Main features

Device library/auto-categorisation

XJTAG 2.6 brings an update to the way devices are categorised in XJDeveloper. XJDeveloper can now use its installed library of devices to make suggestions for how to categorise devices. This uses information from the BOM and other information to make the suggestions. The user can then accept some or all of the suggestions.

Updates to the device library will be made available and automatically detected through XJDeveloper so long as the software remains in maintenance. It requires your customer support login to the XJTAG website – if you do not have one or have lost it please contact XJTAG Support. Likewise if you feel we are lacking support for particular devices in the library, please let us know.

New XJRunner Integration API

XJTAG version 2.6 has a new integration interface using .NET, and reworked LabVIEW VIs, which make it easier to integrate XJTAG into other test solutions or into your own programs. These new interfaces also make it possible to use formatted XJEase text output and to access the Layout Viewer.

XJDeveloper enhancements

In particular the Netlist Explorer has been enhanced. The window is now non-modal, which is to say that it can now be left open whilst other operations are performed, and other enhancements have been made to improve usability.

Chain Debugger

The output formatting has been improved and a debug option has been added to allow you to view the raw data returned from the JTAG chain.

The good news is that the OMAP processors do support boundary scan testing. The bad news is that it does not work straight out of the tin.

TI do provide the instructions that are required to enable the boundary scan registers:

http://e2e.ti.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.PostAttachments/00.00.10.29.73/OMAP343_5F00_BSDL.pdf

http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/Boundary_Scan_on_OMAP35x

Unfortunately these do not give the whole story and the boundary scan register still will not function correctly:

http://e2e.ti.com/support/dsp/omap_applications_processors/f/447/p/35977/130644.aspx

If you need to do boundary scan testing with a OMAP 35xx contact XJTAG Support (support@xjtag.com) and we will complete the story for you.

If you need to let us know about a problem that you are having with XJTAG there are a few things that you can do help speed up the support process.

There are a few stock responses that we have to give repeatedly to many support requests. If you are reading this then you may well have received them in the past yourself. The first thing that we will generally ask you to do is upgrade to the latest version of the tools; these can be downloaded from XJTAG Downloads. You will need your maintenance user name and password to gain access to this section of the website. If you are not sure of these details then email support@xjtag.com and we will be glad to send you a reminder email.

If you are using the latest version of the tools then we will need as much information as you can provide to help us to resolve your problem. This includes:

• The version of the tools you are using
• The version of the operating system (e.g. Windows XP Service Pack 3)
• A detailed description of the problem or issue you are facing
• Is it reproducible? If so, what steps are needed to reproduce it?

In many cases it helps us to diagnose your problems faster if we have your XJTAG project as well as your description of the problem you are having. The best way to send us all of the files is to use the Export option from the File menu in XJDeveloper. From this menu you can tell the system to create a .ZIP archive of all of the files that make up your project.  By using XJDeveloper to pull all of these files together you make sure that no files are missed.

If we have all the information early on in the support process along with your project, we are much more likely to be able to resolve the issue quickly.

If the tool you are using is crashing then it will create a crash report and then give you the opportunity to send that to us. Please do send this report to us as it contains a lot of useful information. We may still need to ask you for more information; however if you go through these steps before contacting us then we should be able to help you resolve your issue faster.

Frequently during that time, customers would not have a netlist available in any of those formats, and so we began writing simple conversion scripts in Perl for the netlists that customers did have, to convert the simpler ones we found into RINF. With version 2.0, these scripts were formalised and integrated into XJDeveloper, which meant that such netlists were effectively officially supported. Over time, the number of supported formats has grown to nearly 60.

However, these netlist parsers are almost never based on a formal specification, but on the syntax we can infer from the customer’s example netlist. Often the customer is detached from the CAD process – they’re a manufacturer for example – and so they may not know what application the format is from, which means we may not even have a reliable name for the format! XJDeveloper is now smart enough that the user does not need to specify the netlist format – the format is recognised and imported automatically. If the format is not one of the original four well-supported formats or one of a handful of others – because of the uncertainty of naming the format – XJDeveloper will typically just display the name of the format as “ASCII”.

We are proud of the range of formats that the system is capable of parsing – our aim is that the user simply provides the netlist in whatever format they have and the system accepts it. If you have a netlist that is not recognised, then please contact XJTAG Support, and we will be happy to take a look and hopefully add that format to a future release.

If you have a netlist that is recognised, but comes back with errors, then again please contact us and we will do our best to fix it – we are always keen to improve our products.

Knowledge Base

Answers to common questions we receive about XJTAG. Before contacting support it is a good idea to check here first to see if your question is answered. There will be future posts exploring some of these questions in more detail.

XJEase Example Code

Some types of device such as memory devices can be tested using standard test scripts. This section contains test code for a wide variety of memory and other devices.

XJEase Library

If you cannot find the device you are looking for in the Example Code folder, the XJEase Library might contain it. This has a search facility to help you find the test script for the part. It is quite likely that XJTAG have already produced a file for that device – or at the very least a similar device. Search here first and if you cannot find it then contact support.

Updates

Allows you to download the latest version of XJTAG.

JTAG

Excellent overview of the background to JTAG testing, along with details about its implementation.

DFT Guidelines

When designing boards refer to this document to help improve the testability of circuits using XJTAG.

Application Notes

Further areas of technical knowledge that are worth reading before contacting support.