STEVE: A Syntax-Directed Editor for VHDL Based on SAVANT

This paper describes STEVE, a syntax-directed editor for VHDL, which uses auto-completion and automatic template insertion to accelerate the entry of syntactically correct VHDL models. It is part of a larger project, VIDE, which integrates textual and graphical tools for HDL design entry. STEVE extends the SAVANT intermediate representation to deal with representation of templates and the onscreen presentation of a VHDL model. STEVE demonstrates the advantages of SAVANT’s extensible object-oriented structure, and shows how it facilitates the integration of a new tool into an existing CAD tool framework.