------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for OVM-2.1.2
May 26, 2011

** Bug Fixes

  - ovm_comparer was not regarding its verbosity setting.

  - ovm_objection source object handle not set to ovm_top if not
     supplied in raise/drop_objection.

  - ovm_report_object is no longer declared virtual.

  - allow phase_timeout and stop_timeout to be disabled (when set
    to 0).

  - ovm_do_callbacks macros - fixed case that cause null-pointer 

  - `ovm_field_sarray_* macros - fixed auto-config issue

  - `ovm_field_object macro - fix memory leak with object copy

  - produce error if the selected sequence for try_next_item 
    does not produce a sequence item during wait_for_sequences().
    This can occur if time is consumed between calls to start_item()
    and finish_item().

  - call set_sequencer()/reseed() in start() method to remove
    dependency on create_item()

  - produce error if parent sequence finishes before releasing its
    locks or before children are finished (can filter)

** Enhancements

  - ovm_pool - Added get_global method.

  - ovm_transaction/ovm_sequence_item - exposed event pool member
    'events' to public API. 

  - move response queue handling to ovm_sequence_base to allow
    polymorphic response handling


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for OVM-2.1.1
March 18, 2010

** Bug Fixes

  - ovm_report_enabled() method now also tests the configured action as well
    as its verbosity when determining whether to process the report. If a
    report's action is configured to OVM_NO_ACTION, or if its verbosity is
    higher than the configured verbosity, ovm_report_enabled() returns 0.
    Because the `ovm_* report macros use ovm_report_enabled(), they too
    benefit from this performance improvement.

  - Verbosity was not being ignored for fatals, errors, and warnings. This
    is now fixed.

  - Added is_locked() method to ovm_sequence_base.

  - Fixed ovm_queue #(T) to not assume its parameter, T, was an object.

  - A FATAL report is issued if an attempt is made to connect() ports at or
    after the end_of_elaboration phase.

  - Fixed multi-field configuration matching for ovm_field macros. In OVM 2.1
    only the first matching field in a component was applied, now all matching
    fields are applied.

  - Sequence arbitration was broken when in strict_fifo or strict_random modes.
    When used in conjunction with is_relevant() or is_blocked(), the priority
    queue was incorrectly determined, resulting in blocked or irrelevant
    sequences potentially being chosen. This has been fixed.

  - Fixed bug in transaction recording that was resulting in nested objects
    not being recorded.

  - Fixed ovm_field_int_*_unsigned macros by removing unnecessary attempt to
    cast to 'int unsigned'.
  
  - Added force_stop() method to ovm_test_done_objection that forces a stop
    despite outstanding objections. This effectively cancels an objection. 
    By default, the objection state is printed if there are outstanding
    objections at the time of the call.

  - Fixed ovm_sequence's kill() and ovm_sequencer's stop_sequences() behavior
    whereby a killed/stopped sequence's post_body method was allowed to execute.
    Now, calls to kill() or stop_sequences() will absolutely kill the affected
    sequence(s) and leave the sequence in the STOPPED state.


** Documentation Fixes

  - Corrected documentation for (un)pack_string.

  - Fixed HTML documentation 'search' engine to include macros. It was not
    properly handling the macros' leading backtick (`).
  
  - Changed macro documentation to be consistent: The backtick is included,
    whereas the arguments are not.
  
  - Documented do_kill_all() method as a means of recursively killing the
    processes forked during a component's run phase. The objection and stop
    mechanisms remain the preferred way to end the run phase.
  

** Miscellaneous

  - Turned off auto-config for all port objects. 
  
  - ovm_sequencer_base::get_seq_kind() was changed to issue a WARNING instead
    of an FATAL if the named sequence is not found. This allows users to
    check if a specifically named sequence is registered. A return value of 
    -1 indicates the sequence does not exist.

  - Removed an old, unnecessary ifdef INCA in the ovm_component::find() code.

  - Changed internal macros in ovm_object_defines.svh to use m_ to provide
    visual indication that the macros are for internal use only.

  - ovm_port_base::connect() and resolve_bindings() were made virtual
    to allow their override in port derivatives.

  - Made sequence registration methods protected and virtual to allow
    internal tools to work with them.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for OVM-2.1
December 18, 2009

** New Features

  - Added an objection mechanism for coordinating the end-of-test
    condition, i.e. ending the run phase. Any number of objects,
    components, and even module-based IP can participate in
    the end-of-test decision.

  - Added a typesafe callback facility as an alternatve means
    of customizing component behavior without inheritance. The
    documentation will show that providing hooks in the form of
    both virtual methods and callback objects affords users the
    most flexibility for customizing component behavior.

  - Added a parameterized ovm_pool #(KEY, T) class. Both ovm_event_pool
    and ovm_barrier_pool are now typedef'd to a specialization of
    the parameterized pool.

  - Added a parameterized ovm_queue #(T) class. Class-based versions
    of the associative array and queue allow for conditional
    allocation and efficient pass-by-reference and store-by-reference
    capabilities.

  - Added support for real fields via the new macro `ovm_field_real.

  - Added support for associative arrays of integral types indexed
    by enumerated types with the macro `ovm_field_aa_int_enumkey.

  - Added the virtual function get_object_type() to the ovm_object
    class to return the factory wrapper object that can be used to
    construct the object type.

  - Added the get_count() method to the ovm_random_sequence class to
    provide a means of accessing the random count that the sequence
    is using.

** API Changes

  - Changed the interface methods (such as get_next_item()) in the sequencer 
    classes to be virtual. 

  - Changed ovm_report_server::id_count array from local to protected
    to allow access in ovm_report_server subtypes.

  - Documentation updated for ovm_report_* methods. Includes explanation
    that verbosity is now ignored for warning, error, and fatal reports.

** Performance Optimizations

  - The ovm_report_enabled method was enhanced to also check whether
    the configured action for a given report severity and id is not
    OVM_NO_ACTION.  This, in addition to the verbosity check, enables
    disabled reports to be efficiently filtered out before incurring
    the overhead of message string processing.

** Compatibility changes

  - AVM FILE Compatibility

    Methods in AVM that take a file descriptor used FILE as the argument
    type, whereas in OVM the argument type is OVM_FILE.  Users 
    using the FILE type will need to typedef it
    | typedef OVM_FILE FILE;
    or
    | typedef int FILE;
  
** Example Updates:

  - The Xbus example was modified to use the objection mechanism.

  - An simple objection example was added.

  - An simple callback example was added.


** Notable bugs fixed

  - A race condition existed in untimed simulations between the call
    to stop_request and the process that is forked to monitor the
    stop request. This has been fixed.

  - In Questa 6.5x and prior, running vlog with -noopt could cause the
    simulation to timeout after normal completiion of all OVM phasing.
    This issue has been fixed.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for OVM-2.0.3
November 9, 2009

------------------------

** Performance Optimizations

  - Added message macros, `ovm_info, `ovm_warning, `ovm_error and
    `ovm_fatal to help with performance and to allow for file and line 
    information in messages.

  - Fixed factory performance issue when a large number of instance
    overrides are registered. The factory now keeps a seperate override
    queue per requested type.

  - Added configuration cache and other optimizations to
    increase configuration performance.

** Bugs Fixed:

  - convert2string was promoted from ovm_transaction to ovm_object.
    Users can now return object information in the form of a string
    without requiring use of the ovm_printer policy class. 
    Overrides of ovm_object::do_print are expected to use the
    given ovm_printer policy class.

  - All OVM library ovm_report_warning, ovm_report_error,
    and ovm_report_fatal messages were changed to have OVM_NONE
    verbosity to prevent user-configured verbosity settings from 
    inadvertantly suppressing them.

  - Added macro OVM_PACKER_MAX_BYTES to allow for the internal packer
    object to be increased in the case of overflow.

  - Fixed deep copy for `ovm_field_array_object, `ovm_field_sarray_object,
    and `ovm_field_queue_object. Deep copy was unconditionally creating
    a new array instead of reusing the lhs array.

  - Duplicate factory override WARNING changed to INFO. 

  - Overriding a factory override message demoted from WARNING to INFO

  - Avoid compiler warnings by testing associative array entry for
    existence before dereferencing.

  - Create method in `ovm_object_utils and ovm_object_registry #()
    will not set the object's name if the given name is the empty
    string. This allows object designers to choose a non-empty
    default name that will not be overwritten by factory.

  - tlm_fifo::get_ap no longer emits transactions on peek operations

  - Fixed corruption of last byte/word in ovm_packer::get_bytes and
    get_ints, which affected ovm_object::pack_bytes and pack_ints.

  - Added/corrected documentation for tlm_fifo methods: size, used,
    is_full, is_empty.

  - Added OVM_MAX_STREAMBITS define to allow users to set the maximum
    number of bits in value arguments to ovm_component::set_config_int, 
    ovm_packer::pack/unpack_field, ovm_printer::print_field, and
    ovm_comparer::compare_field. Default is 4096 bits.

  - Added OVM_PACKER_MAX_BYTES define to allow users to set the
    maximum capacity of the packer's internal bitstream, in bytes.
    Default is 4096 bytes.
    
  - wait_for_relevant calls are now run in parallel to allow the
    first available is_relevant sequence to be chosen.

  - A call to try_next_item could block if the chosen sequence
    was locked.

  - Return value of ovm_object::pack/unpack_bits/bytes not consistent
    with documentation. In all cases now, the number of actual bits
    packed or unpacked is returned.

  - Changed the output of the CFGNTS message to be more clear.

  - ovm_sequencer::has_do_available now works with virtual sequences

  - Multiple deregistration of a sequence fixed.

  - A sequencer ungrab() without a previous grab() is now caught.

** Deprecations

  - The ovm_object::do_sprint method is now deprecated. Its default
    implementation now calls convert2string.

** Documentation Changes:

  - Added documentation for the ovm_*_imp_decl macros.

  - Added documentation for the the declare_p_sequencer macro.

  - Added documentation for the convert2string method, which
    is now a member of the ovm_object class.

** Example Changes:

  - All examples were changed to use the new reporting macros.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for OVM-2.0.2
June 3, 2009

------------------------

** API Changes:

  - Added function for checking configuration usage:
    function void check_config_usage (bit recurse = 1)

    Checks that all settings in the configuration table have been used.
    Additional detail is available by setting the actions for the
    following report ids:
      CFGOVR -- reports settings that have been overridden from above.
      CFGSET -- reports all settings that have been applied.

  - Changed ovm_report_server::summarize() to be virtual to allow
    summaries to be changed in derivative server objects.

  - Changed the RSP argument in the tlm_req_rsp channel to default to
    the REQ type instead of to int.

** Documentation Changes:

  - The Reference manual has been removed and replaced with Natural
    Docs HTML code. All documentation for the reference is now 
    contained inside of the OVM source code. Natural Docs is used
    to generate new documentation at release time. The intention is
    to ensure that all of OVM is documented and the document stays
    up to date with any code changes.

** Example Changes:

  - Fixed xbus slave connect to properly handle the active/passive
    setting.

  - Changed xbus to use an import package methodology instead of an
    included methodology. An ifdef is in place to allow previous IUS
    versions to still work.

** Bugs Fixed:

  - Added configuration checking to verify that all configuration 
    settings are used. The check is done during the check phase
    (after the run phase), but can be manually done at any time.

  - Fixed get_config() to search ovm_top. The global configuration
    table was moved into ovm_top, so a set_config outside of a component
    is now equivalent to ovm_top.set_config.

  - Fixed issue with automatic configuration that was causing excessive
    build times in particular situations.

  - Fixed table printer to removed the column when a field is turned
    off, without the need to explicitly set the field width to 0.

  - Fixed printing of dynamic arrays to print all elements when the
    begin_elements knob is set to -1.

  - Fixed OVM_NOPRINT for fields of type `ovm_field_sarray_*.

  - Fixed packing of `ovm_field_enum types to not pack when the 
    OVM_NOPACK is set.

  - Removed all procedural assertions from the OVM code. The issue is
    that many of the assertion expressions had side-effects, for
    example, assert(foo.randomize()). If assertions are turned off
    the expressions are never executed and the simulation fails.

  - Changed printing of sequence items to print the sequence name in the
    same way as was done in OVM 1.1.

  - Fixed +OVM_VERBOSITY when `message is used in conjunction with
    ovm_report_*.

  - Fixed OVM_FATAL messages to terminate immediately. They were
    forking a thread in order to terminate at the end of the 
    delta which resulted in unexpected behaviors.

  - Fixed random instability caused by the recording_detail setting. 
    When the setting was OVM_NONE, the transaction event objects were
    not being created, resulting in different random streams when the
    setting was other than OVM_NONE.

  - Fixed issue with ovm_create_random_seed (and by extension,
    ovm_object::reseed), that was causing seeds to be recycled under
    certain circumstances.

  - Fixed issue with OVM hanging when a component's parent was set to itself.

  - Fixed issue with start_item where a items were not properly initialized by
    create_item and a fatal error was being reported. Now, create_item does
    the appropriate initialization.

  - Fixed issue with the sequencer grab() task calling the lock routines
    instead of the grab routines.

  - Fixed ovm_sequencer::stop_sequences() to properly terminate all of the 
    sequences and empty the response queue.

  - Changed the ovm_sequencer_param_base::set_request() to honor the rerandomize 
    bit. When the rerandomize bit is set, the input item is randomized.

  - Changed all integers in the sequence code to be ints (2-state) to avoid 
    unexpected randomization issues when the variables default to x.

  - Fixed issue that caused sequences to get multiply registered.

  - Fixed message for terminated sequence to provide more information.

  - Made it illegal to specify a sequence priority of 0. In some cases a 0 
    priority was causing a crash.

  - Fixed ovm_sequence::start() to check that the parent_sequence is non-null 
    before using it. This allows the parent sequence to have been set previously
     without being overridden.

  - Fixed ovm_sequence_item::get_full_name() to generate the correct name.

  - Removed double allocation of sequence items in do macros. The double 
    allocation had previously been required for tool reasons.

  - Added a warning to not start the default sequence for the case that no user
     defined sequence exists (and no simple sequence exists).

  - Fixed a number of linting errors in the OVM code.

  - Added ifdef around %p usage in the ovm_builtin_converter class to allow the
     default implementation to run on IUS.

  - Fixed the ovm_*_utils macros to run on IUS with parameterized types.  
    Previously, IUS would issue an error about calling a built-in function
    from a parameterized type.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for OVM-2.0.1
December 3, 2008

-------------------------

** Bugs Fixed:

  - OVM factory registrations have been added for ovm_random_stimulus,
    ovm_in_order_comparator, ovm_algorithmic_comparator, and
    ovm_subscriber.

  - Fixed bug where unpack_field returned an incorrect x before actual
    value.

  - Fixed inconsistent use of inst_path in ovm_factory.

  - Fixed bug so that phases can now be inserted during build phase.

  - Added deprecation warning messages for all deprecated features 
    (see deprecated.txt file for list of deprecated features).

    Here is the list of deprecated features which will now emit warning
    messages if they are used:

        ovm_component::find_component
        ovm_component::find_components
        ovm_component::get_component
        ovm_component::get_num_components
        ovm_env::do_test
        ovm_factory::auto_register
        ovm_factory::set_type_override
        ovm_factory::set_inst_override
        ovm_factory::create_object
        ovm_factory::create_component
        ovm_factory::print_all_overrides
        ovm_factory::print_override_info
        ovm_find_component
        ovm_print_topology
        ovm_root::print_unit
        ovm_root::print_units
        ovm_root::print_unit_list
        ovm_sequence::new (sequencer_ptr and parent_seq args)
        ovm_sequencer_base::start_sequence
        ovm_sequence_item::new (sequencer_ptr and parent_seq args)
        ovm_sequence_item::set_parent_seq
        ovm_sequence_item::get_parent_seq

  - Added missing "static" keyword in ovm_component_registry_param macro.

  - Added a check in ovm_sequencer.svh to check that sequence_id is not
    -1, which indicates that set_id_info was not called.

  - Added error report if a sequence calls send_request() without first
    having called wait_for_grant().

  - Fixed ovm_file and ovm_line macros for Questa and IUS.

  - The +OVM_VERBOSITY command line option now properly sets the
    verbosity threshold in the report server.

    The command line syntax is: +<verbosity_flag>=<verbosity_value>

    <verbosity_flag> = OVM_VERBOSITY | ovm_verbosity | VERBOSITY | verbosity

    <verbosity_value = OVM_NONE | NONE | OVM_LOW | LOW | LO 
                     | OVM_MEDIUM | OVM_MED | MEDIUM | MED
                     | OVM_HIGH | OVM_HI | HIGH | HI | OVM_FULL
                     | FULL | OVM_DEBUG | DEBUG
                     | <verbosity_level>

    <verbosity_level> = integer >= 0 

  - The scenario compatibility layer default parameterization has been
    fixed to match sequences.

  - Some verbosity values in the urm compatibility were corrected.

  - The verbosity values in ovm_comparer were fixed.

  - Fixed `ovm_update_seq_and_lib so that it uses
    create_inst_override_by_type.

  - Moved all tlm defines to tlm_defines.svh file so that external use
    of *_decl macros now works properly.

  - fixed broken _decl macros

  - Removed use of '-' in format specifiers in ovm_report_handler.

  - Fixed user defined phases to allow use from different class
    hierarchies.

  - Fixed bug so that sequence kill now works properly.

  - Constructor for component registry has been fixed to use positional
    rather than named arguments for function calls.

  - Fixed code in ovm_object and macros so that ABSTRACT flag now works
    properly.

  - Fixed bug so that wait_for_sequence_state() now wakes up during the
    correct state.

  - Made a performance optimization in ovm_report_server to not call
    $swrite when not needed.

  - Fixed the internal buffer within ovm_packer to allow more than 4096
    total bits.

  - Fixed ovm_version strings to be constant parameters.

  - Fixed radix for comparison in field arrays.

  - Fixed default verbosity in urm compatibility area to OVM_MEDIUM to
    be consistent with previous default.

  - Fixed binding defines in urm compatibility area.

  - Added check to emit error in ovm_sequence_item::start_item when the
    sequencer is null.

  - Fixed bug so that grab followed by ungrab from a virtual sequence
    will now properly process items.

  - Improved error messages from the OVM library when doing a sequence
    on the wrong type of sequencer.

  - Fixed issue so that connect_if() can now be used for
    sequencer.seq_item_cons_if for backwards compatibility (note that
    connect_if() is deprecated still).

  - Added get_arbitration() function to ovm_sequencer_base.svh.

  - Fixed bug so that it is now possible to do items from virtual
    sequences on driver sequencers.

  - Fixed bug in which global timeout was printed in hex for questa
    (instead of %t).

  - Fixed bug in ovm_packer in which index error messages gave incorrect
    "valid range".

  - Fixed bug in ovm_object::pack_ints & unpack_ints in which they
    corrupted data.

  - Removed dead code in ovm_packer::put_bits.

  - Fixed bug in ovm_object::pack_ints.

  - Fixed bug in which parallel `ovm_do_on or wait_for_grant calls would
    fail.

  - Fixed bug were sequence priority was not passed correctly from
    built-in sequences.

  - Fixed bug so push_sequencer creates built-in sequences and starts
    default sequence the same way as the pull sequencer.

  - Fixed bug so that inheritance hierarchy of sequences all have access
    to p_sequencer in sequences with multiple inheritances.

  - Removed `ovm_sequence_param_utils macro.  This macro did not function
    correctly, and could give erroneous results.

      To use parameterized sequences in sequence libraries, wrap them in
      a non-parameterized class.

  - Sequencer calls get_config in both new and build routines to allow
    setting of default sequence in build phase to work.

  - _global_reporter is now aliased to ovm_top.  This is part of the
    process of deprecating _global_reporter.

  - modified the reporting interface in ovm_report_object by adding the
    following functions:

      function int get_report_verbosity_level();
      function int get_report_action(ovm_severity severity, string id);
      function int get_report_file_handle(ovm_severity severity, string id);
      function int ovm_report_enabled(int verbosity);

  - Added the global function ovm_report_enabled(int verbosity).  This
    function checks to see if, given the supplied verbosity, whether or
    not a report will print.  It will be used in future releases of OVM
    to determine if a report will be issued before undertaking the
    report processing.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for OVM-2.0
August 5, 2008

-------------------------

** Unified sequences

  The new unified sequences facility unifies the ideas in the scenarios
  and sequences facilities in OVM-1.1.  The new facility draws from both
  scenarios and sequences to provide a complete stimulus generation
  capability.

  >> sequences

  - Sequences are parameterized with request and response types.  The
    response type defaults to that of the request.

  >> sequence items

  - Sequence items now contain id to enable routing of responses back to
    the sequence from which the corresponding request originated.

  >> sequencer

  - Sequencers, like sequences are now parameterized request and
    response types. The default type for the response is that of the
    request.  

  - A sequencer can route a response back to it the sequence that
    initiated the request.

  - Sequences can be prioritized and executed based on their priority.
    The sequencer manages the arbitration.

  - Push-mode sequencers are available to connect sequences to push-mode
    drivers.

  >> sequencer/driver API
 
  - The sequencer/driver API consists of the following tasks and
    functions:

    has_do_available()
    wait_for_sequences()
    get_next_item()
    try_next_item()
    item_done()
    put()
    get()
    peek()

  - The driver and sequencer are connected using a port and export.  A
    custom port interface provides the necessary tasks and functions
    that drivers use to access the services provided by sequences and
    sequencers.  These are all accessible via the ovm_sqr_pull_if.  This
    interface is bound using the ovm_seq_item_pull_port and _export.
    The sequencer supplies the export to which the driver with the
    corresponding port connects.  The sequencer and driver are bound
    using the usual port connect() function.

  >> sequence/sequencer API

    The sequencer supplies the following set of tasks and functions for
    sequences to interact with it:

    wait_for_grant()
    lock()
    unlock()
    grab()
    ungrab()
    is_grabbed()
    send_request()
    get_response()

    This collection of tasks and functions provides for the complete
    interaction with the sequencer to enable late randomization along
    with all the other features of sequences.  A collect of `ovm_do_-
    macros is also availale as a convenience layer and also to enable
    in-line constraints.

    Lock differs only slightly from grab.  Grab causes the grabbing
    sequence to immediatly jump to the head of the queue to be serviced
    next by the driver.  Lock leaves the sequence in the same place in
    the queue and the lock takes effect when the sequence reaches the
    head of the queue.

** Factory

  Support for parameterized classes.  This is accomplished by allowing
  object handles to be used as keys as well as strings.

** Reorganize ovm_port and related classes

    The organization of the ovm_port_base class and associated helper
    classes has been simplified.  There are no implications for users
    or existing user code.

    We retain the dual-class nature of the OVM port for backward
    compatibility reasons: both ovm_component and ovm_port_base define a
    connect( ) method with conflicting prototypes and semantics. Having
    ovm_port_base inherit from ovm_component was not an option.  The new
    port infrastructure is fully implemented in a single file,
    ovm_port_base.svh. Additionally, the TLM port, export, and imp
    specializations in the tlm/ directory were updated to reflect the
    new port hierarchy and optimized for code reduction.

** Port connectivity API

    Ovm_port has two functions, get_connected_to and get_provided_to,
    each of which returns a list of ports.  This enables users to write
    code that traverses the connectivity of a design.

** Collapse ovm_threaded_component and ovm_component

    The functionality previously in ovm_threaded_component has now been
    moved to ovm_component.  Ovm_threaded_component remains as a typedef
    of ovm_component for backward compatibility.

** Added banners in run_test()

    Run_test() now produces a banner when it starts and a message
    summary when it completes.

** Bugs Fixed:

  - avm_analysis_imp is now present in in AVM backward compatibility.

  - typo in tlm_req_rsp.svh fixed

  - segfault in Questa in ovm_factory::print_override_info() has been
    fixed.

  - Previously, back-to-back task phases did not operate correctly.
    This has been fixed.

  - URM command line processor has been `ifdef'ed so now it is only
    present in IUS simulations.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release Notes for OVM-1.1
April 1, 2008

-------------------------

** Singleton top

Created a new class, ovm_root, with a singleton instance named
ovm_top.  This object serves as common top-level for component
hierarchies rooted in different modules and it allows many items that
were in global space to be moved to non-static members of ovm_root.
Further, this serves as a centralized phase/process control; all phsae
control is done in a single place instead of distributed amongst
components in the hierachy.

** Phase changes

  - Moved most functionality to ovm_root class.  This results in a
    simpler implemtation requiring less code which is more robust.  Now
    there is no local component state for phases other than current
    phase handle and phase-related methods in ovm_component have been
    reduced to two

  - Phase objects are shared globally

  - Phase comparison is done using object handles, not string names.

  - The set of phases has changed, with new phases added and old ones
    deprecated.

    build
    post_new (deprecated)
    export_connections (deprecated)
    connect
    import_connections (deprecated)
    configure (deprecated)
    end_of_elaboration
    start_of_simulation
    pre_run (deprecated)
    run
    extract
    check
    report


** Code reorganization

The code has been reorgaized to support the singleton top as well as to
improve robustness and maintainability.  Some methods have been added,
deleted, moved, and deprecated.  Here is the full list:

    base/ovm_component.sv*
    
       Added do_func_phase
       Added get_first_child
       Added get_next_child
       Added has_child
       Added lookup (consolidate relative and absolute)
       Added start_of_simulation (new phase, replaces pre_run)
       Added local static bit m_phases_loaded = 0;
    
       Changed add_child to m_add_child
       Changed extract_name to m_extract_name
       Changed get_child arg is string, not int
       Changed protected int m_curr_phase changed type to ovm_phase
       Changed set_full_name to m_set_full_name
       Changed stop to no args
    
       Deprecated absolute_lookup
       Deprecated add_to_debug_list
       Deprecated bit m_is_removed = 0;
       Deprecated bit print_enabled = 1;
       Deprecated build_debug_lists
       Deprecated check_connection_size
       Deprecated do_display
       Deprecated export_connections
       Deprecated import_connections
       Deprecated post_new
       Deprecated pre_run (added from ovm_threaded_component)
       Deprecated protected ovm_component m_components[string];
       Deprecated protected ovm_component m_exports[string];
       Deprecated protected ovm_component m_implementations[string];
       Deprecated protected ovm_component m_ports[string];
       Deprecated relative_lookup
       Deprecated static ovm_env m_env; (changed to static)
    
       Moved do_print to urm_message_compatibility.svh (recording_detail)
       Moved find_component to ovm_root.find
       Moved find_components to ovm_root.find_all
       Moved get_current_global_phase to ovm_top.get_current_phase,
             returns ovm_phase object
       Moved global_stop_request to ovm_top.stop_request
       Moved insert_phase to ovm_top.insert_phase,
             args are both ovm_phase objects
       Moved local  event m_stop_event; to ovm_root
       Moved set_global_stop_timeout to ovm_top.stop_timeout var
       Moved set_global_timeout to ovm_top.phase_timeout var
       Moved set_int_local to urm_message_compatibility.svh (recording)
       Moved static bit m_do_test_mode  to ovm_root
       Moved static local time m_global_stop_timeout
             to ovm_root; non-static; renamed stop_timeout, def=MAX)
       Moved static protected int m_global_curr_phase
             to ovm_root, type change to ovm_phase
       Moved static protected ovm_phase m_global_phase_q[$] to ovm_root
       Moved static protected time m_global_timeout = 0; 
             to ovm_root, non-static, renamed to phase_timeout, def=MAX)
       Moved stop_request to ovm_top.stop_request
       Moved/Deprecated print_unit to ovm_top.print_unit
       Moved/Deprecated print_unit_list to ovm_top.print_unit_list
       Moved/Deprecated print_units to ovm_top.print_unit.print_units
       Moved kill to ovm_threaded_component
       Moved m_kill_request to ovm_threaded_component
       Moved m_phase_process to ovm_threaded_component
    
       Removed add_component
       Removed bit top_dog;
       Removed do_exit_action (ovm_top.stop_request)
       Removed do_phase
       Removed do_remove
       Removed do_set_env
       Removed execute
       Removed get_component
       Removed get_current_phase
       Removed get_num_components
       Removed is_removed
       Removed m_do_current_phase
       Removed m_do_task_phase 
       Removed m_get_global_phase_num
       Removed m_get_phase_num
       Removed m_global_stop_process
       Removed m_phase_children
       Removed m_phase_process_done
       Removed m_stop_req
       Removed ovm_find_component (global method)
       Removed ovm_stop_enum (global space)
       Removed protected ovm_phase m_phase_q[$]
       Removed push_back_phase
       Removed remove
       Removed remove_child
       Removed remove_children
       Removed remove_component
       Removed remove_component_by_name
       Removed resolve_all_bindings
       Removed static protected int m_global_phase_names[string]
       Removed static protected ovm_component m_comp_list[$]
       Removed static protected ovm_env s_current_env
       Removed static protected ovm_event_pool m_global_epool
       Removed static protected string m_global_curr_phase_name 
       Removed string m_leaf_name (use get_name() instead)
       Removed trigger_stop_event
    
    base/ovm_env.sv*
    
       Deprecated do_test
       Deprecated/Added m_do_test_mode
       Deprecated/Added do_task_phase (override)
       Deprecated run
    
       Moved/Deprecated pre_run to ovm_component
       Moved run_test (global task)
       Moved run_global_phase to non-static ovm_root,
             arg is ovm_phase object
       Moved static bit finish_on_completion = 1;
             to non-static in ovm_root
       Removed m_do_task_phase(ovm_phase phase)
       Removed m_do_global_phase(string ph_name)
    
       Moved_GLOBAL_Deprecated run_test  to ovm_root
       Moved_GLOBAL_Deprecated ovm_print_topology to ovm_root
    
    base/ovm_phases.sv
    
       Changed  call_task (added ovm_threaded_component or
                           ovm_component argument)
       Changed  call_func (added ovm_component argument)
    
       Added  local  event   m_start_event;
       Added  local  bit     m_is_started=0;
       Added  local  event   m_done_event;
       Added  local  bit     m_is_done=0;
       Added  wait_start
       Added  wait_done
       Added  is_in_progress
       Added  is_done
       Added  reset
       Added  m_set_in_progress
       Added  m_set_done

       Removed  local ovm_component m_parent;
       Removed  execute
       Removed  get_type_name
    
    macros/ovm_phase_defines.sv 
    
       Removed macro execute
       Removed macro m_parent
    
       Added macro `define ovm_phase_func_topdown_decl(NAME)
       Added macro `define ovm_phase_func_bottomup_decl(NAME)
       Added macro `define ovm_phase_task_topdown_decl(NAME)
       Added macro `define ovm_phase_task_bottomup_decl(NAME)
    
    base/ovm_threaded_component.sv*
    
       Deprecated/Moved pre_run to ovm_component
       Changed - status  (for INCA; impl for INCA is "not implemented")
       Added - m_phase_process (from ovm_component)
       Added - m_kill_request (from ovm_component)
       Added - m_phases_loaded=0; to prevent unnecessary calls to ovm_top.insert_phase
       Added - do_task_phase  (for invoking task-based phases)
    
     base/ovm_printer.sv
    
       changed to use get_first_child/get_child/get_next_child interface
    
     compatibility/urm_message_compatibility.svh
    
       added do_print and set_int_local overrides from ovm_component;
       these overrides support the URM's recording_detail variable
    
    base/ovm_report_object.svh
    
       changed call to do_exit_action to top.stop_request(); (do_exit_action removed)
    
    base/ovm_connector_base.svh
    
       Removed ovm_connection_phase_e enum
       Removed s_port_type_article[]
       Removed s_connection_phase_methods[]
       Removed initialization of above arrays (for INCA)
       Changed all references to phase strings to ovm_phase objects

    methodology/layered_stimulus/ovm_scenario_controller.svh
    
       Changed connect call to export_connections, but may want to keep
       as 'connect'
    
    methodology/sequences/ovm_sequencer_base.sv
    
       Removed 'run_forever'; not needed any longer, as run task will no
       longer be killed upon return. Only a kill or stop_request cann
       kill processes forked from the run task.


** Miscellaneous Fixes    

  - Corrected problem where connect-time checks were not properly
    identifying illegal connectionsin analysis port.  The correction was
    made by inserting a call to super.connect() in
    ovm_analysis_port::connect().

  - Fix ovm_component::get_name(). This function was returning the full
    instance name instead of the leaf name.

  - Add timeunit to phase timeouts so that the timeout is not dependent
    on the user's timescale.

  - Fix formatting for string values in table. When truncated, one too
    few charcters were displayed.

  - IUS does not support multiple format strings for $psprintf. Messages
    using multiple format strings were changed to use a single format
    string.

  - Fix bug in URM message compatibility that caused `dut_error to
    always exit (removed automatic OVM_EXIT action).

  - Add command line option OVM_SEVERITY for consistency with other
    command line options.

  - Fix tlm_fifo bug around thread safety (multiple gets in same time
    slice caused incorrect results).

  - Add support of one-dimensional static arrays using
    `ovm_field_sarray_*.

  - Removed assertion from phase cast to allow mixing hierarchy.

  - Provide a non_blocking option for ovm_scenario_driver
    get_next_item() call.

  - Macros `apply_with and `apply_send_with allow for randomize with
    parameters.

  - Optional no_randomize argument added to ovm_scenario apply calls.


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