Configuration controlled Test Selection

In this approach the transactors contain the code for all tests. The behaviour of the transactor can be controlled by a generic. The value of the generic defines which test is run. For each test a configuration statement exists which selects the test in the transactor by assigning the appropriate value to the generic parameter. (For example: configuration tb_A selects test A in the transactor by assigning the value "test_a" to the generic testselector of the transactor.)

Some problems of this approach are:

• Transactor code becomes very large and difficult to handle
• Modifying the transactor code for one test could potentially cause a problem in another test (e.g. accidental editing)

Some of the benefits are:

• Pure VHDL, no dependency on OS specific tools
• Tests can be compiled before simulation, so syntax errors are detected before the simulation runs
• Tests can be readily understood by designers who are familiar with VHDL
• All structural elements of VHDL are available
• Tests can react flexibly on the response of the DUT, full access to all signals known to the transactor is possible