| 摘要 |
A new register test system and method is provided for testing a register. The register under test has a number of bit storage locations, each of which is associated with one of a plurality of categories, including, for example, a read/write category, a read-only category, a write-only category, an always-"1" category and an always-"0" category. In accordance with the method, in each of a plurality of iterations, a data word is generated, stored it in the register under test, and thereafter retrieved from the register. For each iteration, an expected pattern is generated for comparison to the retrieved contents, using the original data, the retrieved contents and a plurality of mask patterns each associated with one of the categories. The expected pattern is compared to the pattern of the contents retrieved from the register and whether the register is deemed to be operating properly can be determined by whether the expected pattern corresponds to the retrieved pattern. The pattern of data words generated for testing of the register during the successive iterations may be related to the particular categories for the respective storage locations, which can reduce the number of patterns which may be required to exhaustively test the register. A system for performing the method may be can be constructed in whole or in part from special purpose hardware or a general purpose computer system, or any combination thereof, any portion of which may be controlled by a suitable program. |
