FPGA design software

FPGA vendors provide software that support their devices.

The design software does 4 main things:

• Design-entry.
• Simulation.
• Synthesis and place-and-route.
• Programming through special cables (JTAG).

Free software

FPGA vendors typically provide free software that supports low to medium density FPGA devices, and a full (non-free) version of the same software that supports the big FPGA devices.

• Xilinx's free software is named ISE WebPack, which is a scaled-down version of the full ISE software.
• Altera's free software is named Quartus II Web Edition, which is a scaled-down version of the full Quartus II software.

The free software is usually fine to start with because

• It is similar in functionality to the full version.
• Today's small to medium density devices are very capable.

Here's a summary of the features/limitations of the software:

	Xilinx's free ISE WebPack or full ISE	Altera's free Quartus II Web Edition or full Quartus II (comparison)
Design-entry	VHDL, Verilog, ABEL, Schematic, EDIF (all versions)	VHDL, Verilog, AHDL, Schematic, EDIF (all versions)
Core generator	Yes (all versions) (CORE Generator)	Yes (all versions) (MegaWizard Plug-Ins)
Functional & timing simulation	No, testbench simulation only	Yes (all versions)
Testbench simulation	Use ModelSim Xilinx Edition II	Use ModelSim-Altera edition
Synthesis/P&R	Free version limited to small & medium devices, see here	Free version limited to small & medium devices, see here
Programming	Yes	Yes
FPGA floorplanner/editor	Yes (FPGA editor), available in all versions (starting from ISE 8.1i)	FPGA floorplanner/Chip Editor included in all versions
Internal debug access	ChipScope PRO - available as a separate product	SignalTap II, included in all versions of Quartus II
OS support	Free version: Win2K/XP Full version: Win2K/XP, Unix/Linux	Free version: WinNT4/2K/XP Full version: Win98/NT4/2K/XP, Unix/Linux
Price	Free version: $0 and the time to download Full version: $2495 for a 12 month license (see details here)	Free version: $0 and the time to download Full version: $2000 for a 12 month license (see details here)

Note: this information (as everything on this site actually) is provided without guaranty of accuracy.

How to get started

1. Download the software that you are interested in (a few 100's of MBytes...).
2. Install it.
3. Request a free license by following the instructions attached to the software (you have to provide your email because the license is sent back to you by email).

Quick-start guides

These are big software, look here to start:

• Xilinx ISE quick-start guide
• Altera Quartus II quick-start guide

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This page was last updated on February 01 2008.