Quartus Assembler-only run after updating ROM .mif — should .sof/.pof checksum change?

Hello,

I have a question about Quartus output files and checksums when only the Assembler is re-run.

1) Run a full compile once (Analysis & Synthesis + Fitter/Place & Route).

2) Modify a *.mif file that is used as the initialization file for a Quartus IP: “ROM: 1-PORT”.

3) Without re-running Analysis & Synthesis or the Fitter, run:

4) Processing → Start → Start Assembler

5) to regenerate the .sof and .pof files.

A customer asked whether the checksum of the generated .sof/.pof should remain unchanged because the logic is not re-synthesized and the design is not re-fitted.

However, in my repeated tests, the checksum of the .sof/.pof changes every time the contents of the .mif file change.

Could you please confirm whether this behavior is expected?

In other words, does the Assembler incorporate the updated memory initialization data into the programming files (thus changing the file contents/checksum), even though A&S and Fitter are not re-run?

Any clarification or recommended flow for updating ROM init contents would be appreciated.

Best regards,