All,
Altera provides a library of SOPC Builder components (IP cores), which are listed in the URL below, for all I/O devices on the DE1 and DE2 boards. These components can be used as part of the SOPC Builder tool in the Quartus® II software. They allow users to easily create Nios® II systems that can access the I/O devices on the DE1 and DE2 boards. Also provided are the associated software drivers that can be incorporated into an Altera® Debug Client project (or an Altera Nios II IDE project).
http://www.altera.com/education/univ/ip-cores/unv-ip-cores.html --jmv