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IP-XACT Working Group

Charter

To provide a well-defined XML Schema for meta-data that documents the characteristics of Intellectual Property (IP) required for the automation of the configuration and integration of IP blocks; and to define an Application Programming Interface (API) to make this meta-data directly accessible to automation tools. The technical committee's goals are:

  • To identify areas of improvement in current IP-XACT standard
  • To define standard for power analysis, early prototyping, AMS, verification, debug
  • To define the extensions aligned with committee member companies and EDA vendors
  • To encourage the world semiconductor community to enrich their designs with IP-XACT

Chair: Erwin de Kock, NXP

Current Status

In August 2013, the recommended vendor extensions to standard IEEE 1685-2009 IP-XACT was approved by Accellera. It is available for download here.

This release candidate was approved by the IP-XACT Working Group in May 2013. The recommended vendor extensions package contains documentation (Word/PDF) and the schema (xsd), as well as some examples illustrating how to apply the extensions to various applications.

If you would like to report general technical issues pertaining to the extensions directly to the working group, please email your feedback to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The IP-XACT WG will make every effort to properly assess and incorporate feedback received as it deems appropriate.

Scope

IEEE 1685, "Standard for IP-XACT, Standard Structure for Packaging, Integrating and Re-Using IP Within Tool-Flows," describes an XML Schema for meta-data documenting Intellectual Property (IP) used in the development, implementation and verification of electronic systems and an Application Programming Interface (API) to provide tool access to the meta-data. This schema provides a standard method to document IP that is compatible with automated integration techniques. The API provides a standard method for linking tools into a System Development framework, enabling a more flexible, optimized development environment. Tools compliant with this standard will be able to interpret, configure, integrate and manipulate IP blocks that comply with the proposed IP meta-data description. The standard will be independent of any specific design process. It does not cover the behavioral characteristics of the IP.

Background

In July 2010, the IP-XACT Schema Working Group was formed by Accellera.

Prior to that, the SPIRIT Consortium had developed and specified the IP-XACT standard since 2003. During this time, several versions were released with an increasing range of features to address many aspects of expressing IP to allow tools to import and correctly integrate IP into designs. The many aspects addressed include register descriptions, interconnect, verification and the use of models. The SPIRIT Consortium submitted the IP-XACT specification in June 2009 to the IEEE-SA for industry approval, which successfully completed the balloting process by the end of the same year.

In June 2010, the IEEE 1685 IP-XACT standard became available for free download from the IEEE.

IEEE 1685 was developed within the IEEE Standards Association Corporate Program in which each participating member entity (such as corporations or other institutions) has one vote. This industry-oriented program often allows for standards creation in one to two years, depending on participant commitment and the use of IEEE support services. The program also provides a route to international acceptance for a standard based on the IEEE's broad ties to the international standards community.

The IP-XACT forms that are standardized include: components, systems, bus interfaces and connections, abstractions of those buses, and details of the components including address maps, register and field descriptions, and file set descriptions for use in automating design, verification, documentation, and use flows for electronic systems. A set of XML schemas of the form described by the World Wide Web Consortium (w3c) and a set of semantic consistency rules (SCRs) are included. A generator interface that is portable across tool environments is provided. The specified combination of methodology-independent meta-data and the tool-independent mechanism for accessing that data provides for portability of design data, design methodologies, and environment implementations.

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