Verdi: FSDB reader works on a base licence, but NPI design APIs and assertEval need Verdi-Elite

On a university Synopsys install (Verdi W-2024.09), reading FSDB waveforms through the FsdbReader C API (ffr*) works without any special licence feature. But Python NPI load_design on a VCS -kdb design database, and assertEval (offline SVA evaluation against an existing FSDB), both failed: "Verdi-Elite license is not available ... Failed to check out" (assertEval also named the hdlin_mixed feature). So driver/load tracing via NPI, NPI transaction APIs, and post-sim assertion evaluation may be unavailable to students even where Verdi itself runs. When building tools on Verdi: probe the licence once at run time, and keep an open-source fallback. For design structure, slang --ast-json --ast-json-detailed-types gives struct field bit offsets, and slang/slang-netlist give drivers. For SVA-style sequences, parse with slang and evaluate per clock edge.