Cocotb in modern functional verification – a critical Review and comparative analysis with SystemVerilog/UVM

This paper presents a review of recent scientificliterature concerning the use of cocotb as a Python-based frameworkfor functional verification of digital systems. The studycategorizes existing works into three groups: design verificationcase studies, tool enhancement methodologies, and comparativeanalyses between cocotb and SystemVerilog/UVM environments.The strengths and limitations of cocotb are evaluated with respectto accessibility, ecosystem maturity, constrained random verificationcapabilities, and industrial applicability. The analysis revealsthat cocotb provides a flexible, cost-effective solution, particularlysuited to early-stage RTL verification and open-source workflows,while SystemVerilog/UVM remains advantageous for large-scaleindustrial projects due to its mature ecosystem and commercialtool integration. The paper identifies current gaps in methodologyevaluation, coverage analysis consistency, and reproducibility inexisting research, and outlines directions for future developmentof hybrid verification flows.