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

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ID 683080
Date 2/05/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
Answers to Top FAQs 1. Intel FPGA Simulation Basics 2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support 3. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support 4. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support 5. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support A. Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guides
1. Intel FPGA Simulation Basics x
1.1. Intel FPGA Simulation Essential Elements 1.2. Overview of Simulation Tool Flow 1.3. Simulation Tool Flow 1.4. Supported Simulation Types 1.5. Supported Simulation Flows 1.6. Supported Hardware Description Languages 1.7. Supported Simulators 1.8. Using NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) 1.9. Intel FPGA Simulation Basics Revision History
1.2. Overview of Simulation Tool Flow x
1.2.1. Compilation Stage 1.2.2. Elaboration Stage 1.2.3. Simulation Stage
1.3. Simulation Tool Flow x
1.3.1. Specifying Logical Libraries 1.3.2. Compiling Files Into Library Directories 1.3.3. The Intel® Quartus® Prime Simulation Library 1.3.4. Understanding Elaboration 1.3.5. Commands To Configure and Run Simulation 1.3.6. Intel FPGA Simulation Generic Workflow
1.3.1. Specifying Logical Libraries x
1.3.1.1. Why Do We Need Logical Library Names?
1.3.2. Compiling Files Into Library Directories x
1.3.2.1. Inputs to Compilation Commands 1.3.2.2. Order of Files for Compilation Commands 1.3.2.3. Compilation Command Line Options 1.3.2.4. Module Definitions in Library Directories
1.3.3. The Intel® Quartus® Prime Simulation Library x
1.3.3.1. The Intel® Quartus® Prime Simulation Library Compiler 1.3.3.2. Running the Simulation Library Compiler in a Terminal 1.3.3.3. Running the Simulation Library Compiler in the GUI 1.3.3.4. Finding Logical Library Names in Simulation Library Compiler Output
1.3.4. Understanding Elaboration x
1.3.4.1. Elaboration Binding Phase 1.3.4.2. Elaboration Checks 1.3.4.3. Elaboration Options
1.8. Using NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) x
1.8.1. Setting Up NativeLink Simulation ( Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition) 1.8.2. Running RTL Simulation (NativeLink Flow) 1.8.3. Running Gate-Level Simulation (NativeLink Flow)
2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support x
2.1. Quick Start Example (QuestaSim* with Verilog) 2.2. QuestaSim* Simulator Guidelines 2.3. QuestaSim* Simulation Setup Script Example 2.4. Sourcing QuestaSim* Simulator Setup Scripts 2.5. Unsupported Features 2.6. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support Revision History
2.2. QuestaSim* Simulator Guidelines x
2.2.1. Passing Parameter Information from Verilog HDL to VHDL 2.2.2. Viewing Simulation Messages 2.2.3. Generating Signal Activity Data for Power Analysis 2.2.4. Viewing Simulation Waveforms
2.2.3. Generating Signal Activity Data for Power Analysis x
2.2.3.1. Generating Standard Delay Output for Power Analysis
3. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support x
3.1. Quick Start Example (VCS with Verilog) 3.2. VCS and VCS MX Guidelines 3.3. VCS Simulation Setup Script Example 3.4. Sourcing Synopsys VCS* MX Simulator Setup Scripts 3.5. Sourcing Synopsys VCS* Simulator Setup Scripts 3.6. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support Revision History
3.2. VCS and VCS MX Guidelines x
3.2.1. Simulating Transport Delays 3.2.2. Disabling Timing Violation on Registers 3.2.3. Generating Power Analysis Files
4. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support x
4.1. Generating Simulator Setup Script Templates 4.2. Sourcing Cadence Xcelium* Simulator Setup Scripts 4.3. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support Revision History
5. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support x
5.1. Quick Start Example (Active-HDL VHDL) 5.2. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Guidelines 5.3. Using Simulation Setup Scripts 5.4. Sourcing Aldec ActiveHDL* or Riviera Pro* Simulator Setup Scripts 5.5. Aldec Active-HDL* and Riviera-PRO * Support Revision History
5.2. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Guidelines x
5.2.1. Compiling SystemVerilog Files 5.2.2. Disabling Timing Violation on Registers
Answers to Top FAQs
1. Intel FPGA Simulation Basics
2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support
3. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support
4. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support
5. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support
A. Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guides

1.3.4.3. Elaboration Options

There are many simulator specific elaboration options that you can specify. One common elaboration option preserves specific signal names so that their waveforms (a record of how the signals change with time) can be recorded during simulation. The rationale behind this option is explained below.

The elaboration stage generally includes an optimization step. The optimization step attempts to build an optimized executable simulation model that can run faster or consume less memory during simulation.

There are many signals (defined as wire, reg, or logic variables) in a typical design and testbench hierarchy. At the end of a simulation, any signal can produce a simulation waveform.

The optimization step may be unable to fully optimize the executable simulation model if most of the signals in the testbench hierarchy are preserved. Therefore, it is best to limit the signals that you preserve to those that require waveforms during simulation. You can specify the signals to preserve at varying level of granularity. For example, you can specify specific signal names, or all signals within a module instance.

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