Multiple components make up a verification environment. A typical verification environment contains a data object, a driver object, a receiver object, a data checker object, a monitor object, a coverage object, tests, and an environment object.
One initiates a test in Specman Elite by clicking on the Test button in the GUI or by issuing the test command at the Specman Elite command prompt. Upon issuance of the test command, Specman Elite goes through five distinct execution phases: initialization, pre-run generation, simulation run, post-run check, and finalization. Each phase is represented by a predefined method in Specman Elite. Each phase is normally empty. User e code is executed by extension of some of these phases.
The most commonly extended test phase methods are sys.setup() during the initialization phase, post_generate() for every struct or unit instance during the pre-run generation phase, and run() for every struct or unit instance during the simulation run phase.
The HDL simulator and Specman Elite are two independent processes running the simulation. There is a specific synchronization sequence between the HDL simulator and Specman Elite.