Cocotb Official Website: www.cocotb.org
Cocotb Documentation: docs.cocotb.org

Cocotb is an open-source framework for hardware verification, allowing users to write tests and verify hardware designs using the Python programming language. The name “Cocotb” stands for “Coroutine based co-simulation TestBench,” with its main goal being to simplify the hardware verification process and improve efficiency and maintainability. Cocotb has several key features:

  1. Based on Python: Cocotb uses Python as its testing language, making test code writing simpler, more intuitive, and leveraging the rich libraries in the Python ecosystem to implement more complex test logic.
  2. Coroutine support: Cocotb uses coroutines to manage concurrent operations during testing and simulation, enabling the writing of structured and readable test code.
  3. Interoperability with Verilog/VHDL: Cocotb can integrate with existing Verilog or VHDL designs by calling HDL code in Python and simulating using co-simulation.
  4. Open-source and free: Cocotb is an open-source project released under the Apache License, allowing free usage and modification.
  5. Support for multiple simulators: Cocotb can be used with various common simulators, including ModelSim, VCS, Verilator, etc.
  6. Modular and extensible: Cocotb allows users to write modular test code, making it easy to reuse test code and add new test features.
  7. Community support: Cocotb has an active community that provides rich documentation, examples, and forum support, allowing users to get help and share experiences.

Compared to some dedicated hardware verification tools, Cocotb’s performance may not be optimal. While Cocotb’s simulation speed is typically sufficient for general hardware verification needs, for some high-performance, large-scale projects, consideration may need to be given to using other tools or optimizing verification code.