FPGA Design Software Evolution

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· Strategies are basically implementation “instructions” or "recipes.”

· There are four predefined strategies in Lattice Diamond, and users can create strategies customized for their own design.

· Predefined Strategies cannot be edited, but they can be cloned and then modified and saved as custom user strategies.

· Custom user strategies can be edited, cloned, set as the active strategy and removed.

· There can be many strategies in a project, but only one can be active at a time for each implementation, and each implementation must have an active strategy.

Figure 2 shows the strategy dialog. Each item in the list on the left can be selected and then all the available options for that item can be shown and modified. The new project structure in Diamond provides several key benefits. Projects are now much simpler because a single project type can handle a variety of input source types and allow the management of multiple constraint, debug and analysis files. Additionally, through the use of implementations and strategies, a project can now be much more powerful, accomplishing what would have taken several projects previously.

Ease of Use

As the use of FPGAs proliferates into new markets and applications, designers may not be familiar with FPGA design. As a result, ease of use becomes more critical than ever. The Diamond user interface combines new features and customization while offering better ease of use.

All the tools in Diamond now open in “Views” integrated into a common Diamond user interface, and can be detached in separate windows. New features like the Start Page and Reports view allow easy access to information. The Diamond user interface offers several key features

· Common menu and button locations for all views

· Three main sections of the user interface for tools, projects, and output:

1) Tool view window pane provides the ability to detach, attach, arrange, and split for side by side viewing of tools

2) Project view window pane provides the ability to detach, attach, and arrange views such as File list and Process views

3) Output view window pane provides the ability to detach, attach, and arrange views such as outputs, errors, warnings, and TCL console

· Start Page provides direct links to opening projects, importing projects from previous design environments, online help, and software updates

· Report view provides a centralized location for all reports from the implementation tools

The Diamond user interface (Figure 3) also offers new views for making specific tasks easier. In addition to the new Start Page and Reports view, the new ECO Editor and Programmer allow for direct editing of the physical netlist for a few common functions, and a faster way to reprogram an FPGA once the initial setup has been completed.

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PLDs & Tools

FPGA Design Software Evolution

Ease of Use