C.

2 Combinational Functions

APPENDIX C

519

by being broken into smaller subexpressions. For a synthesis tool to be

able to infer combinational logic from an always block, we must follow a
number of rules. First, the format of the block must be
always @(event-list)
statement;

The event list is a list of all of the inputs to the combinational block. This
ensures that whenever any of the inputs changes value, the block determines new values for the outputs. If any input is read in the block but is
not in the event list, the synthesis tool would typically issue a warning
message. One simple way to ensure that we dont inadvertently omit any
input from the event list is to use an alternate form, @*, which stands for
all inputs read in the block. While this is recommended, it was introduced into Verilog in a relatively recent revision of the language, and may
not be uniformly supported by all synthesis tools.
The statement in the always block can be a conditional statement,
such as a case statement or if statement, containing nested assignments.
An example is an always block of the form:

always @*
case (select-expression)
choice-1: target = expression-1;
choice-2: target = expression-2;
...
choice-n: target = expression-n;
endcase

A synthesis tool could infer a multiplexer, as shown in Figure C.2, provided the choice values were distinct and included all possible values of

expression-1

expression-2

expression-n
select-expression

1
2

F I G U R E C . 2 Hardware
inferred for a selected assignment.

520

APPENDIX C

verilog for synthesis

the select expression. The select inputs of the multiplexer are connected to
the output of the combinational logic inferred from the select expression.
Each of the assignment expressions would be synthesized to combinational
logic connected to the particular data input of the multiplexer identified
by the corresponding choice value. The choice values are expressions, but
they must not involve any inputs. Usually, they are just literal values.
The effect of inclusion of an if statement is illustrated by an always
block of the form:

always @*
if
(condition-1) target = expression-1;
else if (condition-1) target = expression-1;
...
else
target = expression-n;

Each of the expressions and conditions implies combinational logic. The

outputs of the expression logic are connected to decision logic driven by
the condition logic, such as that shown in Figure C.3. Since the conditions are tested one by one until a true condition is found, the decision
logic is priority based, with conditions appearing earlier in the conditional
assignment having priority over those appearing later. As a consequence,
the propagation delay for the inferred logic may be as long as the sum
of propagation delays of the inferred decision component. Of course, a
condition-1
expression-1

1
0

condition-2
expression-2

1
0

F I G U R E C . 3 Hardware
inferred for a conditional
assignment.

condition-n1
expression-n1

1
0

expression-n