Refine

In FPGA and RTL development, four terms are frequently used to describe code changes: refactor, refine, fix/correct, and optimize. They are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, but they mean distinctly different things. Using the right term helps your team understand immediately what kind of change is being made — and whether to expect any behavioural differences. Refactor Definition: Restructure internal implementation without changing externally observable behaviour. A refactored module passes the same test vectors before and after the change. Simulation output is bit-identical. Timing may or may not improve. ...