Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guide: Design Compilation

ID 683236
Date 1/27/2022
Public

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3.2.3. Using Block-Based Compilation

During the design process, you can isolate functional blocks that meet placement and timing requirements from others still undergoing change and optimization. By isolating functional blocks into partitions, you can apply optimization techniques to selected areas and only compile those areas.

When using block-based compilation, you can enable the Fast Preserve option to reduce the logic of preserved partitions to only interface logic during compilation, thereby reducing the time the Compiler requires to synthesize, place, and route the partition. Interface logic is logic at the partition boundary that interfaces with the rest of the design.

To create partitions dividing functional blocks:
  1. In the Design Partition Planner, identify blocks of a size suitable for partitioning.
    In general, a partition represents roughly 15 to 20 percent of the total design size. You should use the information area below the bar at the top of each entity.
    Figure 67. Entity representation in the Design Partition Planner
  2. Extract and collapse entities as necessary to achieve stand-alone blocks.
  3. For each entity of the desired size containing related blocks of logic, right-click the entity and click Create Design Partition to place that entity in its own partition.
    The goal is to achieve partitions containing related blocks of logic.
  4. To enable the Fast Preserve option that simplifies the logic of the preserved partition to only interface logic during compilation, click Assignments > Settings > Compiler Settings > Incremental Compile > Fast Preserve.