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).

FPGA vendors provide a 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 ISE or the free ISE WebPack	Altera's Quartus II or the free Web Edition
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 III	Use ModelSim-Altera edition
Synthesis/P&R	Free version limited to small & medium devices	Free version limited to small & medium devices
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 (a separate product - not free)	SignalTap II (included in Quartus II/Web edition)
Older versions	Available from the ISE Classics page	Available from the Quartus II Software Archive page
OS support	XP/Vista/Linux	XP/Vista + Linux for the full version
Price	Free version: $0 Full version: $2495 for a 12 month license	Free version: $0 Full version: $2000 for a 12 month license
Software matrix	Check here	Check here

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 January 30 2010.