Dklopfenstein Designcon08

How to quickly create complicated

message sequence charts

automatically without spending automatically without spending

money on software.

Debra Klopfenstein, SGI

[email protected]

2/5/2008 Debra Klopfenstein, © 2008 SGI. All rights reserved.

A Simple Story


Gets Complicated Quickly…


Event Order is Added…


Hundreds of Thousands of Stories!

• Goal is Speed, Accuracy (Cheap):

–Understand

–Explain–Explain

–Document

–Debug


A Picture is…

• A Picture is Helpful:

– Can Not Forget Important Events

– Less Confusing than Words Alone

– More Concise than Words Alone– More Concise than Words Alone

– Good ‘Birds-Eye-View’

• But What a Pain:

– Time-Consuming

– Error-Prone


Agenda

• How you can implement

Automatic Picture Generation

• Real-Life Limitations

• Other Approaches


Three Views (same info)

• Diagram of Event Flow among Logic Blocks

• Diagram in Message Sequence Chart Format

• Text Log file


Event Flow among Logic Blocks


Message Sequence Chart Format


Simulation Log File

P1 OMSG ReadExcl A=0x420500 dst=M0 req=P1

M0 IMSG ReadExcl A=0x420500 dst=M0 req=P1

M0 DirState: A=0x420500 E{P0}->BUSY{P1}

M0 OMSG InterExcl A=0x420500 dst=P0 req=P1

M0 OMSG ExclSpec+D A=0x420500 dst =P0 req =P1M0 OMSG ExclSpec+D A=0x420500 dst =P0 req =P1

P0 IMSG InterExcl A=0x420500 dst=P0 req=P1

P0 CchState: A=0x420500 E->I

P0 OMSG Purge dst=M0 req=P1 from=P0

P0 OMSG ExclAck+D dst=P1 home=M0

P1 IMSG ExclSpec+D A=0x420500 dst=P0 req=P1


Simulation Log File





M0 OMSGExclSpec+D A=0x420500 dst =P0 req =P1M0 OMSGExclSpec+D A=0x420500 dst =P0 req =P1


P0 CchState: A=0x420500 E->I

P0 OMSG Purge dst=M0 req=P1 from=P0

P0 OMSG ExclAck+D dst=P1 home=M0

P1 IMSG ExclSpec+D A=0x420500 dst=P0 req=P1


Message Sequence Chart Coordinates


The first two events in the log file


M0 IMSG ReadExcl A=0x420500 dst =M0 req =P1M0 IMSG ReadExcl A=0x420500 dst =M0 req =P1


The first two events in the log file

Y=1 P1( X=1) OMSG ReadExcl …

Y=2 M0(X=2) IMSG ReadExcl …


Log File with Coordinates

Y=0 P1( X=1) OMSG ReadExclY=1 M0(X=2) IMSG ReadExclY=2 M0(X=2) DirState: E{P0}->BUSY{P1}Y=3 M0(X=2) OMSG InterExclY=4 M0(X=2) OMSG ExclSpec+DY=4 M0(X=2) OMSG ExclSpec+DY=5 P0( X=0) IMSG InterExclY=6 P0( X=0) CchState: E->IY=7 P0( X=0) OMSG PurgeY=8 P0( X=0) OMSG ExclAck+DY=9 P1( X=1) IMSG ExclSpec+D


Message Sequence Chart Format


Which Diagram is Easiest to Generate

Automatically?

• Simple Graphical Objects

• Simple and predictable object placement


Contains Rectangles


Contains Straight Lines


Contains Bent Lines


Contains Text


Image Object Placement


Message Arrow Placement


Message Sequence Chart

• Two Object Types

– Straight Lines

– Text

• Simple Placement

– X is logic blocks

– Y is event order


Diagram Comparison

Logic Diagram

• Many Object Types

– Straight Lines

– Text

– Rectangles of different sizes

Message Sequence Chart

• Two Object Types

– Straight Lines

– Text

– Rectangles of different sizes

– Bent Lines

• Placement

– Complex

– Has Dependencies

– Hard-to-Follow

• Placement

– Simple

– Predictable

– Easy-to-Follow


Script Overview

1. Inputs and Outputs

2. Innards


Log2img Inputs and Outputs


Multiple Graphics Outputs. How?


Input to convert


Graphic Format Requirements

• Easy for an ASIC Engineer to write:

–Origin in upper left

–Easy to create lines–Easy to create lines

–Easy to create text

–Graphics file contains text, not binary


Input to convert: FIG Format


FIG Format: Text Log(X,Y)

# ReadExcl Text# ReadExcl Text

# etc.. X Y Text

# ----- ---- ---- --------

4 (...) 1 0 ReadExcl


FIG Format: Text Fig(X,Y)


# etc.. X Y Text

# ----- ---- ---- --------

4 (...) 1000 1800 ReadExcl


FIG Format: Text Angle


# .. AngleRadians X Y Text

# -- -------- -- ---- ---- --------

4 .. -0.16514 .. 1000 1800 ReadExcl


FIG Format: Text Angle

# .. AngleRadians X Y Text

# -- -------- -- ---- ---- --------

4 .. -0.16514 .. 1000 1800 ReadExcl


SOH-CAH-TOA


SOH-CAH-TOA


FIG Format for Lines

# ReadExcl Arrow# ReadExcl Arrow

2 (...) # Line Info (width, color, etc)

1 1 1.00 100.00 120.00 # Arrow Info

1000 1800 2500 2050 #(X0,Y0),(X1,Y1)


1st Script Section


Grouping Image Objects


Two kinds of Image Objects

• Message Image Objects

• Text Image Objects• Text Image Objects


Msg Image Object 0 (1st Section)

P1 OMSGReadExcl A=0x420500 dst =M0 req =P1P1 OMSGReadExcl A=0x420500 dst =M0 req =P1




M0 OMSG ExclSpec+D A=0x420500 dst=P0 req=P1



Msg Image Object 0 (2nd Section)

P1 OMSG ReadExcl A=0x420500 dst =M0 req =P1P1 OMSG ReadExcl A=0x420500 dst =M0 req =P1







How to Match Msg Image Sections








Text Image Object 1








Image Object 2 (1st section)








How to Match Msg Image Sections








Image Object Array

…



…2/5/2008 Debra Klopfenstein, © 2008 SGI. All rights reserved.

ImageObj Array of Hashes

idx Printed Text X0 Y0 X1 Y1

0 ReadExcl P1 0 M0 1

1 E{P0}->BUSY{P1} M0 2

2 InterExcl M0 3 P0 5

3 ExclSpec+D M0 4 P1 9

4 E->I P0 6

5 Purge P0 7 M0 12

6 ExclAck P0 8 P1 10

7 I->E P1 11

8 Busy{P1}->E{P1} M0 13


Print Obj[0]


Print Obj[1]


Print Obj[2]


Print Obj[3]


Print Obj[4]


Print Obj[5]


Print Obj[6]


Print Obj[7]


Print Obj[8]


1st Script Section


From Text to Diagrams:

FAST ACCURATE CHEAP

Texto Verbose

Diagrams

ü Simpleo VerboseP1 OMSG ReadExcl A=0x420500 dst=M0 req=P1M0 IMSG ReadExcl A=0x420500 dst=M0 req=P1

o Birds-Eye View:

– S L O W

o Hard-to-Read

ü Simple

ü Birds-Eye-View:Ø FAST

ü Easy-to-read


Limitations

• When Message Sequence Charts become:

TOO BIGTOO BIG• Alternate Visualization Techniques

– PacketViz

– Colored Message Log sub-sections


When MSCs Become Too Big


PacketViz

From Wikipedia…


Script Flow for PacketViz Option


Script Flow for Only PacketViz


Another Visualization Technique


Conclusion

• Introduction to creating your own

log2img script

• Real-Life Limitations• Real-Life Limitations

• Other Approaches


Thank You

• Ramesh Satyanarayana

• Trevor Williams

• Christine Macneil

• Karen Wilk

• Marla Robinson

• Rex Klopfenstein

• Maryann Klopfenstein

• Alan Klopfenstein• Karen Wilk

• Beth Brooks

• Mike Woodacre

• Gerry Epstein

• Alan Klopfenstein

• Fred Eisner

• Paul Adams

• Alan Sneider


Dklopfenstein Designcon08

Engineering

p1252008 debra klopfenstein

d252008 debra klopfenstein

p0 req

m0 req

p1 m0 omsg exclspec

p1 m0 imsg readexcl

p1 p0 cchstate

p1 p0 imsg interexcl