VHDL Simulation Software??

J

JC0724

Weaksauce
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Oct 11, 2008
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Not sure if this should be in programming or general software but...

I am in a Logic Design class where we are writing VHDL code for our logic circuits. I want to know if anybody knows the different types of simulation software that is out there?
And if there are free versions I can download to work on my VHDL code at home? Or maybe I can buy the software myself if it isn't to expensive.
 
I use Xilinx ISE and Altera Quartus
I don't know if there is a free VHDL IDE, they require an INSANE amount of programming by very intelligent programmers.
When you try to program VHDL, it can sometimes be hard to understand what is going to happen, considering things happen in "parallel".
Imagine programming the backend code to handle the paralellness of your code along with delays and a lot of other things... crazy

I hate every program that I have used, it seems like they were designed for the 90s.
They are way out of date, it is hard to do certain things, they like to crash a lot.

You should get the same software that you are using in class, that way you can work on the code at home and then bring it in to class/lab and load the same project onto the school computers.
 
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What simulator are you using in class? Your best option would be to get a student version of this - often they are free (or the school will have licenses to provide you)

Many of these Verilog simulators also support VHDL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Verilog_simulators
Typically EDA tools are not designed for ease-of-use for students, so they can sometimes be tricky to figure out.
 
ripken204 said:
I hate every program that I have used, it seems like they were designed for the 90s.
They are way out of date, it is hard to do certain things, they like to crash a lot.
Click to expand...

I suspect this is the case for a lot of niche software, but I've found they are rarely designed with focus on beginner ease-of-use. It's kind of unfortunate for those learning the tools, but generally most of the engineer's time is spent on other tasks anyway.
 
Xilinx has a free 'webpack' ise that you can download. I'd rather spend a $100 on a spartan board for running the program as relying on waveform simulation isnt much fun.
 
For trivial designs you *might* have limited success debugging simply by iterating on the fpga, but it's not possible for anything moderately complex. Simulation is the most valuable tool for debugging and verifying a design.
 
jimmyb said:
For trivial designs you *might* have limited success debugging simply by iterating on the fpga, but it's not possible for anything moderately complex. Simulation is the most valuable tool for debugging and verifying a design.
Click to expand...

ya it's simply impossible to debug by running the code on real hardware.
all you can tell is that something doesn't work, but you won't have any idea about why it doesn't work.

also, you may think that it works on real hardware, and it very well might for the certain test cases that you performed, but there may be hazards happening in the background which will only occur in very specific cases, you need to test for that. have fun making test benches...
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate all of your input. I am only in week 3 of class for my logic course. The professor said the last half of the class we will be writing VHDL code. Right now we are just building the circuits on a board and the software we are using to design the circuits is LogicWorks. I don't know if this is the same software we will be using for VHDL or not.
 
I've used ModelSim as so with Xilinx and Quartus, though like ripken, I think all of their interfaces suck as well. Just stick with whatever software your professor chooses or what's mentioned in your class's syllabus.
 
GushpinBob said:
I've used ModelSim as so with Xilinx and Quartus, though like ripken, I think all of their interfaces suck as well. Just stick with whatever software your professor chooses or what's mentioned in your class's syllabus.
Click to expand...

I've used ModelSim as well... a lot actually
these programs make me not want to be a CE
 
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