[Tex/LaTex] How could one implement a divider-line for tikz-timing

tikz-pgftikz-timing

I'm using tikz-timing to draw timing diagrams. My last one is a bit super sized, so I was looking for dividers to enhance readability. Some HDL simulators and waveform viewers support that feature to group signals.

My current implementation is hard coded and I'm looking for some advice how I could generalize this feature.

Here is my waveform:

(clickable)

My current code look like this:

\documentclass[convert={density=600,size=2000x800,outext=.png}]{standalone}
% Document encoding, language, hyphenation, bibliography, ...
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}              % UTF-8 tex file input incoding
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}                % Type1 font encoding
\usepackage[ngerman]{babel}              % new german writing rules; must be loaded before microtype
% general packages
\usepackage{courier}                            % set courier font as default for teletype writer (texttt, ttfamily, ...)
\usepackage[usenames,svgnames,table]{xcolor}    % load colors and color-names
% ext. includes, graphics, drawings, diagrams, timing
\usepackage{pgf}                      % primitive drawing library
\usepackage{tikz}                     % PGF frontend, drawing macros
  \usetikzlibrary{arrows.meta}        %    sublibrary extended arrows
\usepackage{tikz-timing}              % spezial TikZ library for waveform/timing diagrams
  \usetikztiminglibrary{advnodes}     %    sublibrary for advanced anchor nodes
  \usetikztiminglibrary{counters}     %    sublibrary for automated content generation
  \usetikztiminglibrary{clockarrows}  %    sublibrary for for arrows on rising/falling edges
  \usetikztiminglibrary{either}       %    sublibrary for new either symbol
  \usetikztiminglibrary{columntype}   %    sublibrary for 
  \usetikztiminglibrary{overlays}     %    sublibrary for overlay generation
  \usetikztiminglibrary{nicetabs}     %    sublibrary for better looking timingtables

\makeatletter     % setting math codes
  \mathcode`,="013B          % set margin for integer to fractional part delimiter sign in numbers; don't interpret comma as list delimiter
\makeatother

\begin{document}
\begin{tikztimingtable}[
  timing/table/header/.style={font=\bf},
  timing/wscale=2,
  timing/nice tabs,
  >=Latex,                                        % override tikz arrows to LaTeX default arrows
]
\\  % empty line for time scale
%      section A
RefClock\_150MHz        & h 58{c}                          13c      92{c} \\
\\  % empty line for divider
%      section B
PowerDown                & [thick,violet]      lN(BA1)h 36H          hN(BA2)l  44L  \\
PowerDownDone            & [thick,orange]  28L  N(BB1)   8H      8H   N(BB2)   38L \\
\\ % empty line for time scale
\extracode
  \makeatletter
  \tableheader{Signalname}{Signalverlauf}
  \tablerules
  % time scale
  \pgfmathsetmacro\twidthnew{\twidth/2}
  \pgfmathsetmacro\nrowsnew{76}
  \draw[->,thick] (0,0)             -- +(\twidth+1,0);
  \draw[->,thick] (0,-\nrowsnew-1)  -- +(\twidth+1,0);
  \foreach \n in {0,1,...,30}
    \pgfmathsetmacro\nnew{int(\n*2)}
    \draw(\nnew,-0.2)              -- +(0,.4)  node[above,inner sep=2pt] {\scalebox{0.75}{\n}}
         (\nnew,-\nrowsnew-1+0.2)  -- +(0,-.4) node[below,inner sep=2pt] {\scalebox{0.75}{\n}};
  \foreach \n in {36,37,...,\twidthnew}
    \pgfmathsetmacro\nnew{int(\n*2)}
    \draw(\nnew,-0.2)              -- +(0,.4)  node[above,inner sep=2pt] {\scalebox{0.75}{\n}}
         (\nnew,-\nrowsnew-1+0.2)  -- +(0,-.4) node[below,inner sep=2pt] {\scalebox{0.75}{\n}};
  % background help lines
  \begin{background}[gray,semitransparent,semithick]
    \horlines{2,4,5,...,11,13,14,15,17,18,...,21,23,24,...,30,32,33,...,40,42,43,...,46}
    \vertlines{0,2,...,60,72,74,...,\twidth}

    \shade[right color=bgred,left color=bgred]  (-18,-2.3)  rectangle +(\twidth+18,-1.2);
    \shade[right color=bgred,left color=bgred]  (-18,-17.5) rectangle +(\twidth+18,-1.2);
    \shade[right color=bgred,left color=bgred]  (-18,-24.3) rectangle +(\twidth+18,-1.2);
    \shade[right color=bgred,left color=bgred]  (-18,-34.3) rectangle +(\twidth+18,-1.2);
    \shade[right color=bgred,left color=bgred]  (-18,-49.6) rectangle +(\twidth+18,-1.2);
    \shade[right color=bgred,left color=bgred]  (-18,-66.4) rectangle +(\twidth+18,-1.2);
  \end{background}
  \begin{pgfonlayer}{background}
    \node[anchor=north west,inner sep=.5pt,fgred]  at (-18,-2.3) {Transceiver Interface};
    \node[anchor=north west,inner sep=.5pt,fgred]  at (-18,-17.5) {Synchronized Interface};
    \node[anchor=north west,inner sep=.5pt,fgred]  at (-18,-24.3) {PowerDown Control};
    \node[anchor=north west,inner sep=.5pt,fgred]  at (-18,-34.3) {ClockNet / CPLL Control};
    \node[anchor=north west,inner sep=.5pt,fgred]  at (-18,-49.6) {GTX Reset Control};
    \node[anchor=north west,inner sep=.5pt,fgred]  at (-18,-66.4) {UserLogic / FSM Control};
  \end{pgfonlayer}
\end{tikztimingtable}
\end{document}

The dividers are described in the last 16 lines. I would like to use anchors to calculate the rectangle boxes and the text nodes, but I could find a way to get the right coordinates.

What would be the best solution?

I think the best solution would be to have a macro \divider{text} which can be placed into the empty line like this.

\\  % empty line for time scale
RefClock\_150MHz        & h 58{c}                          13c      92{c} \\
\divider{Transceiver Interface} \\
PowerDown                & [thick,violet]      lN(BA1)h 36H          hN(BA2)l  44L  \\
PowerDownDone            & [thick,orange]  28L  N(BB1)   8H      8H   N(BB2)   38L \\

What would be the second best solution?

I think having a \divider[linenumber]{text} macro for the \begin{background} environment could also solve the question :).

\begin{background}[gray,semitransparent,semithick]
    \horlines{2,4,5,...,11,13,14,15,17,18,...,21,23,24,...,30,32,33,...,40,42,43,...,46}
    \vertlines{0,2,...,60,72,74,...,\twidth}

    \divider[color=bgred](2){Transceiver Interface};
\end{background}

P.S.
Having such a macro for time scale, too, would be the icing on the cake 🙂

Best Answer

Update

Now \divider{text} does the following:

creates a node named text;
creates a node named left sharing the y-coordinate with (text);
creates a node named right sharing the y-coordinate with (text);
creates a node named banner span the table from (left) to (right);
creates a node inside (banner) and typeset the text.
Since we do not know the width of the table before it finishes, all nodes except (text) are created after \extracode.
If there are more than one \divider's, nodes are created accordingly, sharing the y-coordinate with the corresponding mother node.

\documentclass[border=60,tikz]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz-timing}
\usetikzlibrary{fit}
\begin{document}
\makeatletter\gdef\dividers{}
\def\divider#1{
    N(#1)@{
        \g@addto@macro\dividers{
            \path(#1)-|node(left){}(all labels.west)(#1)-|node[shift={(0,1)}](right){}(all rows.east)
            node(banner)[fill=red,opacity=.2,inner sep=0,fit=(left.center)(right.center)]{}
            (banner.west)node[red!80!black,right](text){\scriptsize #1};
        }
    }
}
\begin{tikztimingtable}[timing/wscale=2]
    \\
    RefClock\_150MHz   & h58{c}13c92{c} \\
                       & \divider{Transceiver Interface} \\
    PowerDown          & [thick,violet]lN(BA1)h36HhN(BA2)l44L \\
    PowerDownDone      & [thick,orange]28LN(BB1)8H8HN(BB2)38L \\
                       & \divider{Synchronized Interface} \\
    CC\_Power Down     & [thick,orange]2LN(CA1)37HN(CA2)43L \\
    \\
\extracode
    \tableheader{Signalname}{Signalverlauf}\tablerules
    \draw[blue,->](BA1)to[out=0,in=180](CA1);
    \fulltablegrid
    \dividers
\end{tikztimingtable}
\end{document}

Old Answer

Let us get the thing started.

\documentclass[border=60,tikz]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz-timing}
\begin{document}
\def\strut{\large\vphantom{/}}
\begin{tikztimingtable}[timing/wscale=2]
    \\
    RefClock\_150MHz   & h58{c}13c92{c} \\
                       & [opacity=0]0D{[fill=red,text=white,opacity=1,xshift=-8cm,right,text width=80cm]\strut\Large Transceiver Interface} \\
    PowerDown          & [thick,violet]lN(BA1)h36HhN(BA2)l44L \\
    PowerDownDone      & [thick,orange]28LN(BB1)8H8HN(BB2)38L \\
                       & [opacity=0]0D{[fill=red,text=white,opacity=1,xshift=-8cm,right,text width=80cm]\strut\Large Synchronized Interface} \\
    CC\_Power Down     & [thick,orange]2LN(CA1)37HN(CA2)43L \\
    \\
\extracode
    \tableheader{Signalname}{Signalverlauf}\tablerules
    \draw[blue,->](BA1)to[out=0,in=180](CA1);
    \begin{background}[gray,semitransparent,semithick]
        \horlines{1,...,8}\vertlines{0,2,...,60,72,74,...,\twidth}
    \end{background}
\end{tikztimingtable}
\end{document}

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Tikz Timing change signal height of one signal

Here I use y=2\yunit to double the height of the data\_in row as desired.

The tricky part is handling the spacing. The problem is that by the time the next row is created (using the internal representation of rowdist as a skip amount), any key settings done in the previous row are out of scope.

Conversely, by the time the key settings in the current row are executed, the current row has already been placed with the old rowdist, which gives the wrong spacing.

In this solution, I use a global key setting macro \gtikzset as defined in the accepted answer to How to globally tikzset styles. This is used to globally set timing/rowdist=3 at the end of the first row, which causes the second row to be created at the right spot. Then, at the beginning of the second row, I globally reset it to the original value, timing/rowdist=2 which holds for the rest of the table.

Other notes about your code:

\vertlines is provided by tikz-timing to place vertical grid lines, it can replace your \foreach loop for those.

Instead of manually positioning your annotations, you can use the named nodes provided by tikz-timing so you don't have to update them whenever the drawing changes. So

\draw(0,-1.1) -- (16,-1.1);
\draw(0,-1.9) -- (16,-1.9);
\node [anchor=south east,inner sep=0pt]
    at (18,-1.4) {\tiny Vrefp};
\node [anchor= south east,inner sep=0pt]
    at (18,-2.2) {\tiny Vrefn};

becomes

\draw (row2.high start) ++(0,-0.1) -- ++(16,0) node {Vrefp};
\draw (row2.low start)  ++(0, 0.1) -- ++(16,0) node {Vrefn};

where I have also specified \tiny as the font key within the scope.

Here's the complete code:

\documentclass[tikz]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz-timing}
\newcommand\gtikzset[1]{%
\begingroup%
 \globaldefs=1\relax%
 \pgfqkeys{/tikz}{#1}%
\endgroup}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikztimingtable}
  clk        & 29{c}@{\gtikzset{timing/rowdist=3}}\\
  data\_in   & @{\gtikzset{timing/rowdist=2}}[y=2\yunit]0.1l 
                 [[timing/slope=0.7]]hhhhllllllhhhhhlllll 0.4lhhhhlllll\\
  error      & lllhhhhhhhhllhhhhhhh hllhhhhhh\\
  error\_reg & lllllhhhhhhhhllhhhhh hhhllhhhh\\
  data       & lhhhhhhllllhhhhhhlll lllhhhhll\\
  data\_reg  & lllhhhhhhllllhhhhhhl lllllhhhh\\
  early      & lllllllllllhhlllllll lllllllll\\
  late       & llllllllllllllllllll lllhhllll\\
  \extracode \background
  \begin{scope}[gray,semitransparent,semithick,node font=\tiny,anchor=west]
    \vertlines{0.5,...,\twidth}
    \draw (row2.high start) ++(0,-0.1) -- ++(16,0) node {Vrefp};
    \draw (row2.low start)  ++(0, 0.1) -- ++(16,0) node {Vrefn};
  \end{scope}
  \endbackground
\end{tikztimingtable}
\end{document}

And the result:

enter image description here

[Tex/LaTex] Relative transparency in TikZ

I just had a similar question marked as a duplicate of this one. Here is the link. Unfortunately, the answer posted here was not marked as an answer and OP indicated it as not working. Credit for this approach goes to @symbol-1.

As noted by @percusse here and @cfr and @symbol-1 in the link, the result will be viewer dependent. Examples of viewer differences provided below the code.

Here is modified from the OP and @percusse's answer using transparency group=knockout in the scope environment options:

\documentclass[tikz]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}
    \path[pattern=crosshatch dots light steel blue](-2,-2) rectangle (2,2);
    \begin{scope}[transparency group=knockout]
        \draw (-2,0) to node(aaaaa){} (2,0);
        \path (aaaaa) node[fill,opacity=0,text opacity=1]{aaaaa};
    \end{scope}
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

You can change the background to anything you like and no other changes are necessary. If you change the text to be longer/short, the background opacity will resize accordingly - i.e. no changes other than the label name.

In some PDF viewers (e.g. SumatraPDF, TeXworks previewer, etc.):

In other PDF viewers (e.g. Adobe Acrobat):

The PDF is the same in both cases. I simply took a screenshot of it opened in two different PDF viewers. It seems the background is affected as well, but the focus here is the transparency.

Also, here is an example of an additional node with text going vertically to illustrate what happens with transparency group=knockout with multiple nodes:

\documentclass[tikz]{standalone}
\usetikzlibrary{patterns}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}
    \path[pattern=crosshatch dots light steel blue](-2,-2) rectangle (2,2);
    \begin{scope}[transparency group=knockout]
        \draw (-2,0) to node(aaaaa){} (2,0);
        \path (aaaaa) node[fill,opacity=0,text opacity=1]{aaaaa};
        \draw (0,-2) to node(bbbbb){} (0,2);
        \path (bbbbb) node[fill,opacity=0,text opacity=1]{\rotatebox[origin=c]{90}{bbbbb}};
        \draw (-2,-0.35) to node(ccccc){} (2,-0.35);
        \path (ccccc) node[fill=red,text opacity=1]{ccccc};
    \end{scope}
\end{tikzpicture}

In some PDF viewers (e.g. SumatraPDF, TeXworks previewer, etc.):

In other PDF viewers (e.g. Adobe Acrobat):

You will notice that whichever item is last with opacity=0 takes precedence over the previous item(s). If you flip the aaaaa and bbbbb lines and nodes (i.e bbbbb occurs first), for example, you'll see this (in the conforming PDF viewers):

opacity=0 also takes precedence over other items which do not have opacity. For example, if we move the ccccc node/lines first within the tikzpicture, here is the result:

Just remember! If your picture is very complicated and you open it in an old or (transparency) non-conforming PDF viewer, it will not be what you expect.

If you have many nodes with transparency and you do not like the overlapping issue, you will need to adjust the order of the nodes, xshift and yshift, and/or place the nodes in different positions completely.