Solid Sands and VyperCore ensure compliance in chip design

This collaboration is poised to procure VyperCore with the highest quality levels when developing and modifying compilers and standard libraries.

UK-based VyperCore is building a new accelerator chip to speed up by up to 5x programs written in modern computer languages such as Python, C#, Java, JavaScript, and Go. Acceleration is achieved by replacing software-based memory allocation management with high-performance hardware embedded inside the CPU, and occurs without modifications to the application’s source code, while ensuring robust security against memory-safety cyber-attacks at the gate level.

This combined hardware and software solution requires modifications to the compiler and standard libraries, where it is crucial that VyperCore can guarantee compliance with C and C++ language standards and standard library specifications.

It’s in this context that VyperCore turned to Solid Sands and their flagship product, SuperTest. SuperTest is the test and validation suite for C and C++ compilers and libraries that has tracked the (ISO) language specifications for over 40 years.

VyperCore lead compiler engineer, Chris Jackson, recommended the product based on previous positive experience. He explains: "The test suite is extremely comprehensive, and the level of support was particularly pleasing. When requested to provide help with a particular test, Solid Sands‘ support team not only helped solve the problem, but also followed up and offered additional help to ensure that our use of the suite remained seamless.”

A key benefit of SuperTest is that Solid Sands has organised the suite based on the complete C and C++  language specifications. This way, SuperTest provides unique traceability between the test suite and the language specification, and users have full control over exactly which parts of their compilers they are testing.