Python Based Testbench for Coverage Driven Functional Verification

As digital design gets more complex, verification takes more efforts and it increasingly costs more than the design. The common verification practice of using the universal verification methodology (UVM)/system verilog (SV) has a higher entry barrier than using one of the most popular language Python. The paper uses the Python-based coroutine cosimulation testbench (cocotb) to verify a serial peripheral interface (SPI) and an advanced peripheral bus (APB) controller. The process of coverage driven verification from the test planning to the regression testing is discussed. The result confirms the correctness of the APB-SPI controller functions.