TROPIC01 Model¶

Code in the tropic01_model/ directory is meant to be compiled under Unix-like OS. This directory offers running libtropic's functional tests and examples against the TROPIC01's Python model, so no chip or external hardware is needed.

• Functional testing is managed by CTest - it executes both the test and the model automatically, along with the creation of model configuration.
• When running examples, you need to start the model manually and then execute the example binary in a separate terminal. This applies also for the tests, if they are not run using CTest.
• Both of these points are discussed further in this text.

How it Works?¶

Both processes (tests/examples and model) will talk to each other through TCP socket at 127.0.0.1:28992. The SPI layer between libtropic and model is emulated through this TCP connection. The model responses are exactly the same as from physical TROPIC01 chip.

Model Setup¶

First, the model has to be installed. For that, follow the readme in the ts-tvl repository.

Next, it is possible to initialize the model with some data, so it can behave like the real provisioned chip. To do that, it is neccesary to pass a YAML configuration file to the model - see sections Model Server and Model Configuration in the ts-tvl repository. To create such a YAML configuration, the script tropic01_model/create_model_cfg.py in libtropic repository is used (example usage follows).

Data, from which the tropic01_model/create_model_cfg.py script creates the YAML configuration file for the model, can be found in provisioning_data/ directory - see Provisioning Data section for more information about the directory structure.

To create a model configuration that will initialize the model to the state which is almost identical to the provisioned chip, the tropic01_model/create_model_cfg.py script is run as:

cd tropic01_model/
python3 create_model_cfg.py --pkg-dir <path_to_the_lab_batch_package_directory>

Running the Examples¶

1. Switch to the tropic01_model/ directory:

   cd tropic01_model/
   

2. Compile the examples:

   mkdir build
   cd build
   cmake -DLT_BUILD_EXAMPLES=1 ..
   make
   

   As a result, executables for each example are built in the tropic01_model/build/ directory.

   Tip

   To enable debugging symbols (e.g. to use GDB), add switch -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug when executing cmake.

   To use AddressSanitizer (ASan), add switches -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug and -DLT_ASAN=1 when executing cmake.

3. Create a YAML configuration for the model from one of the lab batch packages:

   python3 ../create_model_cfg.py --pkg-dir ../../provisioning_data/2025-06-27T07-51-29Z__prod_C2S_T200__provisioning__lab_batch_package/
   

   As a result, model_cfg.yml is created.

4. In a separate terminal, start the model server (which was previously installed in a Python virtual environment) and configure it:

   model_server tcp -c model_cfg.yml
   

   As a result, the model now listens on TCP port 127.0.0.1:28992.

5. In the original terminal, execute one of the built examples:

   ./lt_ex_hello_world
   

   As a result, you should see an output from the example in the original terminal and a log from the model in the separate terminal.

Running the Tests¶

1. Switch to the tropic01_model/ directory:

   cd tropic01_model/
   

2. Compile the tests in this directory:

   mkdir build
   cd build
   cmake -DLT_BUILD_TESTS=1 ..
   make
   

   As a result, executables for each test are built in the tropic01_model/build/ directory.

   Tip

   To enable debugging symbols (e.g. to use GDB), add switch -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug when executing cmake.

   To use AddressSanitizer (ASan), add switches -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug and -DLT_ASAN=1 when executing cmake.

   To execute the tests with Valgrind, add switches -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug and -DLT_VALGRIND=1 when executing cmake. Note that Valgrind will be executed automatically only when using CTest!

3. Now, the tests can be run using CTest. To see available tests, run:

   ctest -N
   

   To select specific test(s) using regular expression, run:

   ctest -R <test_regex>
   

   where <test_regex> is a regular expression for the test names from the list.

To run all tests, simply run:

ctest

To exclude some tests, run:

ctest -E <test_regex>

After CTest finishes, it informs about the results and saves all output to the tropic01_model/build/run_logs/ directory. Output from the tests and responses from the model are saved.