FPGA Xilinx VHDL Video Tutorial

Video tutorial on how to make a simple counter in VHDL for the Basys2 board, which contains a Xilinx Spartan 3E FPGA.
In the tutorial this free Xilinx ISE WebPack will be used, and you will be guided thru all the required steps, from VHDL-programming, to synthesizing, to programming of the FPGA.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• fpga
• spartan
• 3e
• xilinx
• ise
• project
• navigator
• vhdl
• electronics

[adzomZOR86]

If you move the RESET into the clock process, would you not need to include RESET in the sensitivity list anymore? Just have the process sensitive to CLK, as it is only checking the RESET on a clock rising edge..

[mindthomas]

@adzomZOR86 Correct, but you would then only be able to reset the device on every rising edge of the clock. With the other method you can reset the device no matter of the current state.

[mindthomas]

@adzomZOR86 True. For our example with the button it doesn't matter.

[juansiahaan]

Hi, this video is by far the most informative for me....

You're using Basys 2 in your video and you can easily see the pin names for the LEDs, clock, and reset button.

I'm actually using the Spartan 6 FPGA on the SP601 Evaluation Kit...I'm having difficulties to assign the pin names for the LEDs etc. I can't see the letter such as B8 or A1 etc.

Do you know how can I know them? Could you help me, Please?

[mindthomas]

@juansiahaan Your board contains a the following Spartan 6 FPGA, XC6LX16-CS324. This has a different pin-layout than the Spartan 3E I am using, so you would have to change the pin definition file.

Have a look at the following datasheet at page 65: xilinx.com/support/documentati­on/user_guides/ug385.pdf

Have a look at your board and see which letter and numbers you can see below the LEDs you have on the board.

[madhan15791]

hey man... yout fpga tutorial for basys 2 was awesome... learnt a great deal from it... Can you recomend me any good books to jumpstart into vhdl in xilinx... thanks for the tutorial maan....

[mindthomas]

@madhan15791 Have a look at the Digital Design series of books.

digilentinc. com/Products/Catalog.cfm?NavPa­th=2,729&Cat=14

I recommend you to get the "Digital Design, VHDL edition" or if that is too much (large) you could get the "Introduction to Digital Design, VHDL edition" instead.

[stebefc1989]

really nice tutorial, just starting a university project. thanks!

[eladin123]

cheers man, you helped a lot of people take their first steps in making a working project, including me :)

[fatossylaj]

best VHDL i found on the net. It helped me a lot starting in VHDL programming. I have a request, could you please do a simple fast tutorial in blinking leds, either buildin leds or leds conected to breadbord. keep the good work going, thank you!

[adzomZOR86]

@mindthomas oh yeah.. the switch is part of the board. i was thinkin of an external pushbutton.

[adzomZOR86]

@mindthomas True.. I just thought that since its a 50MHz clk.. it wouldn't really matter. The button press would always be detected with a clk that fast since the prescaler wasn't used yet..

Also, i know that this probably isn't required for this simple example.. but could you also debounce the reset switch? Probably just used for more complicated applications to remove the chance of an unwanted button press.

[alienkishorekumar]

Thank you for the tutorial i'm currently studying Verilog but will also study VHDL and i'm not working with any FPGA but programming in Xilinx tool! :)