FPGA and CPLD Design Flow

Compile Your First FPGA or CPLD Design Using Quartus II Software

Learn how to compile your first FPGA or CPLD design       in less than five minutes   View Video   Training   Support   QuickStart Guide (PDF)

Understanding Altera's FPGA and CPLD Design Flow

FPGA Design Flow        CPLD Design Flow

Should I use Quartus II Web Edition software, Quartus II Subscription Edition software, or buy a development kit?

Altera offers both free Quartus^® II Web Edition software and Quartus II subscription software. To help you choose, view a detailed comparison file (PDF). You can also purchase a development kit which includes reference designs, IP cores, and a one-year, time limited evaluation license for Quartus II software.

What Quartus II software documentation and learning resources are available?

Table 1 lists some of the available software documentation and learning resources.

Table 1. Documentation and Resources
Skill Level	Resource
Beginner	Online Demonstrations
Beginner	Quartus II Software Quick Start Guide (PDF)
Beginner	Tutorials (included in software)
Beginner to Intermediate	Introduction to Quartus II Manual (PDF)
Intermediate to Advanced	Quartus II Handbook (PDF)
All	Altera Technical Training - Free online and instructor-led training
All	Webcasts
All	General Quartus II Software Documentation

FPGA Design Flow

The Quartus II software now features unique advantages in FPGA design flow methodology, system design, timing-closure methodology, in-system verification technology, and third-party EDA support. Highlights of Quartus II software FPGA design flow features are provided below. Figure 1 shows a high-level example of some of the Quartus II software FPGA design flow options. Some steps can be performed in a different order than shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. FPGA Design Flow

Design Entry and Synthesis Technology

Quartus II design software delivers the highest FPGA, CPLD, and HardCopy^® ASIC productivity and performance and offers numerous design features to accelerate the design process:

• Various methods of Design Entry
• Scripting Support
• Incremental Compilation: Initial Setup
• SOPC Builder for system-level design
• MegaWizard^® Plug-In manager to quickly and easily integrate a broad portfolio of intellectual property (IP) cores
• I/O pin assignment analysis to manage I/O pin use early
• Quartus II Integrated Synthesis
• 3^rd Party Design Entry and Synthesis
• Basic Compilation Flow

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Verification and Board Level Solution

Quartus II software provides the most advanced CPLD, FPGA, and HardCopy ASIC verification support available. In addition to integrating with all of the leading third-party verification tools and methodologies, Quartus II software provides:

• TimeQuest timing analyzer
• Integrated power analysis with the PowerPlay power analysis and optimization technology
• Chip planner (floorplan and chip editor)
• SignalTap^® II embedded logic analyzer (supported by the incremental compilation feature to accelerate verification cycles)
• RTL Viewer / Technology Map Viewer
• Third Party Verification Support

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Optimization Tools

Quartus^® II design software delivers the highest productivity and performance for FPGAs, CPLDs, and HardCopy^® ASICs and offers numerous optimization features to enhance the design process:

• Incremental compilation: Optimization
• Physical synthesis optimization to tune designs for peak performance
• Design Space Explorer automatic design optimization script
• Optimization advisor

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CPLD Design Flow

Easiest-to-Use CPLD Design Software

Altera’s Quartus II Subscription Edition software and the no-cost Quartus II Web Edition software support MAX^® II CPLD designs with an easy-to-use and comprehensive design environment that can take CPLD design projects from start to finish (see Figure 2). Quartus II Subscription Edition and Quartus II Web Edition software also integrate seamlessly with all leading third-party synthesis and simulation tools.

Figure 2. Quartus II Software CPLD Design Flow

Quartus II Advantages for MAX+PLUS II Users

The Quartus II software is the highest performance and easiest-to-use software available for CPLD designs. With a built-in MAX+PLUS^® II look-and-feel option, MAX+PLUS II software users can get the full benefits of the advanced features and performance of Quartus II software without having to learn a new interface. See Switching to Quartus II for MAX+PLUS II User.