What are different abstraction level at which stimulus is applied to DUT in testbench

[matrixofdynamism]

Instead of wiggling each signal line individually, it is possible to apply a signal at a higher level of abstraction. One such level is called transaction level. What I understand is that at this level we apply a signal to the DUT as a full dataword on the input bus at a time. Are there higher levels of abstraction when applying signals to a DUT? What are they?

 

[mrflibble]

There are higher levels of abstraction than transaction level as you describe it. It is transaction level modeling as other people describe it. TLM is more than just dumping an N-bit word on the bus.

For a quick intro, check this page: https://www.doulos.com/knowhow/video_gallery/

And then search for the word "transaction" and watch all related videos. That should get you up to speed.

 

[TrickyDicky]

You can basically break it up to as high a level you want.
lets take axi streaming for example. You will probably have some description of an axi packet, which is just an array of byes. You could add layers on layers so that at the top layer is just an image. The layers break it down into some packet format which then breaks down again into axi packets, which breaks down to the interface at the BFM level. You can build it up again on the other end the opposite way.