插件

简介

对于某些设计，您可能希望通过使用某种插件来组合组件的硬件，而不是直接在组件中实现硬件。这可以提供一些关键特性：

您可以通过在组件的参数中添加新的插件来扩展组件的功能。例如，在CPU中添加浮点支持。
您可以通过使用另一组插件来轻松切换相同功能的各种实现。例如，某个CPU乘法器的实现可能在某些FPGA上表现良好，而其他实现可能在ASIC上表现良好。
It avoid the very very very large hand written toplevel syndrome where everything has to be connected manually. Instead plugins can discover their neighborhood by looking/using the software interface of other plugins.

VexRiscv和NaxRiscv项目就是这方面的例子。它们是具有大部分是空白的顶层的CPU，其硬件部分通过插件注入。例如：

PcPlugin
FetchPlugin
DecoderPlugin
RegFilePlugin
IntAluPlugin
…

And those plugins will then negotiate/propagate/interconnect to each others via their pool of services.

虽然VexRiscv使用严格的同步二阶段系统（设置(setup)/构建(build)回调(callback)），但NaxRiscv采用了一种更灵活的方法，使用spinal.core.fiber API来分叉实例化线程，这些线程可以联锁，以确保可行的实例化顺序。

插件API(Plugin API)提供了一个类似NaxRiscv的系统来定义使用插件的可组合组件。

执行顺序

主要思想是您有多个2执行环节：

Setup phase, in which plugins can lock/retain each others. The idea is not to start negotiation / elaboration yet.
Build phase, in which plugins can negotiation / elaboration hardware.

构建环节将不会在所有FiberPlugin完成其设置环节前启动。

class MyPlugin extends FiberPlugin {
  val logic = during setup new Area {
    // Here we are executing code in the setup phase
    awaitBuild()
    // Here we are executing code in the build phase
  }
}

class MyPlugin2 extends FiberPlugin {
  val logic = during build new Area {
    // Here we are executing code in the build phase
  }
}

简单示例

这是一个简单的虚设示例，其中包含一个将使用两个插件组合的SubComponent：

import spinal.core._
import spinal.lib.misc.plugin._

// Let's define a Component with a PluginHost instance
class SubComponent extends Component {
  val host = new PluginHost()
}

// Let's define a plugin which create a register
class StatePlugin extends FiberPlugin {
  // during build new Area { body } will run the body of code in the Fiber build phase, in the context of the PluginHost
  val logic = during build new Area {
    val signal = Reg(UInt(32 bits))
  }
}

// Let's define a plugin which will make the StatePlugin's register increment
class DriverPlugin extends FiberPlugin {
  // We define how to get the instance of StatePlugin.logic from the PluginHost. It is a lazy val, because we can't evaluate it until the plugin is bound to its host.
  lazy val sp = host[StatePlugin].logic.get

  val logic = during build new Area {
    // Generate the increment hardware
    sp.signal := sp.signal + 1
  }
}

class TopLevel extends Component {
  val sub = new SubComponent()

  // Here we create plugins and embed them in sub.host
  new DriverPlugin().setHost(sub.host)
  new StatePlugin().setHost(sub.host)
}

该TopLevel会生成以下Verilog代码：

module TopLevel (
  input  wire          clk,
  input  wire          reset
);


  SubComponent sub (
    .clk   (clk  ), // i
    .reset (reset)  // i
  );

endmodule

module SubComponent (
  input  wire          clk,
  input  wire          reset
);

  reg        [31:0]   StatePlugin_logic_signal; // Created by StatePlugin

  always @(posedge clk) begin
    StatePlugin_logic_signal <= (StatePlugin_logic_signal + 32'h00000001); // incremented by DriverPlugin
  end
endmodule

请注意，每次在“构建期间”分叉一个实例化线程时，DriverPlugin.logic线程的执行将在“sp”评估上被阻塞，直到StatePlugin.logic执行完成。

联锁/排序

插件可以通过Retainer实例相互联锁。每个插件实例都有一个内置锁，可以通过retain/release函数进行控制。

这是一个基于上面的简单示例的例子，但这次，DriverPlugin将通过由其他插件（在我们的例子中是SetupPlugin）设置的数量对StatePlugin.logic.signal递增。为了确保DriverPlugin不会过早生成硬件，SetupPlugin使用DriverPlugin.retain/release函数。

import spinal.core._
import spinal.lib.misc.plugin._
import spinal.core.fiber._

class SubComponent extends Component {
  val host = new PluginHost()
}

class StatePlugin extends FiberPlugin {
  val logic = during build new Area {
    val signal = Reg(UInt(32 bits))
  }
}

class DriverPlugin extends FiberPlugin {
  // incrementBy will be set by others plugin at elaboration time
  var incrementBy = 0
  // retainer allows other plugins to create locks, on which this plugin will wait before using incrementBy
  val retainer = Retainer()

  val logic = during build new Area {
    val sp = host[StatePlugin].logic.get
    retainer.await()

    // Generate the incrementer hardware
    sp.signal := sp.signal + incrementBy
  }
}

// Let's define a plugin which will modify the DriverPlugin.incrementBy variable because letting it elaborate its hardware
class SetupPlugin extends FiberPlugin {
  // during setup { body } will spawn the body of code in the Fiber setup phase (it is before the Fiber build phase)
  val logic = during setup new Area {
    // *** Setup phase code ***
    val dp = host[DriverPlugin]

    // Prevent the DriverPlugin from executing its build's body (until release() is called)
    val lock = dp.retainer()
    // Wait until the fiber phase reached build phase
    awaitBuild()

    // *** Build phase code ***
    // Let's mutate DriverPlugin.incrementBy
    dp.incrementBy += 1

    // Allows the DriverPlugin to execute its build's body
    lock.release()
  }
}

class TopLevel extends Component {
  val sub = new SubComponent()

  sub.host.asHostOf(
    new DriverPlugin(),
    new StatePlugin(),
    new SetupPlugin(),
    new SetupPlugin() // Let's add a second SetupPlugin, because we can
  )
}

这是生成的verilog

module TopLevel (
  input  wire          clk,
  input  wire          reset
);


  SubComponent sub (
    .clk   (clk  ), // i
    .reset (reset)  // i
  );

endmodule

module SubComponent (
  input  wire          clk,
  input  wire          reset
);

  reg        [31:0]   StatePlugin_logic_signal;

  always @(posedge clk) begin
    StatePlugin_logic_signal <= (StatePlugin_logic_signal + 32'h00000002); // + 2 as we have two SetupPlugin
  end
endmodule

显然，这些示例对于它们的功能来说有些过度，总体上的思路更多地是：

Negotiate / create interfaces between plugins (ex jump / flush ports)
安排实例化（例如解码/调度规范）
提供一个可扩展的分布式框架（最小硬编码）