Xilinx Tutorial
First you must have Xilinx installed on your system, or you are using the computers in lab APM2444. For installation problems you should consult the Xilinx webpage.
Assuming you have Xilinx up and running, you must create a new project. Use a naming scheme that makes sense! You will be using and accessing this first lab and subsequent labs in the future. After naming your lab, you should open the schematic editor and make sure you are using the correct libraries for you labs. As seen here, I was using xc400e, as well as my own 141lab2 library. Remember to add them each time you open Xilinx, otherwise you will have problems opening your macros. What are the macros anyways? Macros
Macros are what you will be creating when you have successfully designed a schematic for some part of your ALU for instance. You will then connect these macros with others, and busses to create one large schematic. How do you create Macros? Easy! Once you have designed your schematic using the various gates wires etc, you will first need to do an Integrity test on your schematic. This will effectively test all connections (busses, terminals) and gates for solid connections. Your results will be displayed in the project manager. After passing the Integrity test you will need to add the current sheet to the project. This is important to do. You will have to do this every time you change a schematic. Next you will choose to create macro out of the sheet. This will add the sheet into your library of gates/macros as seen here. So lets say you want to simulate a Macro, or a collection of Macros. This is easy. Make sure you have added the sheet first (trust me I am being redundant for a reason!).
Simulator Next you will have to open the Logic Simulator. This is done by going to the "tools" menu and then "simulator". There is also a quick link on the schematic editor with the letters "SIM". This is where you will be spending much time testing your schematics, macros, and eventual ALU, for lab2! Once inside the logic simulator, you should first choose to add signals Next you will need to also add stimulators. After "Adding Stimulators", you should think about how you would like to view the various numerical outputs. The default setting is hexadecimal. However you can Display between binary, decimal, hexadecimal, and octal. Hexadecimal, and binary are probably going to be very popular! You also want to look at individual values of a bus for instance. This would prove beneficial for error checking in simulation. So to do this you will flatten the buss. Set State This is very important when it comes time to set the value for a bus. Here I have set the Buss (blue) to the value 15. Clock For your lab you will need to set up some kind of clock. To do this you will need to first go to the Add Stimulators window again. Then you will choose to set the clock Formulas Bus Probes etc You will want to add bus probes at some point in the game. This will help in debugging your design so you may exploit flaws. This was very helpful for myself when I took this class :-). So I suggest you go back to the schematics editor only after you have set up the logic simulator, and install some bus probes on the busses, and terminal wires as shown. Final Here is what the beginning of a simulation will look like.