VMLAB User Components (ThVortex)

VMLAB User Components

Here are some of the VMLAB user components that I have created. All components come with the C++/RC sources and the binary DLL files (compiled with VMLAB's usercomp.exe and the Borland BCC55 command line tool kit).

The components currently available are:

AVR Studio Stimulus/Logger - Stimulus and Logging components that use the same format as the AVR Studio simulator for data files.
Verilog VCD Logger - Logging component that creates Verilog Value Change Dump format files.
WAV Analog Stimulus/Logger - Analog stimulus and logging components that use WAV audio files.
Break On Edge - Breakpoints the simulation on every rising edge of a signal.
Digital Signal Delay - Digital buffer with user configurable propagation delays for rising and falling edges.
COM Port Exchanger - Allows communication between VMLAB and a physical serial COM port.
LED 7-Segment Display - A GUI component implementing a 7-segment display with decimal point.
Performance Monitor - A GUI component to measure and display VMLAB's runtime performance.
Digital Signal Display/Control - A pair of GUI components to easily display and control 8 digital signal pins.

AVR Peripherals - Components to emulate the AVR peripherals found in the ATmega168 microcontroller.

Future Component Ideas

I have a number of ideas for new components that I could implement in the future. Unfortunately, I can only work on this in my spare time so many of these components will probably never get written. Of course, if anyone else reading this page wants to help, then please get in touch with me (see Contact section below); you would be more than welcome. At least two of these components, the MMC/SD card emulator and the NTSC/PAL video display emulator, would be much easier to implement if the VMLAB source code was released under the GPL, allowing me to re-use code from existing GPLed projects. Here is my list of ideas for new components and improvements to existing ones (in no particular order):

bounce - Simulate digital glitches caused by a physical switch bounce; for testing de-bounce code or RC filters
spicelog - Log analog signal as SPICE PWL voltage source to text file
vcdlog8/16/32 - 8/16/32-bit VCD logger

Use named shared memory segment with 1-bit vcdlog component

a2d8 - Ideal (zero conversion time) analog to digital converter
lptxch - Interface to real LPT port with the winring0 and/or inpout32 drivers

Could also use the winparport library for more limited unidirectional access but without requiring a kernel mode driver
8 bidirectional data pins
5 status inputs pins
4 open collector control output/input pins
1 data direction pin
1 control direction pin

sdcard/mmcard - Emulate a SD/MMC card in SPI mode

Use image file to specify card contents
See http://softgun.sourceforge.net/sdcard.shtml

freqdisp - Frequency/PWM/RMS display

Include button to remove DC bias from RMS
Show RMS and RMS^2 (for power estimation into resistive load)

stepmtr - Stepper motor position/velocity/distance travelled display

Two input pins: direction and step
Maybe additional components for direct drive of unipolar/bipolar motor?
Maybe analog output encoding the position? It could control output of a rotary encoder for example.

servomtr - PWM controlled servo motor with position/velocity display

Similar to the stepmtr component above

vlptxch - Interface to backend of virtual LPT port

Modify the usb2lpt driver for this to work
Maybe communicate over a named pipe or named shared memory segment?
Could buffer/timestamp transactions for accurate delays
To get accurate timing, would we have to block client app?

galXXXX - Simulate Generic Array Logic ICs at fuse level

spitty - Display SPI traffic in a similar fashion to the built-in tty and tty2 components
USBN9604 - Simulate this USB to FIFO chip

Could communicate with the USB/IP Windows client using a loopback network socket
Could use a custom modified LibUsb-Win32 library that client applications re-compile with for simulation
Could use a kernel mode virtual USB host controller driver; one possible starting point is the ReactOS USB Stack
Could use the Win32 Device Simulation Framework; not sure if users would need to install the DDK
Could modify the OHCI/UHCI code in the Bochs x86 emulator to support virtual USB devices from user space
Could modify the UHCI code in the QEMU x86 emulator/virtualizer to support virtual USB devices from user space
Would allow complete simulation of USBprog in VMLAB

usbxch - Generic encoder/decoder for a raw USB serial stream

Use same techniques as USBN9604 component to communicate with host Windows system
Would allow simulation of software USB stacks like V-USB and USBtiny
Would allow simulation of AVRs with USB hardware using the new peripheral component interface

mcp23s08/s17 - SPI 8/16-bit I/O port expander

There are several other port expanders that can be simulated

ntscdisp/paldisp - Baseband video signal (black and white) display emulator

See http://www.dattalo.com/gnupic/gpsim.html#modules

rotenc - Rotary gray code encoder

See http://www.dattalo.com/gnupic/gpsim.html#modules

stepcnc - Simulate stepper motor controlled 1 to 6 axis CNC machine

Changes in stepper motor position are logged to file in G-Code format
One stepcnc component per axis; instance name specifies axis
The tool path can be visualized by opening the G-Code file with CNC Simulation software.

systemc - Provide the tools and libraries to convert SystemC modules into VMLAB user components

The Pinapa SystemC front end may be usefull in generating the VMLAB specific wrapper code
The Verilator Verilog to SystemC/C++ compiler can help convert Verilog modules to VMLAB components

Contact

You can contact me either by posting in the VMLAB user forum or by emailing me directly. I have a Gmail account with the user name "thvortex".

Copyright

The contents (HTML and images) of this website are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Unless otherwise noted, all of the downloadable VMLAB components (binaries, sources, and project files) found on this website are released as Public Domain so they can be bundled (or statically linked to) and distributed with VMLAB if AMTools so wishes.

Disclaimers

THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION.

IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MODIFIES AND/OR CONVEYS THE PROGRAM AS PERMITTED ABOVE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE PROGRAM TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER PROGRAMS), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.