XilinxQuickStart

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  • There's a Xilinx tutorial PDF in the Share. If you retrieve the one from within Xilinx Help:Tutorials:Quick start, save it on the desktop and open it in Adobe outside the Xilinx so that you can always switch to it.
  • see device settings:

  • do the "Creating Verilog Source"

[skipping a bunch of steps]

  • after you save the testbench waveform, you can find it again by clicking on the drop-down "Sources for" in the upper-left of the screen. Change from "Synthesis/Implementation" to "Behavioral Simulation"
  • it is possible to take a module defined as Verilog and have it be transformed into a schematic symbol. Design Utilities: Create Schematic Symbol.
  • To view the schematic right click your project in the sources window and click "add source". Right click the new .sch file and choose "Set as top module".
  • to make I/O pins (from the schematic area), you select Add I/O Markers, choose Automatic, and then click on wires.
  • select "Implement Top Module" to get it to synthesize.
  • the "BF_Handy_Board.ucf" (user constraints file) is on the Share. This is a mapping between physical pins on the HB-BF's FPGA and signal names.
  • Implement Design:Place and Route:Pad Report shows the mapping between signals and phys pins.
  • User Constraints:Assign Package Pins opens up the "PACE" application that lets you make assignments between signals and pins. Look at Andrew's BF_Handy_Board.ucf (it's a text file) for reference.
  • after Implement Design, double click Generate Programming File. This makes the bit file. This now needs to be converted into an binary image file that can be loaded into the SPI (.bin).
  • next, choose Generate Programming File: Generate PROM etc. This opens a standalone app called "iMPACT". If you don't get a dialog, choose File:New, and Create New Project (OK). Now:
    • Prepare PROM File (next)
    • Xilinx PROM and BIN file format. Give file name (next)
    • Auto Select PROM (next)
    • Finish.
    • OK on Add Device.
    • Browse to your .bit file and Open.
    • NO to Add Device.
    • OK to continue.
    • under the lower left vertical sidebar called "iMPACT Process Operations," double-click on Generate File. You should get a BIG BLUE BOX that says "PROM File Generation Succeeded"!
    • we're done. There should be a .bin file.
    • close down iMPACT. DON'T save the project. Just do these steps again next time.
  • now we are going to use Visual DSP's Flash Programmer to put the new FPGA bin file into the Handy Board's SPI Flash. Fire up Visual DSP and connect the USB-ICE to the Handy Board.
    • go to Tools: Flash Programmer.
    • under Driver tab, browse to the network drive and browse to Flash Programmer and select M25P80.dxe. (that is code that can talk to the flash chip. The flash programmer runs code on the processor to program the flash.)
    • hit Load Driver to load it.
    • It should display Blackfin Handy Board driver in the "Driver information" area, and you should see in the message center in blue, "Success: Driver loaded."
    • go to the Programming tab, choose
      • Erase Affected,
      • Binary file format,
      • Offset 0xA0000
      • Browse to your .bin file (change file filter drop-down to .bin)
      • don't hit OK; instead, select "Program". You should see happy status in Message Center. Also, you can see what sectors changed in the Flash sector map.
      • Use Compare to verify after done if you wish. You will get a nasty dialog if anything goes wrong, or happy in Message Center if good.
      • Now click OK to dismiss.
    • Exit Visual DSP before disconnecting USB-ICE.
    • Power cycle the HB to run your FPGA program!!