[libre-riscv-dev] New Person

[lkcl]

On Mon, Oct 8, 2018 at 4:43 AM Daniel Benusovich
<flyingmonkeys1996 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I have a few questions on the environment.
>
> riscv-tools repository has a version of Spike. Is the same one contained
> in the libre-riscv repository a fork of that one?

 yes it is.  so, if compiling the standard riscv-tools succeeds (there
are some automated build scripts to do so), it would then just be a
matter of "git checkout -b sv"

>  I noticed it does have the libre-riscv repository version has a
> description stating it is an augmented version but I just want to be sure.

 yep, you're right.

> What you asked me to document is the process of creating a
> development environment that one can use to compile and
> then run a sample program using the simulator correct?

 the unit tests - riscv-tests/isa with "make run", yes.

> The instructions on the page detail vaguely how to set it up but
> not how to verify the installation or compile/run any programs
> which I am guessing is the missing documentation that needs to be done.

 yup :)  or, just the very fact that you're asking the questions means
i will put in some notes (like i have now), as that illustrates to me
the things that i know which haven't been recorded.

> Also are the unit tests that need work regarding the Spike simulator
> or another component of the project?

 ok so the riscv-tests unit tests are generic, they can be used
anywhere, for any purpose, to test any simulator or any real hardware.
it would be possible to run them on an FPGA, under verilator:
anything.

 so, therefore, i *happen* to be using them to bootstrap spike-sv up
to a working implementation, making sure that as i add new
functionality i don't break the old stuff.

 once that's up and running, and spike-sv is stable, i can look at
other areas, and perhaps we could ask jacob if he needs help
documenting what he's doing.

 once you have a working dev-environment and "make run" on the isa
tests passes (which will be worth celebrating on its own, you'd be i
think only the second person in the world to do so), we can discuss
further what you'd like to do.

> If it is the Spike sim unit tests need work is it the tests in the riscv-tools repository or the libre-riscv repository?

 the two libre-riscv repositories riscv-isa-sim and riscv-tests are
forks of two of the riscv-tools repositories.  adding sv unit tests to
the standard riscv-tools repository would not be useful to do, as the
standard riscv-tools repository knows absolutely nothing about sv.
hence why i have forked them.

hope that clarifies?

l.