Xilinx CORE Generator - Getting Started

CORE Generator Components

CORE Generator Requirements

PC Install

Workstation Install

Online Help

Known Issues

COREGen Components

The Xilinx Core Generator, or COREGen, consists of three distinct products:

The ACROBAT Reader Application
The COREGen Application
JAVA Run-time Support

COREGen Installation Requirements

40 MB disk space is required to install Acrobat, the COREGen application, and JAVA.
64 MB RAM (128 MB for larger cores)
Third Party CAE Interface versions supported:

Foundation vF.4 -- REQUIRED
Viewlogic Workview Office v7.4 or later
Viewlogic PowerVIEW v6.0 or later
Synopsys FPGA Express v2.0 (v2.1 preferred)
Synopsys FPGA Compiler v1997.01 or later

PC Install

Launching the Core Generator Installer (Windows 95, NT)

To install the Core Generator on your PC, execute the SETUP.EXE application on the Installation CD ROM.

Acrobat Installation (PC's)

The Adobe Acrobat Reader application is an essential component of a COREGen installation. With a PC install, the COREGen installer will first determine whether the Acrobat Reader application has been installed on your PC. If the COREGen installer fails to find this product, it will install it from the COREGen CD-ROM.

Note that COREGen version 1.4.0 requires the following version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader application:

Acrobat Reader 3.0 (or later)

Next, you will be asked where you wish to install COREGen. The default is C:\COREGen on PC's.

Running COREGen on Windows 95 and NT

The installation process creates a Windows 95 or Windows NT shortcut which you can use to start COREGen. The shortcut is placed on the Windows START bar, so that COREGen can be started in the same manner as most Windows 95 and NT applications.

To start COREGen, click on the Windows Start Menu button, select 'Programs', 'Xilinx Core Generator' and 'COREGen'.

Note that 'Xilinx Core Generator' is the default folder in the Windows Startup Menubar in which the COREGen short-cut is installed. During installation, you are free to alter the name of this folder.

Workstation Install

Launching the Core Generator Installer (Solaris)

To install the Core Generator on your PC, execute the install script on the Installation CD ROM located in /cdrom/cdrom0:

/cdrom/cdrom0/install

Approximately 40MB of disk space is required for a complete installation of the Xilinx Core Generator, including the Java Run-time support and the Adobe Acrobat Reader applications.

Acrobat Installation (Workstations)

The Adobe Acrobat Reader application is an essential component of a COREGen installation. With a workstation install, the COREGen installer will simply ask you for the path to the Acrobat Reader application if it has been installed on your workstation. If it has been not been installed, you can install it later from the tar or ZIP archives provided on the COREGen CD-ROM under the vendors/ directory.

Note that COREGen version 1.4.0 requires the following version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader application:

Acrobat Reader 3.0 (or later)

Running COREGen on Workstations

Simply type "coregen" from your project directory.

Online Help

For detailed help on how to operate the Xilinx Core Generator, you can select 'Help Topics' from the 'Help' menu at the top of the COREGen main window. Refer to the appropriate section for your design flow.

For a quick overview of the supported flows:

Viewlogic Schematic,
Foundation Schematic,
Synopsys FPGA Express Synthesis,
Synopsys FPGA Compiler using VHDL
Synopsys FPGA Compiler using Verilog

select Help->Topics under the Help Menu and select "User Guide" to access the online user guide. This Guide provides descriptions and step-by-step instructions on using the Xilinx Core Generator. It also lists the modules available, with their descriptions.

Known Issues

A list of COREGen issues that could not be addressed before the product was distributed can be found in:

Xilinx Solution 3658