Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guide: Third-party Simulation

ID 683080
Date 2/05/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents

5.1. Quick Start Example (Active-HDL VHDL)

You can adapt the following RTL simulation example to get started quickly with Active-HDL:
  1. To specify your EDA simulator and executable path, type the following Tcl package command in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Tcl shell window:
    set_user_option -name EDA_TOOL_PATH_ACTIVEHDL <Active HDL executable path>
    set_global_assignment -name EDA_SIMULATION_TOOL "Active-HDL (VHDL)"
  2. Compile simulation model libraries using one of the following methods:
    • Run NativeLink RTL simulation to compile required design files, simulation models, and run your simulator. Verify results in your simulator. If you complete this step you can ignore the remaining steps.
    • To automatically compile all required simulation model libraries for your design in your supported simulator, click Tools > Launch Simulation Library Compiler. Specify options for your simulation tool, language, target device family, and output location, and then click OK.
    • Compile Intel FPGA simulation models manually:
      vlib <library1> <altera_library1> 
      vcom -strict93 -dbg -work <library1> <lib1_component/pack.vhd> \
         <lib1.vhd>

    Use the compiled simulation model libraries during simulation of your design. Refer to your EDA simulator's documentation for information about running simulation.

  3. Open the Active-HDL simulator.
  4. Create and open the workspace:
    createdesign <workspace name> <workspace path>
    opendesign -a <workspace name>.adf
  5. Create the work library and compile the netlist and testbench files:
    vlib work
    vcom  -strict93  -dbg -work work <output netlist> <testbench file> 
  6. Load the design:
    vsim +access+r -t 1ps +transport_int_delays +transport_path_delays \
    -L work -L <lib1> -L <lib2> work.<testbench module name> 
  7. Run the simulation in the Active-HDL simulator.