IEEE Approves Property Language Standard for Verification of Complex Software.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The IEEE has approved a standard to help software developers save verification time, effort and cost while improving quality. The new standard, IEEE 1850(TM), "Standard for PSL: Property Specification Language," specifies the design behavior of electronic systems using properties, assertions and other approaches. It was developed within the IEEE Standard Association's Corporate Program.

IEEE 1850 refines the Accellera PSL 1.1 specification which provides for property-based verification. The new standard addresses several technical issues and adds interfaces that make it compatible with mixed-language designs involving IEEE 1076(TM) VHDL, IEEE 1364(TM) Verilog, IEEE 1800(TM) SystemVerilog, OSCI SystemC and other system design languages.

"This standard seeks to ease the burden of verifying complex hardware designs, which can account for more than 60 percent of a design cycle," says Harry Foster, Chair of the IEEE 1850 Working Group. "The expressiveness inherent in PSL allows engineers to capture functional specifications concisely and unambiguously, which then can be used during the design and verification process.

"Property Specification Language (PSL) gives designers an elegant way to work with the intricate software inherent in very large scale integration that goes well beyond the limits of natural design languages based on words. It also increases confidence that chip and system designs are correct before fabrication. The PSL version in IEEE 1850 is unique in that it supports formal specification and verification of design intent across all major hardware description languages."

Standards are developed within the IEEE-SA Corporate Program in company-based working groups in which each member has one vote. This industry-oriented program often allows for standards creation in one to two years, depending on participant commitment and the use of IEEE support services.

IEEE 1850 was sponsored by the Design Automation Standards Committee within the IEEE Computer Society and by the IEEE Corporate Advisory Group.

About the IEEE Standards Association 

The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body, develops consensus standards through an open process that brings diverse parts of an industry together. These standards set specifications and procedures based on current scientific consensus. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of more than 870 completed standards and more than 400 standards in development. Over 15,000 IEEE members worldwide belong to IEEE-SA and voluntarily participate in standards activities. For information on IEEE-SA see: http://www.standards.ieee.org/.

About the IEEE

The IEEE has more than 360-++,000 members in approximately 150 countries. Through its members, the organization is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace, computers and telecommunications to biomedicine, electric power and consumer electronics. The IEEE produces nearly 30 percent of the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering, computing and control technology fields. This nonprofit organization also sponsors or cosponsors more than 300 technical conferences each year. Additional information about the IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org.