Altera Fpga Tutorial

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Valorie Carlee

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Aug 3, 2024, 12:01:18 PM8/3/24

to riurownbuthe

What would be amazingly neat would be a tutorial where one constructs a tiny microprocessor with a very clean design, something like an Intel 4004, and then goes on to actually make it using an fpga and gets it to flash LEDs to order.

If not, I might have a go at writing one as I try to do it. Has anyone got any recommendations as to resources I might draw on? e.g. nice open source verilog compiler, debugging tools, simulators, verilog tutorials, cheap fpgas and programming tools, breadboards for LEDs, etc.

The open source tools are good for development/testing but won't be able to synthesise your hdl to produce a bitstream, you'll need to use one of the manufacturers tools from altera or xilinx (or others).

6.004 is required material for any EECS undergraduate who wants to understand (and ultimately design) digital systems. A good grasp of the material is essential for later courses in digital design, computer architecture and systems. Before taking 6.004, students should feel comfortable using computers; a rudimentary knowledge of programming language concepts (6.001) and electrical fundamentals (6.002) is assumed.

The problem sets and lab exercises are intended to give students "hands-on" experience in designing digital systems; each student completes a gate-level design for a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor during the semester. Access to workstations as well as help from the course staff is provided in the lab but it is possible to complete the assignments using Athena machines or one's home computer.

Strictly speaking, while you can find open source VHDL/Verilog tools, I am not aware of any such tools for synthesis (making something the FPGA will use). Both Xilinx and Altera provide free (as in beer) tooling, but they are not open or free (as in libre) software. The Xilinx tools include a simulator (limited in the free version) and can run on Windows or Linux. I assume the Altera tools are similar, but I am not familiar with them.

Building a simple microprocessor in Verilog/VHDL is a pretty common feature in college computer architecture classes. You can undoubtedly find class notes and the like from pretty much any major school.

I am not aware of a microprocessor-in-verilog tutorial, but there is the OpenCores web site. In the Processors tag under Projects, I see many processors implemented in Verilog or VHDL: 8080, 6502, 8051, Z80, 6805, to name a few. I assume one of these would serve you as an example to get you started.