Fundamentals of LINT

Lint :

- A Static analysis of code (e.g HDL) based on a series of rules and guidelines that reflect good coding practices, common errors that tend to lead to buggy code or problems

- Lint tools are used to check potential mismatches between simulation and synthesis in VLSI Design

- Lint incorporates syntactical compliance checks against various coding best practice standards such as STARC

- Lint can catch bugs without requiring specific test vectors and hence reduces the number of simulation cycles needed to achieve coverage of a logic block

- Industry standard Famous LINT Tools : Synopsys SpyGlass, LEDA

Typical LINT Targets :

- Unintentional Latches (Latch inference)

- Unused Declarations

- Un-Synthesizable Constructs

- Missing Parameters in Hierarchical Modules

- Race Conditions

- Multiple Driver issue

- Undriven Signals

- Incorrect uses of Blocking and Non-Blocking Assignments

- Formation of Combinational Loops

- Case Statement Style issue

- Set and Reset Conflicts

- Out-of-Bound Indexing






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