Open solutions are just curiosities
until the ecosystem figures out how to turn them into money. Java and
Linux are good examples of that. When they first hit the "open"
space, they were interesting technical solutions to interoperability (Java) and
breaking the proprietary operating system monopoly (Linux). It's only
when companies started wrapping products and services around them that they
really electrified their respective ecosystems. The same thing is
happening right now for the Accellera Unified Coverage Interoperability
Standard (UCIS), an open and industry-standard API that promises to facilitate and improve on
verification productivity.
As coverage is the language of verification, the openness of UCIS is the jumpstart that our ecosystem needs to enable new innovation and capabilities for one of the biggest challenge areas in Silicon Realization. UCIS is about bringing together suppliers, customers, and facilitators to solve some really difficult and challenging problems in the coverage interoperability space. For years now, customers have had the difficulty of trying to figure this out on their own -- writing their own scripts, maintaining their own libraries, devising their own databases, and developing their own translators to support some level of coverage interoperability.
Most industry initiatives are only partially balanced among suppliers, customers and facilitators. But the fact that the suppliers for all three of the major functional verification simulators are jointly and actively participating brings hope for those customers devising their own schemes, and brings new business opportunities for the entire ecosystem. Just like Java and Linux before it, the questions being asked draw facilitators -- those members of the ecosystem that provide value beyond the suppliers. We can expect to see offers of training, services, tools, and more in coming years -- which means that yes, UCIS Innovation Means Business.
This year, we will likely see a UCIS 1.0 standard released from Accellera. It's the first big step for coverage interoperability after literally years of working on it. We are already seeing customer, supplier and facilitator (see diagram, above right) participation increase significantly over the past 6 months. As a self-avowed UCIS proponent, I participate to help bring the ecosystem together and get more business flowing for everyone. If you would like to participate, there is lots more interesting work to do, and participation is highly encouraged. Simply join Accellera at http://www.accellera.org/home.
Metric Driven Verification Advocate & UCIS Proponent,
John Brennan