Nios® II Software Developer Handbook

ID 683525
Date 8/28/2023
Public
Document Table of Contents

2.4. Nios® II Software Development Environment

The Nios® II EDS provides a consistent software development environment that works for all Nios® II processor systems. With the Nios® II EDS running on a host computer, an Intel FPGA FPGA, and a JTAG download cable (such as an Intel FPGA USB-Blaster™ download cable), you can write programs for and communicate with any Nios® II processor system. The Nios® II processor’s JTAG debug module provides a single, consistent method to connect to the processor using a JTAG download cable. Accessing the processor is the same, regardless of whether a device implements only a Nios® II processor system, or whether the Nios® II processor is embedded deeply in a complex multiprocessor system. Therefore, you do not need to spend time manually creating interface mechanisms for the embedded processor.

The Nios® II EDS includes proprietary and open-source tools (such as the GNU C/C++ tool chain) for creating Nios® II programs. The Nios® II EDS automates board support package (BSP) creation for Nios® II processor-based systems, eliminating the need to spend time manually creating BSPs. The BSP provides a C/C++ runtime environment, insulating you from the hardware in your embedded system. Intel FPGA BSPs contain the Intel FPGA hardware abstraction layer (HAL), an optional RTOS, and device drivers.