may enable simulators to be more efficient. Used appropriately, they should not affect the synthesis results.
Type Description Example
bit user-defined size bit [3:0] a_nibble;
byte 8 bits, signed byte a, b;
shortint 16 bits, signed shortint c, d;
int 32 bits, signed int i,j;
longint 64 bits, signed longint lword;
Two-state integer types
Note that, unlike in C, SystemVerilog specifies the number of bits for the fixed-width types.
Type Description Example
reg user-defined size reg [7:0] a_byte;
logic identical to reg in every way logic [7:0] a_byte;
integer 32 bits, signed integer i, j, k;
Four-state integer types
logic is a better name than reg, so is preferred. As we shall see, you can use logic where in the past you have may have used reg or where you may have used wire.
Type Description Example
time 64-bit unsigned time now;
shortreal like float in C shortreal f;
real like double in C double g;
realtime identical to real realtime now;
Non-integer types

Arrays

In Verilog-1995, you could define scalar and vector nets and variables. You could also define memory arrays, which are one-dimensional arrays of a variable type. Verilog-2001 allowed multi-dimensioned arrays of both nets and variables, and removed some of the restrictions on memory array usage.
SystemVerilog takes this a stage further and refines the concept of arrays and permits more operations on arrays.
In SystemVerilog, arrays may have either packed or unpacked dimensions, or both. Consider this example:
reg [3:0][7:0] register [0:9];
The packed dimensions are [3:0] and [7:0]. The unpacked dimension is [0:9]. (You can have as many packed and unpacked dimensions as you like.)
Packed dimensions:
  • are guaranteed to be laid out contiguously in memory
  • can be copied on to any other packed object
  • can be sliced ("part-selects")
  • are restricted to the "bit" types (bit, logic, int etc.), some of which (e.g. int) have a fixed size.

By contrast, unpacked dimensions can be arranged in memory in any way that the simulator chooses. You can reliably copy an array on to another array of the same type. For arrays with different types, you must use a cast, and there are rules for how an unpacked type is cast to a packed type. Unpacked arrays can be any type, such as arrays of reals.
SystemVerilog permits a number of operations on complete unpacked arrays and slices of unpacked arrays. For these, the arrays or slices involved must have the same type and the same shape – i.e. exactly the same number and lengths of unpacked dimensions. The packed dimensions may be different, as long as the array or slice elements have the same number of bits.
The permitted operations are:
  • Reading and writing the whole array
  • Reading and writing array slices
  • Reading and writing array elements
  • Equality relations on arrays, slices and elements

SystemVerilog also includes dynamic arrays (the number of elements may change during simulation) and associative arrays (which have a non-contiguous range).
To support all these array types, SystemVerilog includes a number of array querying functions and methods. For example, you could use $dimensions to find the number dimensions of an array variable.

Typedef

SystemVerilog’s data type system allows you to define quite complex types. To make this kind of code clear, the typedef facility was introduced. Typedef allows users to create their own names for type definitions that they will use frequently in their code. Typedefs can be very convenient when building up complicated array definitions.
typedef reg [7:0] octet;
octet b;
is the same as
reg [7:0] b;
and
typedef octet [3:0]
quadOctet;
quadOctet qBytes [1:10];
is the same as
reg [3:0][7:0] qBytes [1:10];

Enum

SystemVerilog also introduces enumerated types, for example
enum { circle, ellipse, freeform } c;
Enumerations allow you to define a data type whose values have names. Such data types are appropriate and useful for representing state values, opcodes and other such non-numeric or symbolic data.
Typedef is commonly used together with enum, like this:
typedef enum { circle, ellipse, freeform } ClosedCurve;
ClosedCurve c;
The named values of an enumeration type act like constants. The default type is int. You can copy them to and from variables of the enumeration type, compare them with one another and so on. Enumerations are strongly typed. You can’t copy a numeric value into a variable of enumeration type, unless you use a type-cast:
c = 2;               // ERROR
c = ClosedCurve'(2); // Casting – okay
However, when you use an enumeration in an expression, the value you are working with is the literal’s integer equivalent; so, for example, it’s okay to compare an enumeration variable with an integer; and it’s okay to use an enumeration value in an integer expression.

Stuct and Union

Finally, SystemVerilog introduces struct and union data types, similar to those in C.
struct {
  int x, y;
} p;
Struct members are selected using the .name syntax:
p.x = 1;
Structure literals and expressions may be formed using braces.
p = {1,2};
It is often useful to declare a new structure type using typedef and then declare variables using the new type. Note also that structs may be packed.
typedef struct packed {
  int x, y;
} Point;
Point p;
Unions are useful where the same hardware resources (like a register) can store values of different types (e.g. integer, floating point, …)

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