Have you ever wanted to run a VHDL simulation that includes a Quartus IP core through the VUnit verification framework?
This tutorial shows you how to generate, incorporate, and link external Quartus IP libraries to VUnit.
VUnit is one of the most popular open-source VHDL verification frameworks available today. It combines a Python test suite runner with a dedicated VHDL library to automate your testbenches.
When designing VHDL for safety-critical FPGA applications, it’s not enough to write testbenches at best-effort. You have to present proof that the module works as intended and without undesirable side-effects. Formal verification techniques can help you map a requirement to a test, proving that your VHDL module conforms to the specification. It’s an instrumental tool…
This tutorial covers using the Integrated Logic Analyzer (ILA) and Virtual Input/Output (VIO) cores to debug and monitor your VHDL design in the Xilinx Vivado IDE. In many cases, designers are in need to perform on-chip verification. That is, gaining access to an internal signal’s behavior in their FPGA design for verification purposes. One option…
Text strings in VHDL are generally limited to fixed-length character arrays. That makes sense because VHDL describes hardware, and generic-length strings require dynamic memory. To define an array of strings, you have to allocate space at compile-time for the highest number of strings you want to store. And even worse, you must decide on the…
The generate statement in VHDL can automatically duplicate a block of code to closures with identical signals, processes, and instances. It’s a for loop for the architecture region that can create chained processes or module instances.
Radio-controlled (RC) model servos are tiny actuators typically used in hobbyist model planes, cars, and boats. They allow the operator to control the vehicle via a radio link remotely. Because RC models have been around for a long time, the de-facto standard interface is pulse-width modulation (PWM), rather than a digital scheme. Fortunately, it’s easy…
Most VHDL simulators use the Tool Command Language (Tcl) as their scripting language. When you type a command in the console of the simulator, you are using Tcl. Furthermore, you can create scripts with Tcl that run in the simulator and interact with your VHDL code. In this article, we will create a self-checking testbench…
How do you stop the VHDL simulator when the simulation is complete? There are several ways to do that. In this article, we will examine the most common ways to end a successful testbench run. The VHDL code presented here is universal, and it should work in any capable VHDL simulator. For the methods involving…
I’ve noticed that many of the gadgets that I’ve bought the last couple of years have shifted away from LED blinking to led breathing. Most electronic gizmos contain a status LED whose behavior gives away indications of what’s going on inside of the device. My electric toothbrush flashes an LED when it’s time to recharge…
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