Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guide: Third-party Simulation

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ID 683870
Date 9/30/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
Answers to Top FAQs 1. FPGA Simulation Basics 2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support 3. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support 4. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support 5. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support 6. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guide Third-party Simulation Archive A. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guides
1. FPGA Simulation Basics x
1.1. FPGA Simulation Essential Elements 1.2. Overview of Simulation Tool Flow 1.3. Simulation Tool Flow 1.4. Supported Simulation Flows 1.5. Supported Hardware Description Languages 1.6. Supported Simulation Types 1.7. Supported Simulators 1.8. Post-Fit Simulation Support by FPGA Family 1.9. Automating Simulation with the Run Simulation Feature 1.10. Using Precompiled Simulation Libraries 1.11. 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 Quartus® Prime Simulation Library 1.3.4. Understanding Elaboration 1.3.5. Commands To Configure and Run Simulation 1.3.6. 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 Quartus® Prime Simulation Library x
1.3.3.1. The 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
1.9. Automating Simulation with the Run Simulation Feature x
1.9.1. Setting Up the Run Simulation Feature 1.9.2. Run RTL Simulation using Run Simulation in Batch Mode (Command-Line)
1.9.1. Setting Up the Run Simulation Feature x
1.9.1.1. Installation Paths for Supported EDA Simulators (EDA Tool Options Page) 1.9.1.2. Simulation Options (Board and IP Settings Page) 1.9.1.3. Simulation Flow Settings (EDA Tool Settings Page) 1.9.1.4. More EDA Netlist Writer Settings (EDA Tool Settings Page)
1.9.2. Run RTL Simulation using Run Simulation in Batch Mode (Command-Line) x
1.9.2.1. Specifying Required Simulation Settings for Run Simulation (Batch Mode) 1.9.2.2. Optional Simulation Settings for Run Simulation (Batch Mode) 1.9.2.3. Launching Simulation with the Run Simulation Feature 1.9.2.4. Running RTL Simulation using Run Simulation 1.9.2.5. Output Directories and Files for Run Simulation
1.10. Using Precompiled Simulation Libraries x
1.10.1. Enabling Precompiled Simulation Libraries 1.10.2. Implementing Precompiled Simulation Libraries
2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support x
2.1. Quick Start Example (QuestaSim* with Verilog) 2.2. QuestaSim* Simulator Guidelines 2.3. Using the Qrun Flow 2.4. QuestaSim* Simulation Setup Script Example 2.5. Sourcing QuestaSim* Simulator Setup Scripts 2.6. Unsupported Features 2.7. 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
2.3. Using the Qrun Flow x
2.3.1. Specifying Simulation File Generation Settings 2.3.2. Generating the Simulation Model and Setup Scripts 2.3.3. Generating the Testbench System 2.3.4. Generating Example Design Simulation Files 2.3.5. Recommendations for Using Qrun
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
4. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support x
4.1. Quick Start Example (Active-HDL VHDL) 4.2. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Guidelines 4.3. Using Simulation Setup Scripts 4.4. Sourcing Aldec ActiveHDL* or Riviera Pro* Simulator Setup Scripts 4.5. Aldec Active-HDL* and Riviera-PRO * Support Revision History
5. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support x
5.1. Using the Command-Line Interface 5.2. Generating Simulator Setup Script Templates 5.3. Sourcing Cadence Xcelium* Simulator Setup Scripts 5.4. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support Revision History
Answers to Top FAQs
1. FPGA Simulation Basics
2. Siemens EDA QuestaSim* Simulator Support
3. Synopsys VCS* and VCS MX Support
4. Aldec Active-HDL and Riviera-PRO Support
5. Cadence Xcelium* Parallel Simulator Support
6. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guide Third-party Simulation Archive
A. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guides

1.1. FPGA Simulation Essential Elements

The following describes the essential elements required for FPGA design simulation.

Design

An Quartus® Prime design typically consists of a top-level design module containing a hierarchy of module instances, defined in one or more HDL files. The design that you intend to simulate is known as the Design Under Test (DUT).

Testbench

To simulate the DUT (that is, a design), you must also provide a separate HDL module (referred to as the testbench module) that instantiates the DUT and additional logic to stimulate the DUT and to capture the output from the DUT. The testbench module can include a hierarchy of module instances related to the testbench, but that are not part of the design. You define the testbench modules in one or more HDL files.

Top-Level Testbench

A top level testbench module is the testbench module that instantiates all other design and testbench related modules. This is the module you simulate.

HDL Design and Testbench Files

Simulating a design requires HDL design files, and one or more HDL testbench files. Quartus® Prime designs typically consist of several modules that you define in multiple HDL files. These files can include HDL files generated by Quartus® Prime tool, such as Quartus® Prime Platform Designer.

Some of the modules instantiated in the design may be common to many designs. Examples of some common modules are low-level primitives, like AND and OR gates, and more complex blocks, such as multipliers and FIFOs.

The low level modules common to many designs are known as simulation library modules, and the files defining those modules are known as simulation library files. The Quartus® Prime software installation provides various simulation library files, as The Quartus Prime Simulation Library describes.

The combination of design and testbench files includes all the modules that are instantiated in the top-level testbench module hierarchy, including all of the modules for the design, because the design is instantiated within the testbench hierarchy.

Executable Simulation Model

In order to simulate a design, you must first generate an executable simulation model of the top-level testbench by running a set of simulator specific commands. You must then run the executable model to perform simulation. Running the executable model may require simulator specific commands. The executable model is typically a set of binary files specific to a simulator.

Simulator Commands

You must run one or more simulator commands to generate the executable simulation model and then to run the executable simulation model. The commands require the following inputs to generate an executable model of the top-level testbench module that you can simulate, as the Inputs and Commands to Generate and Run the Executable Model figure shows:

  • The name of the top-level testbench module.
  • The HDL design files, including files generated by tools such as Platform Designer, simulation library files, and testbench files.
Figure 1. Inputs and Commands to Generate and Run the Executable Simulation Model


Since you must run several commands to create and run the executable model to perform simulation, you can place the calls to the commands into one or more simulation scripts for convenience. These scripts can be Linux shell scripts, Tcl scripts, Perl, or Python scripts.

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