Minutes, IBIS Quality Task Group

27 April 2021

12:00-13:00 EST (09:00-10:00 PST)

ROLL CALL

Intel Technology                    Michael Mirmak
Micron Technology                 * Randy Wolff
Signal Integrity Software:        * Mike LaBonte
Teraspeed Labs:                   * Bob Ross
Zuken USA:                        * Lance Wang

Everyone in attendance marked by *

NOTE: "AR" = Action Required.

-----------------------MINUTES ---------------------------
Mike LaBonte conducted the meeting.

Call for IBIS related patent disclosures:

- None


Call for opens:

- None


Review of previous meeting minutes:
Minutes from the April 20, 2021 meetings were reviewed.  Randy Wolff moved to accept
the minutes.  Bob Ross seconded.  Without objection the minutes were approved.


ARs:
- Mike LaBonte to fix erratic number formatting in TSCHK2 output
  - Not done
- Mike LaBonte to add output size option to TSCHK2 alpha5
  - Not done


NEW ITEMS:

New parser bug reports:
Bob Ross said BUG216 had been introduced and processed at the previous Open Forum
meeting.  He said we should consider a specification change in its place, since there
was nothing to be fixed in IBISCHK.  Randy Wolff suggested making a recommendation to
the editorial group, such as dropping "or integer" from the description for Type UI.
Bob said the values could be an integer, and a different clarification was needed.
Mike LaBonte said the sentence was describing the rules that a number had to comply
with, and float was sufficient because it encompassed numbers expressed only as digits.
He felt it was confusing to add "or integer".  Bob said we could do that but it wouldn't
change much.  He suggested a recommendation to not "pollute" with integers.  Mike thought
that the phrase "or integer" had led to BUG216, so removing it might be beneficial.

Lance Wang asked if there should be a general clarification that applied to the whole
IBIS specification.  Mike said he had thought along that line, and that he was not
aware of any other place before the AMI section where the rules for numeric values
were described.  Bob felt it might not be very important at this point in time.
We discussed means of being precise, such as using BNF and YACC syntax.  Bob said a
proposal to express the full IBIS syntax as BNF years ago had ended when it was found
that BNF was not standardized.

AR: Randy Wolff to suggest BUG216 clarification to Editorial Task Group


IBISCHK development:
Bob Ross showed the IBISCHK710 development contract draft 9 provided by SAE ITC
after legal review.  Mike LaBonte felt new legal item 27 was confusing. It seemed to
allow for additional documents to become part of the contract, but it lacked details.
Mike noted that emails between us and the developer following the contract might add
new work to the contract, but it was not clear if item 27 covered that.  Bob said that
kind of  change was common.

There were comment balloons in the document.  Bob was not sure if SAE ITC had added
those.  Randy felt they had been copied from the IBIS specification.  Bob deleted
the comments.  Randy said we could edit technical content without the need to send it
for another legal review.  Randy suggested delaying transmittal to the developer until
after the next IBIS ATM meeting, to see if a PAMn BIRD is filed.  Mike said that BIRD
would change the rules for Modulation, and add PAMn_Thresholds and PAMn_Offsets AMI
parameters. The PAMn parameters would require cross checking of values.


TSCHK 2.0.1 development:
- No discussion


Tabled topics (no discussion without motion):
  - BIRD181.2


Bob Ross moved to adjourn. Randy Wolff seconded. Without objection the meeting ended.

Meeting ended: 12:56 ET

Next meeting May 4, 2021