Forum Discussion
Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor
Honored ContributorMAX10: JTAG Instruction Set - Understanding what USBBlaster is doing - later ISP
I want to do In-System-Programming for the MAX10 over JTAG. As pre-work I would like to understand what the USBBlaster is doing when using the Quartus Programmer to load a .pof-File onto the MA...
Altera_ForumHonored Contributor
Honored ContributorThe USB-Blaster (I suspect you've worked out) is a JTAG host controlled over USB from it's host - e.g. a PC. It simply generates the appropriate JTAG commands fed to it from it's host.
As for what JTAG commands the Quartus programmer has it generate - this is not (completely) documented. You've clearly found a few... JTAG is not really intended to be used in this way. Nor is MAX10 really intended for in-system programming in this way. That's not to say it can't be done - it can. There are FPGA families that are intended to be programmed from a micro (or similar) - e.g. Cyclone. These devices lend themselves very well to this. However, they don't do this using JTAG. So, why MAX10? And why are you looking to solve this with JTAG hosted from a micro? Cheers, Alex
