AN 717: Nios II Gen2 Hardware Development Tutorial

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ID 683615
Date 9/22/2014
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Hardware Development Tutorial
1. Hardware Development Tutorial x
1.1. Software and Hardware Requirements 1.2. 1.3. Design Example 1.4. System Development Flow 1.5. Creating the Design Example 1.6. Document Revision History
1.4. System Development Flow x
1.4.1. Analyzing System Requirements 1.4.2. Defining and Generating the System in 1.4.3. Integrating the System into the Project 1.4.4. Developing Software with the Software Build Tools for Eclipse 1.4.5. Running and Debugging Software on the Target Board 1.4.6. Varying the Development Flow Refining the Software and Hardware Iteratively Creating a System Verifying the System with Hardware Simulation Tools
1.5. Creating the Design Example x
1.5.1. Install the Design Files 1.5.2. Analyze System Requirements 1.5.3. Start the Software and Open the Example Project 1.5.4. Create a New System 1.5.5. Define the System in 1.5.6. Integrate the System into the Project 1.5.7. Download the Hardware Design to the Target FPGA 1.5.8. Develop Software Using the SBT for Eclipse 1.5.9. Run the Program on Target Hardware
1.5.5. Define the System in x
1.5.5.1. Specify Target FPGA and Clock Settings 1.5.5.2. Add the On-Chip Memory 1.5.5.3. Add the Processor Core 1.5.5.4. Add the JTAG UART 1.5.5.5. Add the Interval Timer 1.5.5.6. Add the System ID Peripheral 1.5.5.7. Add the PIO 1.5.5.8. Specify Base Addresses and Interrupt Request Priorities 1.5.5.9. Generate the System
1.5.6. Integrate the System into the Project x
1.5.6.1. Instantiate the System Module in the Project 1.5.6.2. Add IP Variation File 1.5.6.3. Assign FPGA Device 1.5.6.4. Assign FPGA Pin Locations 1.5.6.5. Set Timing 1.5.6.6. Compile the Project and Verify Timing
1.5.8. Develop Software Using the SBT for Eclipse x
1.5.8.1. Create a New Application and BSP from Template 1.5.8.2. Compile the Project
1. Hardware Development Tutorial

1.4.6. Varying the Development Flow

The development flow is not strictly linear. The following lost the common variations:

  • Refining the Software and Hardware
  • Iteratively Creating a System
  • Verifying the System with Hardware Simulation Tools

Refining the Software and Hardware

After running software on the target board, you might discover that the system requires higher performance. In this case, you can:

  • return to software design steps to make improvements to the software algorithm; or
  • return to hardware design steps to add acceleration logic

If the system performs multiple mutually exclusive tasks, you might even decide to use two (or more) processors that divide the workload and improve the performance of each individual processor.

Iteratively Creating a System

A common technique for building a complex system is to start with a simpler system, and iteratively add to it. At each iteration, you can verify that the system performs as expected. You might choose to verify the fundamental components of a system, such as the processor, memory, and communication channels, before adding more complex components. When developing a custom component or a custom instruction, first integrate the custom logic into a minimal system to verify that it works as expected; then integrate the custom logic into a more complex system.

Verifying the System with Hardware Simulation Tools

You can perform hardware simulation of software executing on the system, using tools such as the ModelSim® RTL simulator. Hardware simulation is useful to meet certain needs, including the following cases:

  • To verify the cycle-accurate performance of a system before target hardware is available.
  • To verify the functionality of a custom component or a custom instruction before trying it on hardware.

If you are building a system based on the standard components provided with the EDS, the easiest way to verify functionality is to download the hardware and software directly to a development board.

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