IEEE Standard VHDL Language
Reference Manual
IEEE Computer Society
Sponsored by the
Design Automation Standards Committee
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IEEE
3 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016-5997, USA
26 January 2009
IEEE Std 1076™-2008
(Revision of
IEEE Std 1076-2002)
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IEEE Std 1076™-2008
(Revision of
IEEE Std 1076-2002)
IEEE Standard VHDL Language
Reference Manual
Sponsor
Design Automation Standards Committee
of the
IEEE Computer Society
Approved 26 September 2008
IEEE SA-Standards Board
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Acknowledgments
The editing and technical work done on the 2008 revision of this standard was done in collaboration
between Accellera VHDL Technical Subcommittee and the IEEE VHDL Analysis and Screening
Committee (VASG). Accellera had donated all of its work and copyrights back to the IEEE.
Material in clause titled “Protect Tool Directives” is derived from the document titled “A Mechanish
for VHDL Source Protection” © 2004, Cadence Design Systems Inc. Used, modified, and reprinted
by permission of Cadence Design Systems Inc.
The packages FIXED_GENERIC PKG, FIXED_PKG, FLOAT_GENERIC_PKG, FLOAT_PKG, and
FIXED_FLOAT_TYPES were modified and used with permission from Eastman Kodak Company
© 2006. Material in annex clauses titled “Using the fixed-point package” and “Using the floating-
point package” is derived from the documents titled “Fixed Point Package User’s Guide” and
“Floating Point Package User’s Guide” by Eastman Kodak Company © 2006. Used, modified, and
reprinted by permission of Eastman Kodak Company.
The package STD_LOGIC_TEXTIO was modified and used with permission of Synopsys, Inc. ©
1990, 1991, and 1992.
Abstract: VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL) is defined. VHDL is a formal notation
intended for use in all phases of the creation of electronic systems. Because it is both machine
readable and human readable, it supports the development, verification, synthesis, and testing of
hardware designs; the communication of hardware design data; and the maintenance,
modification, and procurement of hardware. Its primary audiences are the implementors of tools
supporting the language and the advanced users of the language.
Keywords: computer languages, electronic systems, hardware, hardware design, VHDL
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
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Copyright © 2009 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
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2nd Printing 29 July 2011. The following ISBNs were incorrect in the 1st Printing of 26 January 2009.
PDF:
Print:
The correct ISBNs are:
PDF:
Print:
ISBN 978-0-7381-5800-6
ISBN 978-0-7381-5801-3
STD95821
STDPD95821
ISBN 978-0-7381-6853-1
ISBN 978-0-7381-6854-8
STD95821
STDPD95821
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Introduction
This introduction is not part of IEEE Std 1076-2008, IEEE Standard VHDL Language Reference Manual.
The VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL) is a formal notation intended for use in all phases of
the creation of electronic systems. Because it is both machine readable and human readable, it supports the
development, verification, synthesis, and testing of hardware designs; the communication of hardware
design data; and the maintenance, modification, and procurement of hardware.
This document, IEEE Std 1076-2008, is a revision of IEEE Std 1076-2002 as amended by
1076cTM-2007. Initial work on gathering requirements and developing language extensions
IEEE Std
was undertaken by the IEEE VHDL Analysis and Standardization Group (VASG), otherwise known as the
1076 Working Group. Subsequently, Accelleraa sponsored an effort to complete that work and draft a
revised Language Reference Manual. That draft was returned to IEEE for final revision and approval,
resulting in this document and the associated machine-readable files. This revision incorporates numerous
enhancements, both major and minor, to previously existing language feaures and several new language
features. The changes are summarized in Annex E. In addition, several VHDL library packages that were
previously defined in separate standards are now defined in this standard, ensuring that they are treated as
integral parts of the language. Finally, this revision incorporates the IEEE Property Specification Language
(PSL) as part of VHDL. The combination of these changes significantly improves VHDL as a language for
specification, design, and verification of complex electronic systems.
The maintenance of the VHDL language standard is an ongoing process. The chair of the VHDL Analysis
and Standardization Group extends his gratitude to all who have participated in this revision, both in the
IEEE committees and the Accellera effort, and encourages the participation of all interested parties in future
language revisions.b
Notice to users
Laws and regulations
Users of these documents should consult all applicable laws and regulations. Compliance with the
provisions of this standard does not imply compliance to any applicable regulatory requirements.
Implementers of the standard are responsible for observing or referring to the applicable regulatory
requirements. IEEE does not, by the publication of its standards, intend to urge action that is not in
compliance with applicable laws, and these documents may not be construed as doing so.
Copyrights
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standardization, and the promotion of engineering practices and methods. By making this document
available for use and adoption by public authorities and private users, the IEEE does not waive any rights in
copyright to this document.
aMore information is available at www.accellera.org.
bIf interested in participating, please contact the VASG at stds-vasg@ieee.org or visit: http://www.eda.org/vasg.
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Errata, if any, for this and all other standards can be accessed at the following URL: http://
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Current interpretations can be accessed at the following URL: http://standards.ieee.org/reading/ieee/interp/
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Patents
Attention is called to the possibility that implementation of this standard may require use of subject matter
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Participants
At the time this standard was submitted to the IEEE-SA Standards Board for approval, the 1076 Working
Group had the following membership:
Jim Lewis, Chair
Chuck Swart, Vice Chair
Peter Ashenden, Secretary and Technical Editor
John Aynsley
Stephen Bailey
Victor Berman
Patrick Bryant
Roland R. Henrie
Daniel Kho
Françoise Martinolle
Egert Molenkamp
Robert Myers
Farrell Ostler
John Ries
Timothy Schneider
Sukrit Shankar
John Shields
Alain Vachoux
Ajayharsh Varikat
Richard Wallace
John Willis
Alex Zamfirescu
Mark Zwolinski
Copyright © 2009 IEEE. All rights reserved.
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The following members of the individual balloting committee voted on this standard. Balloters may have
voted for approval, disapproval, or abstention.
Peter Ashenden
Bakul Banerjee
Victor Berman
Martin J. Bishop
Lyle Bullock
James Case
Keith Chow
Ernst Christen
S. Claassen
Kevin Coggins
Joanne Degroat
Thomas Dineen
Steven Dovich
George Economakos
Charles Gardiner
Sergiu Goma
Randall Groves
William Hanna
M. Hashmi
Werner Hoelzl
Joseph Hupcey
Piotr Karocki
Kurt Kermes
Jim Lewis
G. Luri
Timothy McBrayer
Donald Mills
Egbert Molenkamp
Robert Myers
Prajit Nair
Z. Navabi
Michael S. Newman
Ulrich Pohl
Bartien Sayogo
Timothy Schneider
Stephen Schwarm
John Sheppard
John Shields
David Smith
Walter Struppler
Chuck Swart
Lance Thompson
Yatin Trivedi
Alain Vachoux
Ajayharsh Varikat
Srinivasa Vemuru
Kathy Werner
John Willis
Paul Work
Mark Zwolinski
When the IEEE-SA Standards Board approved this standard on 26 September 2008, it had the following
membership:
Robert M. Grow, Chair
Thomas Prevost, Vice Chair
Steve M. Mills, Past Chair
Judith Gorman, Secretary
Victor Berman
Richard DeBlasio
Andy Drozd
Mark Epstein
Alexander Gelman
William R. Goldbach
Arnold M. Greenspan
Kenneth S. Hanus
*Member Emeritus
Jim Hughes
Richard H. Hulett
Young Kyun Kim
Joseph L. Koepfinger*
John Kulick
David J. Law
Glenn Parsons
Ronald C. Petersen
Chuck Powers
Narayanan Ramachandran
Jon Walter Rosdahl
Robby Robson
Anne-Marie Sahazizian
Malcolm V. Thaden
Howard L. Wolfman
Don Wright
Also included are the following nonvoting IEEE-SA Standards Board liaisons:
Satish K. Aggarwal, NRC Representative
Michael Janezic, NIST Representative
IEEE Standards Program Manager, Document Development
Jennie Steinhagen
IEEE Standards Program Manager, Technical Program Development
Michael D. Kipness
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