V2.1i 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 two distinct products:

  • The COREGen Application
  • JAVA Run-time Support

The following must also be installed on your system:

  • Acrobat Reader (v3.0.1 or later)
  • Netscape v4.0.5 or later, or Microsoft Internet Explorer for Web access support.

COREGen Installation Requirements

  • 40 MB disk space is required to install Acrobat, the COREGen application, and JAVA.
  • 64 MB RAM minimum (128 MB required for larger cores such as PDA FIR Filter, Square Root modules, or large Pipelined Dividers)
  • Third Party CAE Interface versions supported:
    • Cadence PE 13.5
    • Exemplar 1998.2e or later
    • Foundation vF2.1i -- REQUIRED for COREGen v2.1i
    • Foundation Express vF2.1i -- Recommended for v2.1i
    • Mentor C.2 (REQUIRED)
    • Viewlogic Workview Office v7.4 or later
    • Viewlogic PowerVIEW v6.0 or later
    • Synopsys FPGA Express v3.2
    • Synopsys FPGA Compiler v1998.08 or later
    • Synplicity Synplify v5.1.4 or later

 

PC Install

Launching the Core Generator Installer (Windows 95, NT)

Install the Core Generator on your PC by executing the SETUP.EXE application on the Xilinx Implementation Tools CD ROM.  Part way through the install you will see a checklist of products to be installed that includes the CORE Generator.  Click on the CORE Generator selection to include it as part of your installation. 

Acrobat Installation (PC's)

The Adobe Acrobat Reader application is an essential component of a COREGen installation. With a PC install, the Xilinx Implementation Tools installer will prompt you at the end of the install process as to whether you would like to install the Acrobat Reader application.  Click on "OK" if your system does not already have Acrobat installed.

Note:   COREGen v2.1i requires the following version of the Adobe Acrobat Reader application:

Acrobat Reader 3.0 (or later)

Running COREGen on Windows 95 and NT

The 2.1i Xilinx Implementation Tools installation creates a Start Menu shortcut for CORE Generator in the Xilinx Alliance Series v2.1i installation folder under "Accessories".  If you accepted the default setting for the name of this folder, it will be called "Xilinx Alliance Series v2.1i".  You can use this shortcut to start COREGen.  To start COREGen, simply select

Start-> "Xilinx Alliance Series v2.1i"-> Accessories-> Coregen

This allows you to start COREGen in the same manner as most Windows 95 and NT applications.

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.

Workstation Install

Launching the Core Generator Installer (Solaris)

To install the Core Generator on your workstation, 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 your COREGen installation as it used to display online documentation such as the User Guide and individual COREGen module spec sheets. 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. After doing a manual install of Acrobat in this manner, you will need to edit the coregen.ini in your home directory to reflect the location of the Acrobat installation as follows:

SET AcrobatPath = <full_path_to_Acrobat_installation>

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 'Online Documentation' 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 Online Documentation under the Help Menu to access the online user guide.

Information on using the CORE Generator with the following CAE tools is available in their respective user guides:

  • Mentor Schematic
  • Foundation F2.1i

Known Issues

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