coding-style

name	coding_style
description	Verilog-2001 coding style guidelines and best practices for synthesizable RTL.
slash_command	{"cmd":"/style","label":"Coding Style","desc":"Review Verilog coding style guidelines and best practices."}

Verilog Coding Style Guide

Trigger

Use this skill when writing or reviewing Verilog code to ensure consistency, readability, and synthesizability.

General Rules

File Organization

• One module per file
• Filename matches module name: rra.v contains module rra
• Testbench files use _tb suffix: rra_tb.v
• Use .v extension for Verilog-2001 (not .sv)

Module Declaration (Verilog-2001 ANSI style)

module module_name (
    input  wire        clk,
    input  wire        rst_n,     // active-low async reset
    input  wire [7:0]  data_in,
    output reg  [7:0]  data_out,
    output wire        valid
);

Naming Conventions

Element	Convention	Example
Modules	lowercase_snake	round_robin_arbiter
Signals	lowercase_snake	data_valid, read_enable
Parameters	UPPER_SNAKE	DATA_WIDTH, ADDR_DEPTH
Constants	UPPER_SNAKE	IDLE, STATE_READ
Active-low signals	_n suffix	rst_n, cs_n, wr_n
Clock signals	clk prefix	clk, clk_div2
Reset signals	rst prefix	rst_n, rst_sync
Registered outputs	_reg suffix (internal)	count_reg, state_reg
Next-state signals	_next suffix	state_next, count_next

Reset Strategy

• Always use async active-low reset (negedge rst_n)
• Reset all registers to known values
• Use consistent reset pattern:

always @(posedge clk or negedge rst_n) begin
    if (!rst_n) begin
        state <= IDLE;
        count <= 0;
    end else begin
        state <= state_next;
        count <= count_next;
    end
end

Combinational Logic

• Use always @(*) for combinational blocks
• Assign all outputs in every branch to avoid latches
• Use blocking assignments (=) in combinational blocks
• Use non-blocking assignments (<=) in sequential blocks

// GOOD: Combinational with always @(*)
always @(*) begin
    grant = 4'b0000;  // default
    case (state)
        IDLE:    grant = 4'b0000;
        GRANT_0: grant = 4'b0001;
        GRANT_1: grant = 4'b0010;
        default: grant = 4'b0000;
    endcase
end

State Machine Template

// State encoding
localparam IDLE    = 2'b00;
localparam ACTIVE  = 2'b01;
localparam DONE    = 2'b10;

reg [1:0] state, state_next;

// State register (sequential)
always @(posedge clk or negedge rst_n) begin
    if (!rst_n)
        state <= IDLE;
    else
        state <= state_next;
end

// Next-state logic (combinational)
always @(*) begin
    state_next = state;  // default: hold
    case (state)
        IDLE:    if (start) state_next = ACTIVE;
        ACTIVE:  if (done)  state_next = DONE;
        DONE:    state_next = IDLE;
        default: state_next = IDLE;
    endcase
end

Parameterization

module fifo #(
    parameter DATA_WIDTH = 8,
    parameter ADDR_DEPTH = 4
) (
    input  wire                    clk,
    input  wire                    rst_n,
    input  wire [DATA_WIDTH-1:0]   wr_data,
    output wire [DATA_WIDTH-1:0]   rd_data
);
    localparam FIFO_DEPTH = 1 << ADDR_DEPTH;
    // ...
endmodule

Comments

• Module header: purpose, I/O description, author
• Section headers for logical blocks
• Explain non-obvious logic, not the obvious

// ─── Round Robin Arbiter ─────────────────────────────────
// Mask-based RRA: after granting bit[i], mask clears bits ≤ i
// to ensure fair rotation among requestors.

Testbench Style

• Use timescale 1ns / 1ps
• Clock generation: initial clk = 0; always #5 clk = ~clk;
• Self-checking with PASS/FAIL per test case
• Summary with total pass/fail counts
• Print ALL_TESTS_PASSED or SOME_TESTS_FAILED
• Use $dumpfile / $dumpvars for waveform capture
• Timeout safety: initial begin #10000; $display("TIMEOUT"); $finish; end

Things to Avoid

• ❌ SystemVerilog features (logic, always_ff, always_comb)
• ❌ Variable declarations in unnamed blocks
• ❌ initial blocks in synthesizable code
• ❌ #delay in synthesizable code
• ❌ Incomplete sensitivity lists
• ❌ Mixing blocking/non-blocking in one always block
• ❌ Inferred latches (missing default in case/if)