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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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9 years ago

RTL Simulation

Hello, I have been using ModelSim-Altera for my RLT simulations of my FPGA designs. I usually go to Tools->Run Simulation Tool->RTL Simulation and then ModelSim launches, compiles my project, run the sim and displays the data. I have seen others simply open ModelSim, Change Directory and then run a tcl script that compiles the project and runs the testbench simulation. The tcl script is rather lengthy and I was wondering if anyone knows if Quartus can generate the the tcl script for you?

I have heard this method is faster and would like to try it out. Can anyone help me?

Thanks,

Joe

19 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    what counts as lengthy? Are they all custom HDL or are they from something like QSYS?

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    what counts as lengthy? Are they all custom HDL or are they from something like QSYS?

    --- Quote End ---

    Tricky,

    Hello, thanks for responding to my post. I guess I shouldn't have added that in "lengthy", too subjective. I should have just said is there a simple way to generate a script that would include all the library functions needed to compile the project. I guess that within Quartus there must be some files generated when the RTL Sim button is pressed that will produce something you could copy and start building a tcl file. Or, how do other people build the script?

    Thanks,

    Joe
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    Hi joe,

    You can refer to this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qznl1c0twy8 It teach you how to use it.

    Thanks,

    Best regards,

    Kentan

    (This message was posted on behalf of Intel Corporation)

    --- Quote End ---

    That wasnt really the question. The question is how to generate the scripts to compile all code in Modelsim WITHOUT using nativelink (ie. from modelsim command line).
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    Using nativelink is a good start, as user can start modify the script in the .tcl and continue to use it in modelsim. otherwise, you have to write your own scripts

    Thanks,

    Best regards,

    Kentan
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    Kentan,

    Hello, thank you very much for the link to the video clip. Can you tell me where to find the .tcl script you mentioned?

    Thanks,

    Joe
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    Hi Joe,

    If follow the steps, in the modelsim, you can drag the message to the top. You will notice that there is a script being run with a

    do msim.tcl..

    This tcl is in the modelsim directory in your quartus project.

    Thanks,

    Best regards,

    kentan

    (This message was posted on behalf of Intel Corporation)
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    Kentan,

    Hello, quick question, how do most people simulate their designs, through Tools->RTL or by a tcl script? I ask because if most people use tcl scripts I would think there would be something automated that would generate the script.

    Joe
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    TCL scripts. And no, nothing to generate the script. All hand written. In one place I worked there was a very impressive scripting environment where it could run any tools just from a list of files.

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    9 years ago

    Yup, TCl scripts. For starter who do not know how to write the script, they can first look into the auto generate script as a good start. Or look into the documentation.