entity Definition

A primitive, megafunction, macrofunction, or state machine, that can be represented as either a name or a symbol in a design file.

An entity can be a top-level design entity, which is an entity that is the root of a design hierarchy, or a lower-level entity (or, subdesign). An entity can instantiate any number of lower-level entities, and is the parent for the lower-level entities.

The following entity types are supported in the Quartus^® Prime software:

• AHDL subdesigns
• Block Design File (.bdf) entities
• EDIF cells inside EDIF designs
• Verilog HDL modules
• VHDL entity-architecture design units

Entities are also referred to as logic functions or design entities.