Overview
IEC 62531:2012 - Property Specification Language (PSL) (aligned with IEEE Std 1850-2010) specifies a formal language for describing electronic system behavior. The second edition (2012) replaces the 2007 edition and provides a technical revision that defines PSL’s syntax, semantics, and integration points with standard electronic system design languages. The standard includes normative formal semantics and guidance on using PSL for specification and verification of digital systems.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Formal syntax and semantics: complete lexical and syntactic rules plus a normative formal semantics (Annex B) to remove ambiguity.
- Layered language architecture: Boolean, Temporal, Verification and Modeling layers to separate expression types and usage.
- Boolean layer: expression type classes (bits, booleans, bitvectors, numeric, string), HDL expression integration, built-in functions and unions.
- Temporal layer: sequential expressions, SEREs (Sequential Extended Regular Expressions), sequences and properties, safety vs. liveness distinctions, finite vs. infinite behavior, clocked vs. unclocked evaluation.
- Verification directives: standard verification constructs such as assert, assume, restrict, cover, and fairness directives for formal and simulation-based verification.
- Verification units and instantiation: mechanisms for grouping and binding properties, inheritance, and overriding for scalable verification architectures.
- Modeling features: local variables, procedural blocks, structures, integer ranges and scope/visibility rules.
- HDL interfacing: guidance on how PSL interfaces with system design languages and toolchains.
- Normative references and conformance: instructions to use the latest edition and related normative references.
Practical applications and users
- Formal verification engineers and design verification teams use PSL to express temporal assertions and expected behaviors for model checking and formal analysis.
- Verification IP and tool vendors implement PSL parsing, semantic checking, and mappings to model checkers and simulators.
- System and hardware designers specify high-level functional requirements as machine-checkable properties, improving bug detection early in development.
- Standards bodies and certification labs reference PSL-compliant specifications to ensure consistent, unambiguous behavioral requirements.
Related standards and notes
- IEC 62531:2012 is published in cooperation with IEEE Std 1850-2010 (PSL).
- The standard is intended to work alongside common hardware description languages (HDLs) and verification flows, providing a formal property layer that complements HDL design and verification standards.
Keywords: IEC 62531, PSL, Property Specification Language, IEEE 1850, formal verification, SERE, assertions, temporal logic, HDL integration, assert/assume/cover.