verilator
Support option for simpler building of executables
Now that v5 has timing support and hand-written C++ is no longer required, I wonder if it would be helpful for new/simple users to have an option like --run, which verilates, compiles, and runs the simulation. Currently you have to type:
verilator --cc --timing --main --exe --build foo.v
./obj_dir/Vfoo
Instead could just be
verilator --run foo.v
I don't have strong feelings about it and I am unlikely to use this myself, but might help lower the entry barrier?
I don't want to support --run, because I think it combines two things that should be separated in the user's mind to avoid rebuild penalties. Also more trivially bin/verilator needs to handle runtime flags and that's a whole collision to avoid.
Maybe we should change --main to imply --cc, as it is an output mode of sorts.
Perhaps a new option to combine "--timing --main --exe --build"? It's too bad --exe already is taken, as that's what it is creating.
Fair enough regarding the compile/run separation (that is until the hot-swappable JIT backend arrives ;))
Maybe we should change --main to imply --cc, as it is an output mode of sorts.
Probably should do that as I guess --main --sc would bomb anyway?
I pushed a commit to have --main imply -cc. Also I realized that --main was still internal only, so pushed documenting it.
I realized that --bin was taken, it's a rare option that has a parameter so we could still take it (since an error will happen if someone uses the old form). It might make sense to rename --bin as --exe-name regardless.
Shouldn't this also add --timing? (unless --no-timing was given explicitly?)