Answers Database


V1.4.0 COREGEN: Known Problems / Issues (README file / release document).


Record #3658

Product Family: Software

Product Line: Coregen

Product Part: Coregen

Product Version: c1_4

Problem Title:
V1.4.0 COREGEN: Known Problems / Issues (README file / release document).


Problem Description:
Urgency: standard

General Description:
The full text of the README file shipped with the CORE Generator
v1.4.0 release is provided here for convenience's sake


Solution 1:


========================================================================
README File for the CORE Generator 1.4 Software Release
========================================================================

Welcome to the CORE Generator 1.4 software from Xilinx!


TABLE OF CONTENTS
  + Package Contents
  + Tips on Accessing Information
  + Platforms Supported
  + Architectures Supported
  + Design Entry Platforms Supported
  + Known Issues

PACKAGE CONTENTS

   The CORE Generator CDROM contains 3 programs, Java 1.1.3, CORE
   Generator v1.4.0 and Adobe Acrobat 3.0.
   Both Java 1.1.3 and the CORE Generator tool are installed by
   default. On Windows platforms, you are given the option of
   installing Acrobat if it cannot be found on your system. Solaris
   customers can install Acrobat directly from the CD by extracting
   one of the following archives found at <install_dir>/vendor/acrobat:

     acroread_solaris_301_tar.Z
   or
     acroread_solaris_301_tar.gz


TIPS ON ACCESSING INFORMATION

   There are several places where you can obtain information about Xilinx
   Known Issues:

    + the Known Issues section of this README file, for issues known at the
      time this release went into production;
    + the online CORE Generator User Guide, which is accessible from the
      HELP menu of the CORE Generator GUI. Use this resource for general
      information on using the CORE Generator;
    + the Answers Search section of the Xilinx Web site.

   Xilinx recommends that for the most reliable and up-to-date information
   available, you should access the Answers Search page on the Xilinx
   Web site. To access this page, please perform the follow steps:

     1. From the Web, access Xilinx at this URL: http://www.xilinx.com.
     2. Click on Service and Support.
     3. Click on Answers Search.
     4. Place check marks in the boxes of the topics you would like to
        search.
     5. Enter text in the search box.
     6. Click Smart Search to begin search.

   A CORE Generator Expert Journal page highlighting the most important
   information on the CORE Generator will also be available at this site by
   the end of April 1998.

PLATFORMS SUPPORTED

  + Windows NT 4.0
  + Windows 95
  + Solaris 2.5

ARCHITECTURES SUPPORTED

  The following families are supported in this release: XC4000E, XC4000L,
  XC4000EX, XC4000XL, XC4000XV, Spartan.

DESIGN ENTRY PLATFORMS SUPPORTED

  + Viewlogic schematic
  + Foundation schematic
  + Foundation Express
  + VHDL Synthesis tools
  + Verilog Synthesis tools

KNOWN ISSUES

  + Ref #103441: Network support. The following operation modes are
    supported on Solaris systems, but not on PCs running off a Solaris
    server:
    - Running the CORE Generator on a remote machine, and redirecting the
    screen output to a local screen;
    - Running coregen on a local machine, and accessing program files
    from, or storing results to, a remote harddisk.

    (Xilinx Solution #3694)

  + Warning: "The VLLINK.BAT file has a line that is longer than 254
    characters. It may not execute properly on your machine."
    This message applies only to Viewlogic users. The Vllink.bat file is
    used to generate a Viewlogic Symbol and Simulation file for a CORE, and
    will not run properly if one of the command lines is longer than 254
    characters.
    If you are designing with Viewlogic, you must re-install the CORE
    Generator in a directory closer to the root directory. The path to the
    install directory should consist of 28 characters or less, including '\'
    characters.

    (Addendum: This problem applies to Windows platforms only)

  + Ref #104252: Empty Error message pop-up windows.
    If an error message is too long to fit into the message window, you
    may see an empty pop-up window with no message. Resizing the window to
    make it taller will allow you to view the message.
    To permanently solve this problem, you must change your monitor
    resolution to a higher level (the minimum required is 1024x768).

    (Addendum: This is a problem on both Windows and Solaris platforms
     and may be seen when selecting Viewlogic as the output format,
     or reading in a .COE file for a FIR filter.)

    (Xilinx Solution #3670)

  + Ref #103795: The CORE Generator does not warn the user before
    overwriting a pre-existing CORE.
    If the user is re-using the name of an existing Core, this Core
    will get overwritten without any warning.

    (Xilinx Solution #3696)

  + Ref #103858: "Exception occurred during event dispatching:
    java.lang.OutOfMemoryError".
    You may run into this error when generating a large Core (e.g.: large
    PDA FIR Filters).
    - Make sure that the amount of memory on your machine matches the
      recommendations listed in the CORE Generator User Guide.
    - If more than 64 Meg of RAM is available, increase the amount of
      memory that Java has available to it by changing the -mx64m option
      in the java.exe invocation to -mx128m in the "coregen.bat" file
      on PC platforms, or the "coregen" script file on Solaris platforms.
      On PCs, "coregen.bat" is located under <COREGEN_PATH>/bin/win;
      on Solaris, "coregen" is located in <COREGEN_PATH>\bin\win.

      (Xilinx Solution #3325)

  + Ref #103855: CORE Generator does not release CPU after a large
    core has been generated.
    This problem has been seen when generating the largest dual port
    RAM and the largest FIR filter COREs.
    You must exit out of the CORE Generator to release the CPU, then
    restart the application to generate the next CORE.

    (Xilinx Solution #3697)

  + Ref #103268: CORE Generator may core dump intermittently on Solaris.
    This problem has only been seen during testing when generating
    Constant Coefficient Multipliers in batch mode.
    Solution: Restart the CORE Generator and regenerate the CORE.

    (Addendum: This has been observed also with large cores, such
    as the PDA FIR filters, as well as smaller modules. The
    exception appears during "garbage collection" in AWT-Finalizer.

    The problem is currently under investigation.

    (See Xilinx Solution #3698)

  + Ref #103340: Timing Simulation shows XX's on the outputs of CORE
    Generator COREs containing ROM/RAM.
    XX's may be seen on the outputs of CORE Generator modules containing
    ROM or RAM when the function generator inputs are forced to GND or
    VCC (Constant Coefficient Multipliers, FIR Filters,for example).
    The problem is caused by a bug in the Xilinx Mapper v1.4.
    A Patch to the v1.4 Mapper will be available on the Xilinx FTP site
    and from the CORE Generator Web page at:
    http://www.xilinx.com/products/logicore/coregen

  + Use Timespecs to meet targeted performance. The Xilinx M1 Tool is
    Timing driven, and it is important to use Timespecs to specify the
    performance you are trying to achieve to obtain the desired results.
    Achieving the performance documented for CORE Generator COREs may
    require the application of Timespecs as well.
    See the Xilinx Reference Guide chapter on Using Timing Constraints
    for details.

    (Xilinx Solution #3639)

  + The "busy" cursor does not revert back to an arrow after CORE
    generation is complete. On Windows platforms, the "busy" cursor
    is an hourglass symbol, while on Solaris, it is a stopwatch.
    Because the cursor does not automatically revert back to
    its default appearance, this may give the impression that the
    generation process is still underway.
    Solution: Check the message window at the bottom of the CORE
    Generator GUI to see if CORE generation has completed. Once
    generation is complete, simply move your mouse to change the cursor
    back to its default "arrow pointer" shape.

    (Correction: This is mainly a problem on Windows platforms. The
    cursor lingers on Solaris programs only if there has been a
    Java error (e.g., a Java out of memory error))

    (Ref #103644, #103969; Xilinx Solution #3627, #3673)

  + Error loading DataSheets in Acrobat.
    Make sure that you are using Acrobat v3.0 or above, otherwise some
    CORE Generator Datasheets with long file names will not be accessible.

    (Mainly a problem with Acrobat v2.1.
     Ref #103647, Xilinx Solution #3628)

  + Ref #103805: Viewlogic Schematic Flow: "ERROR: Could not load
    schematic sheet for symbol..."
    This error will be displayed for every CORE Generator module that you
    have in your design when you run the Viewlogic check program. The
    error is due to the fact that the BLOCKTYPE attribute on the CORE
    Generator module symbol is "composite" instead of "module".
    The symbol must have the "composite" property so that VSM will find
    the WIR file for the COREGEN block when it generates the functional
    simulation netlist for the design. You will get errors about there
    not being a schematic underlying the symbol for these COREs, but
    these can be ignored.

    (Xilinx Solution #3079)

  + Ref #103922: ERROR starting PM. Missing LIBBASUT.DLL
    This error occurs during the Viewlogic Symbol generation process when
    the system is not set up properly to run the Xilinx M1 Implementation
    Tools. Please refer to the Xilinx User Guide for Setup information.

    (Xilinx Solution #3700)

  + Ref #104237: Datasheet "Parameter file information" tables.
    Tables of "Parameter file information" in the Datasheet
    for each core is provided in anticipation of support for batch mode
    generation of CORE Generator modules. This capability is not supported
    in the current release.

    (Xilinx Solution #3702)






End of Record #3658 - Last Modified: 07/20/98 19:35

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