Xport 2.0 Tutorial

APPLICATION NOTE Xport 2.0 Custom Configuration Tutorial Version 2.3, June 29, 2004 Rich LeGrand (rich@charmedlabs.com) Summary This application note/tutorial explains how obtain and install the Xilinx WebPACK or ISE software. Once installed, we write and synthesize a custom logic configuration for the Xport 2.0 called “RedGreen1”. Sample C++ code is also written and executed from the GBA to test the RedGreen1 logic configuration. Introduction It is likely that you may want to use the Xport in a way that no one has thought of before. In which case you will probably want to create your own custom logic configuration. If so, we have good news – it’s probably much easier than you think. Synthesizing logic these days is as easy as programming once you pick up a few simple concepts. Personally, I’ve spent considerable time in the past soldering together circuits with dozens of chips that often took days to design, prototype and debug. Looking back, it is clear that I wasted lots of time – if I had used FPGA logic instead, my designs would have been much quicker to prototype, smaller, faster, simpler to modify and more robust. The ability to synthesize custom logic can dramatically change the way an engineer solves problems. PWM channels, UARTs and other features that are often implemented with software, can perform much better and require zero CPU overhead when implemented with custom logic. In other words, you are free to make the ...