Verilog

Gold definitionUpdated Apr 2, 2026

Definition

Verilog is a Hardware Description Language (HDL) used to model electronic systems. It enables designers to describe digital circuits at various levels of abstraction, from behavioral to gate-level, facilitating simulation, verification, and synthesis into physical hardware.

At a glance

Executive summary

Verilog is a specialized programming language used by engineers to design and describe digital electronic circuits, like those found in computer chips. It allows them to simulate how a circuit will work before building it, and then automatically translate the design into instructions for manufacturing. Recent research explores using AI models to generate Verilog code, but also investigates potential security flaws in such AI-generated designs.

TL;DR

Verilog is a language used by engineers to design and describe digital electronic circuits for computer chips, allowing them to simulate and build hardware.

Key points

A Hardware Description Language (HDL) for textual description of digital circuit structure and behavior, especially at Register Transfer Level (RTL).
Enables efficient design, simulation, and synthesis of complex digital electronic systems before physical fabrication, reducing development time and cost.
Used by electrical engineers, ASIC/FPGA designers, and researchers in hardware/firmware development and AI code generation.
While VHDL is another prominent HDL, Verilog is often favored for its C-like syntax and ease of learning, especially in North America and for ASIC design.
Growing interest in using Large Language Models (LLMs) for automated Verilog code generation, with a strong focus on ensuring the security and functional correctness of the AI-generated hardware designs.

Use cases

Microprocessor Design: Describing the architecture and logic of CPUs and GPUs, including instruction sets, data paths, and control units.
ASIC Development: Designing custom integrated circuits for specific applications, such as network processors, image sensors, or specialized AI accelerators.
FPGA Programming: Implementing digital logic on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays for rapid prototyping, embedded systems, and reconfigurable computing.
System-on-Chip (SoC) Integration: Modeling and integrating various IP (Intellectual Property) blocks like ARM cores, memory controllers, and peripheral interfaces onto a single chip.
Hardware Security Research: Developing secure hardware designs and evaluating vulnerabilities in existing or LLM-generated hardware code, as seen in the HardSecBench context.

Also known as

Verilog HDL, IEEE 1364