Program product providing a configuration specification language having clone latch support

A data processing system for creating a relationship between latches in a digital design, said data processing system comprising:

• processing resources;
• and
• data storage coupled to said processing resources and including a configuration compiler, said configuration compiler providing functionality for:
• receiving one or more design intermediate files representing a digital design, said one or more design intermediate files specifying a parent latch within said digital design and including:
• a clone latch declaration specifying a clone latch and a relationship between said clone latch and the parent latch according to which said clone latch is automatically set to a same value as the parent latch when the parent latch is set after said clone latch is created, wherein said clone latch declaration comprises an HDL clone latch declaration in which the parent latch is identified by an HDL attribute-value pair;
• and
• responsive to receiving said declaration in said one or more design intermediate files, creating at least one data structure in a configuration database representing said clone latch and a relationship between said clone latch and said parent latch.

A program product for specifying a relationship between latches in a digital design in one or more hardware description language (HDL) files, said program product comprising a computer usable storage medium including software instructions for:

• specifying, in an HDL statement within one of one or more HDL files representing a digital design, a parent latch within the digital design;
• specifying, in the one or more HDL files, a clone latch within the digital design utilizing an HDL clone latch declaration;
• associating an HDL attribute-value pair with said HDL clone latch declaration indicating a relationship between said clone latch and said parent latch according to which said clone latch is automatically set to a same value as said parent latch when the parent latch is set after said clone latch is created;
• additionally indicating said relationship between said clone latch and the parent latch in a configuration specification language clone latch declaration included within said one or more HDL files;
• and
• processing said one or more HDL files to obtain a simulation executable model and a configuration database containing a data structure in a configuration database representing said clone latch and a relationship between said clone latch and said parent latch.

A program product for creating a relationship between latches in a digital design, said program product comprising a computer readable storage medium including software instructions for:

• receiving one or more design intermediate files representing a digital design, said one or more design intermediate files specifying a parent latch within said digital design and including:
• a clone latch declaration specifying a clone latch and a relationship between said clone latch and the parent latch according to which said clone latch is automatically set to a same value as the parent latch when the parent latch is set after said clone latch is created, wherein said clone latch declaration comprises an HDL clone latch declaration in which the parent latch is identified by an HDL attribute-value pair;
• and
• a configuration specification language clone latch declaration;
• and
• responsive to receiving said declarations in said one or more design intermediate files, creating at least one data structure in a configuration database representing said clone latch and a relationship between said clone latch and said parent latch.