RE: [sv-ec] Queue delete() method

As I tried to argue a year ago when the ' (tick) was introduced in an
assignment pattern, there are simulators even today that don't require
the tick and in places don't even allow it. I think the committee needs
to accept this syntax and work towards finding the proper language to
describe it.

{} is not an assignment pattern, it is a concatenation of an unpacked
array with 0 elements. Each item in a concatenation may be of the
destination array element type, or any unpacked array type of the
destination array element type. All of the elements are recombined into
single dimension of the destination array type. If a fixed sized array,
the number of elements must match the size of the dimension, otherwise
the array is resized to match the number of elements.

I think the two main problems we had trying to find the right language
to describe this was 
a) Detailing the cases where {} might be ambiguous and generating an
error.
b) Determining the context of {} when nested. Since each item of an
unpacked concatenation could be either an array element type or an array
of array element types. I think we could of just made a simple rule that
said that a nested {} could only be of the array element type.

Dave


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-sv-ec@server.eda-stds.org [mailto:owner-sv-ec@server.eda-
> stds.org] On Behalf Of Bresticker, Shalom
> Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 5:17 AM
> To: sv-ec@server.eda-stds.org
> Subject: RE: [sv-ec] Queue delete() method
> 
> Doubly interesting.
> So far as I can see, you can't have an empty assignment pattern. See
> Syntax 8-2.
> This would mean, for example, that you cannot clear a dynamic array by
> assignment of an empty array literal.
> 
> As previously pointed out many times, a problem specific to queues
with
> both {} and '{} is the use of a syntax like "q = { q, 6 };". In all
> other types of arrays, that would be a literal of two elements, where
> the first is q and the second is 6, and not a shortcut for writing a
> concatenation of all the elements of q.
> 
> Finally, I also note that the sentence, "Unlike arrays, the empty
queue,
> {}, is a valid queue and the result of some queue operations," as
> worded, says that empty dynamic and associative arrays are not valid,
> which is not the case.
> 
> Shalom
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-sv-ec@server.eda-stds.org
[mailto:owner-sv-ec@server.eda-
> > stds.org] On Behalf Of Steven Sharp
> > Sent: Friday, August 04, 2006 12:04 AM
> > To: sv-ec@server.eda-stds.org; Brad.Pierce@synopsys.com
> > Subject: RE: [sv-ec] Queue delete() method
> >
> >
> > >From: "Brad Pierce" <Brad.Pierce@synopsys.com>
> >
> > >The nonterminal "empty_queue" is defined as "{}" in A.8.1, and used
> in
> > >"primary_literal" in  A.8.4.
> >
> > Interesting point.  So {} as an empty queue is not arising as the
> > degenerate case of this undefined queue concatenation operation.
> > It is specified as a separate thing.  And there is even normative
> > text defining it in 5.14:
> >
> > "The empty array literal {} is used to denote an empty queue."
> >
> > The problem is that {} is not the empty array literal, so this
> > statement is self-contradictory.  The empty array literal would
> > now be '{}.
> >
> > The text clearly states the intent to use the empty array literal,
> > and refers to the old syntax for an empty array literal.  This
> > appears to be a case where the syntax was not updated when the
> > array literal syntax was changed.  This sentence should be updated
> > to the new syntax of '{}, as should empty_queue in A.8.1 and the
> > attached note.
> >
> > I presume that the reason this is specified specially is that an
> > empty assignment pattern is not normally legal.  Is that true?
> > If so, then the purpose of this text in 5.14, and the empty_queue
> > production in A.8.1 is to say that it is legal in the special case
> > of an assignment pattern of type queue.  Or maybe empty array
literals
> > used to be illegal in older BNF, even if empty assignment patterns
> > are legal in the current BNF.
> >
> > So I conclude that even if the special queue concatenation operation
> > were defined, you would still have to use '{} for the empty queue.
> >
> > Steven Sharp
> > sharp@cadence.com