Update Wiki on Usage

[sirinath]

Hi,

Is it possible to update the Wiki on Usage?

Suminda

[ducky64]

So this project is still very much a work-in-progress, which is why there isn't documentation yet. There will when there is a more official release, but the usage may change significantly by then. The user interface and experience is also quite rough around the edges.

That being said, if you're still interested in trying this out (and keep in mind that this project is still in alpha), the steps roughly are:

• install dependencies: Python (2.7), PyCairo and wxPython.
• compile the Chisel RTL to the software emulator with the debug API enabled (essentially, what Chisel's Tester does).
• write a XML visualizer descriptor for the RTL (see the example XML files under chisualizer/tests).
• run the visualizer (python main.py in chisualizer/src) passing in these arguments:
  • --emulator
  • --emulator_args
  • --emulator_reset <true | false - whether to assert a reset on the emulator during startup>
  • --visualizer_desc
  • --log_level <error | warning | info | debug>
  • --help should give a listing and description of arguments
• once the program starts, it should be self-documenting (key commands are rendered on screen). Right-clicking elements should bring up a context menu with additional commands.

Some examples are in chisualizer/tests:

• 'gcd' is for a Chisel implementation of GCD. This one probably can build on its own - go into tests/gcd and do 'make csrc' then 'make emulator'. Run chisualizer with the arguments: python main.py --emulator "../tests/gcd/emulator/emulator" --visualizer_desc "../tests/gcd/gcd.xml"

The next three projects require compiling the emulator binaries in their own repositories - you can try if you really know what you are doing. However, the XML files can still serve as examples of visualization descriptors:

• 'sodor' is for the RISC-V Sodor educational cores: https://github.com/ucb-bar/riscv-sodor - note that getting this set-up and running is hacky and fairly difficult.
• 'sift' is for a Chisel implementation of hardware SIFT: https://github.com/ucb-bar/chisel-sift
• 'fix-tile' is for a currently closed-source ASPIRE project. You probably won't be able to run this.

If you do decide to try it out, feedback is definitely welcome! However, do note that I probably won't be able to work on this project until September.

[ducky64]

I've uploaded two recent posters related to this project and the Chisel Debug API here:
https://github.com/ducky64/chisualizer/tree/__tmp_docs/temp_docs
Those should provide more information about both at a higher level.