Trouble Of Board Description Editor

[Altera_Forum]

I have met some touble of Board Description Editor in Quartus2 new version 5.1. 

As finishing reading the "Quartus II version 5.1 HandBook, Volume 4:SOPC Builder" Section 1 Chapter 6 "Board Description Editor ", I just try to design a system using Board Description Editor to program flash device.  Because I designed my hardware Board with other PCB layout tools(Protel 99SE), not the OrCad, I can not load the netlist file to the Board Description Editor. I think Protel and OrCad&#39;s netlist file format are not the same.  SO I CAN NOT SPECIFY THE FPGA DEVICE. although I can finish the Board Description, I can not add some Embedded Peripherals in my system, like onchip ram in M4K blocks of Cyclone FPGA family, SOPC Builder said"please change the target device selection". what can we do with this new update of quartus2????? http://forum.niosforum.com/work2/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif http://forum.niosforum.com/work2/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif

[Altera_Forum]

If you just want to program the flash you don&#39;t have to make a board description. You can run the command line tools quartus_pgm, sof2flash, elf2flash and nios2-flash-programmer manually to program the flash. You convert the elf file with elf2flash then you program the sof with quartus_pgm into the fpga and finally run nios2-flash-programmer to program the flash files. 

And if you make a board description you don&#39;t need to specify a netlist file. I think the process to program the flash is not well documented. The documentation implies that in order to use the flash programmer you must have a board description, and then it does not detail what steps are really necessary and what is not needed when making the board description for just programming the flash.

[Altera_Forum]

--- Quote Start ---  originally posted by oceanx@Dec 17 2005, 02:02 AM i just try to design a system using board description editor to program flash device.  --- Quote End ---    I am the engineer who wrote the board description editor, and I would like to apologize for the serious error in the flash programmer flow for the editor. It should have been possible to set the device family whether or not there was a specified netlist. This has been fixed for Quartus II 5.1 SP1.  There is a manual workaround, once you&#39;ve created your board description.  1. Open the class.ptf file in the board description in a text editor.  2. In the CLASS/BOARD_DEFAULTS section of the .ptf file, add a line about the device family.   device_family = "<device family>";   suitable values for <device family> are CYCLONE, CYCLONEII, STRATIX, STRATIXII, etc.  3. In the CLASS/BOARD_DEFAULTS section of the .ptf file, add a REFDES section for each CFI or EPCS flash. This section will look like:   REFDES <flash_reference_designator>  {  base = "0";  }   The <flash_reference_designator> must match the designator for your flash memory. There will be one REFDES section for each flash memory on your board.  4. Save and close the .ptf file after making the edits.  5. Open SOPC Builder, and re-select the updated board description.

[Altera_Forum]

--- Quote Start ---  originally posted by ericl+dec 21 2005, 03:07 am--><div class='quotetop'>quote (ericl @ dec 21 2005, 03:07 am)</div>  --- quote start ---  <!--quotebegin-oceanx@Dec 17 2005, 02:02 AM i just try to design a system using board description editor to program flash device.  --- Quote End ---    I am the engineer who wrote the board description editor, and I would like to apologize for the serious error in the flash programmer flow for the editor. It should have been possible to set the device family whether or not there was a specified netlist. This has been fixed for Quartus II 5.1 SP1.  There is a manual workaround, once you&#39;ve created your board description.  1. Open the class.ptf file in the board description in a text editor.  2. In the CLASS/BOARD_DEFAULTS section of the .ptf file, add a line about the device family.   device_family = "<device family>";   suitable values for <device family> are CYCLONE, CYCLONEII, STRATIX, STRATIXII, etc.  3. In the CLASS/BOARD_DEFAULTS section of the .ptf file, add a REFDES section for each CFI or EPCS flash. This section will look like:   REFDES <flash_reference_designator>  {  base = "0";  }   The <flash_reference_designator> must match the designator for your flash memory. There will be one REFDES section for each flash memory on your board.  4. Save and close the .ptf file after making the edits.  5. Open SOPC Builder, and re-select the updated board description. <div align='right'><{post_snapback}> (index.php?act=findpost&pid=11672)</div> [/b]  --- Quote End ---    Thanks, ericl I have tried to program the flash device with the command line tools, "nios2-flash-programmer", "elf2flash". As the flash programmer user guide told us, i finally successed. http://forum.niosforum.com/work2/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif  I think the board editer is nice idea, because it can make the pin assignment easy and decrease the man-made mistakes.  Regards

[Altera_Forum]

I would like to add that the documentation on the board description editor is 

poor. I work with many PCB tools and I don&#39;t have one that puts out a wirelist netlist. I manually edit my wirelist. Also the wirelist does not parse TABs. only the SPACE key. That will really send a newbie for a ride figuring that one out.  It is nice and all to be able to have my U? designators in SOPC, but there must be a simpler way to map FPGA pins to components. Why not just use the "Board Settings" tab and pick the pins you want rather than go into the Black-Box Board Description editor.......I know it probaly is a portability thing with SOPC but I think the user should be able to do both.  It took a while to figure out why I had my pin assignments changing when I updated my CPU symbol.....I found out that even when the board description editor told me with the pin mapping viewer everthing was correct, it did something else.....not a fun bug to deal with. I had to fake out my custom component with extra address lines to nowhere to make it work.   Lots of frustration......had to spill out......sorry http://forum.niosforum.com/work2/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif

[Altera_Forum]

I am the engineer who wrote the board description editor, and I would like to apologize for the serious error in the flash programmer flow for the editor. It should have been possible to set the device family whether or not there was a specified netlist. This has been fixed for Quartus II 5.1 SP1. 

  I down loaded and run the Quartus II 5.1 SP1 and I still did not manage to incorporate the device family without importing my netlist !!!! http://forum.niosforum.com/work2/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif http://forum.niosforum.com/work2/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif