Linting on the Fly

Linting on the Fly is built on a combination of Questa Lint, Questa Developer, and VS Code, integrated with an AI model of your choice – local or cloud based. The AI monitors your HDL as you write it, flagging Questa Lint violations inline, in real time, in your editor. If you are already a QuestaSim customer, you have the foundation in place. Saros Technology handles the full setup and configuration, and works alongside your team to make sure you are up and running from day one.

Why linting needs to move earlier

In most HDL design flows, linting is a gate – something you run when you think the code is ready, or when a project milestone demands it. The result is familiar: a wall of violations, hours of rework, and another iteration cycle before you can move forward.

The 2024 Siemens EDA / Wilson Research Group Functional Verification Study found that design engineers spend nearly half their time on verification and debug activities rather than design. Much of that is avoidable rework – issues that could have been caught at the moment the code was written.

Linting on the Fly moves that feedback loop to where it belongs: the editor, in real time.

Questa Lint quality, at the speed of thought

Linting on the Fly brings together a set of industry-leading tools into a seamless HDL development workflow:

Questa Lint & Questa Developer The foundation of the setup. Questa Lint provides the sign-off quality rule engine your design will eventually need to pass. Questa Developer brings your Questa tools into a modern IDE environment. Together they form the platform everything else builds on.

VS Code & AI model integration Working within VS Code — the world’s most widely used development environment — an AI model monitors your HDL as you write it. Using a custom configuration developed by Saros Technology, the AI communicates directly with Questa Lint and flags violations inline, in real time, before you’ve finished the block you’re working on.

Local or cloud AI — your choice Run a local AI model via LM Studio to keep all design data fully on-premise — ideal for secure or defence environments. Or connect to a cloud-based AI model for enhanced capability if your environment allows it. Saros will advise on the right configuration for your team.

Saros setup and support This is not a self-serve software install. Saros Technology configures the full environment for you, ensuring everything connects correctly and your team is productive from day one.

What changes for your team

Catch issues at the moment of creation Lint violations are flagged inline as you write — the same rules that govern your eventual sign-off run, surfaced before you’ve even finished the module. No more discovering systemic issues late in the design cycle.

Fewer lint iterations When code arrives at formal lint sign-off, it’s already clean. The back-and-forth between writing, running, fixing and re-running collapses into a single continuous workflow.

Questa Lint sign-off quality from day one The AI assistant is powered by the same Questa Lint rule engine used for tape-out and project sign-off. What passes the AI check is what will pass sign-off — by design.

A platform built for what’s coming next Questa Developer is Siemens EDA’s IDE platform for the future Questa portfolio. By adopting it now alongside Questa Lint, your team is positioned for the next generation of AI-enabled design tools as Siemens continues to develop them.