Nios II System Architect Design Tutorial

Nios II System Architect Design

Tutorial

101 Innovation Drive

San Jose, CA 95134
www.altera.com

TU-01004-2.0 Document last updated for Altera Complete Design Suite version: 11.0
Document publication date: June 2011

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June 2011 Altera Corporation Nios II System Architect Design

Tutorial
 Contents

Chapter 1. Getting Started

Hardware and Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1
Acquire the NEEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1
Install the Design Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1
Install the USB Device Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–2
Extract the Tutorial Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–2

Chapter 2. Designing the System

Design Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–2
Design Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–3
Design Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–4
Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–6

Chapter 3. Building the Qsys System

Start Qsys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–1
Specify Qsys System Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–2
Add a Nios II Processor to Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–3
Add a DDR SDRAM Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–5
Add a Flash Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–7
Add a Video Subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–9
Complete the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–9
Specify the External Clocks and Clock Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–10
Specify the Reset Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–11
Reassign the Component Base Addresses to Eliminate Memory Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–11
Set the Interrupt Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–12
Set the Arbitration Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–13
Specify the Nios II Processor Boot Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–14
Generate the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–16

Chapter 4. Completing the Quartus II Project

Complete the Quartus II Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–1
Add Files to the Quartus II Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–1
Add the Pin Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–2
Compile Your Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–2
Configure the FPGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–3

Chapter 5. Creating the Software Application

Create a New BSP Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–1
Create a New Software Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–2
Add Source Code Files to the Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–3
Configure the BSP Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–4
Specify the Zip File System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–6
Build the Software Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–7
Program the Zip File to Flash Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–8
Run the Software Application on the NEEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–9
Console Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–10
Interact with the Software Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–10
Booting from Flash Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–10

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iv Contents

Additional Information
Taking the Next Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Info–1
Document Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Info–2
How to Contact Altera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Info–2
Typographic Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Info–2

Nios II System Architect Design June 2011 Altera Corporation

Tutorial
 1. Getting Started

This tutorial teaches you how to use the Quartus® II software and the
Nios® II Embedded Design Suite (EDS) to implement a digital picture viewer in a
Cyclone III FPGA. In this tutorial, you build a processor-based hardware system in
programmable logic for the Nios II Embedded Evaluation Kit, Cyclone® III Edition
(NEEK) and run software on it. The tutorial demonstrates the steps to build complete,
complex embedded designs using the Altera® design software.

1 You must use the specified spelling for names of files, components, and other objects,
for the tutorial design to function correctly with the software provided. For example,
the software application refers to hardware components by the names specified in this
tutorial. If you name a component differently, the software application does not
identify it correctly.

Hardware and Software Requirements

This tutorial requires the following hardware and software:
■ NEEK development board
■ Quartus II software v11.0, including the following items:
■ Quartus II FPGA synthesis and compilation tool
■ Qsys system integration tool
■ MegaCore IP library
■ Nios II EDS, featuring the Nios II Software Build Tools (SBT) for Eclipse™
■ Design files for this tutorial
The following sections describe the setup and installation steps. After completing the
setup and installation requirements, you are ready to create your first system-level
design.

Acquire the NEEK

You can purchase the NEEK by following the instructions on the Nios II Embedded
Evaluation Kit, Cyclone III Edition page of the Altera website.

Install the Design Software

Download and install the subscription edition or the web edition of the Quartus II
software from Download Center page of the Altera website.

f For information about installing the Quartus II software, refer to the Altera Software
Installation and Licensing Manual.

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1–2 Chapter 1: Getting Started
Hardware and Software Requirements

Install the USB Device Driver

After the software is installed, you can connect the NEEK board to the USB port on
your PC. If the software prompts you to install the USB Blaster driver, install it from
the following location:
<Altera software installation directory>\11.0\quartus\drivers\usb-blaster. If the driver
is not located in this directory, install the appropriate version for your system from the
Cable & Adapter Drivers Information page of the Altera website.

f For additional information, refer to the USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide.

Extract the Tutorial Files

The tutorial files are available for download as a compressed zip file (.zip) from the
Nios II System Architect Design page or adjacent to this tutorial on the literature
pages of the Altera website. When you extract the files from this .zip, you must ensure
that the directory path on your PC contains only folder names with no spaces in them.
The directory in which you unzip the tutorial files is your <working directory>.

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Tutorial
 2. Designing the System

To architect a system, you specify the design requirements and develop a suitable
design strategy to address each requirement. Design requirements include immediate
design goals of the product and features to keep your product commercially
successful in the future. You must consider desired application functionality, cost,
flexibility to add future features, time to market, and obsolescence.
Programmable logic solutions provide optimal flexibility in your architecture to add
features over time quickly and at low cost. For example, a programmable logic
solution enables you to add features such as graphics or video display to a
commercial implementation of the digital picture viewer quickly and cheaply.
Programmable logic solutions allow you to integrate all the parts of the design on a
single low-cost, low-power programmable logic device. They support short time to
market, and insulate your design from part obsolescence — the potential lack of
future support for specific microprocessors, LCD panels, LCD controllers, and flash
memory devices, for example — by providing the ability to migrate your design to
another device without extensive modification.
Therefore, this tutorial implements the digital picture viewer on a programmable
logic platform using Altera’s Qsys system integration tool.
Product design goals originate in customer requirements and become inputs to
system definition. System definition is the first step in the design process.
The following sections describe the Altera design flow for an embedded system, the
design requirements for the digital picture viewer design you implement in this
tutorial, the design strategies that dictate the decisions about the hardware
components in the implemented design, and the basic system description for the
digital picture viewer. By explaining the design flow, design requirements, and design
strategy in this chapter, this chapter teaches you the system architecture of the digital
picture viewer.

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Tutorial
2–2 Chapter 2: Designing the System
Design Flow

Design Flow
Figure 2–1 depicts the typical flow for embedded system design.

Figure 2–1. System Design Flow Using Qsys

In Qsys

Define System

Select Components

Make Connections

Hardware Flow HDL Files System Description Software Flow

Generate System
In Quartus II In Nios II SBT
Software for Eclipse

Create FPGA Design Develop Software

Edit Top-Level HDL File Add Source Files

Add .qip and .sdc Files

Edit Source Files

Create Pin Assignments

Build Software Application

Compile Software Application File

FPGA Configuration File Debug / Run
Configure FPGA

Target Device
FPGA Configuration File Software Application File

In this flow, you specify the system definition using Qsys. After you define the Qsys
system, Qsys generates the following two kinds of output:
■ The HDL files that the Quartus II software compiles to generate the configuration
file for the FPGA. This Quartus II compilation process is the hardware flow.
■ A system description that the software development tools use to generate a system
library specific to the Qsys system. This system library, also called a board support
package, supports the Nios II processor in running the software. The Nios II SBT
for Eclipse provides an environment in which you can develop software
applications for your system. This Nios II SBT development process is the
software flow.
The output of the hardware flow is an FPGA image that configures the target device.
The output of the software flow is an executable file that the Nios II processor can run.

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Tutorial
Chapter 2: Designing the System 2–3
Design Requirements

In this tutorial you perform the following steps:

1. Build a Qsys system:
a. Open the Quartus II project.
b. Start Qsys.
c. Select and configure system components, including IP MegaCore functions.
d. Make connections.
e. Assign clocks and set base addresses.
f. Set interrupt and arbitration priorities.
2. Generate the system to create the following items:
■ HDL for the entire Qsys system
■ A system description file that software development tools use to build the
hardware drivers and other relevant system information for the software
application
3. Complete the Quartus II project:
a. Add the Qsys system to the top level of the Quartus II project.
b. Add pin assignments.
c. Compile the project to generate an SRAM Object File (.sof).
d. Use the Quartus II Programmer to download the .sof to the FPGA.
4. Develop the software application:
a. Start the Nios II SBT for Eclipse.
b. Add source files.
c. Configure build properties.
d. Build the application to generate the Executable and Linking Format File (.elf).
5. Use the Flash Programmer to convert the image files to flash memory image files
(.flash) and download the flash image data to CFI flash memory.
6. Use the Nios II SBT for Eclipse to download and run the .elf for the software
application.
Each major step of the design process is described in a tutorial chapter.

Design Requirements
In this tutorial, you design a digital picture viewer that allows a user to view pictures
stored in JPEG format and to scroll through JPEG pictures stored in the external flash
memory, using the LCD touch-screen display.

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2–4 Chapter 2: Designing the System
Design Strategy

Design Strategy
Qsys provides standard hardware components that you can add to your system. You
can add several instances of each component. The only restriction is the resources
available on your board to implement all of the components you instantiate in your
design.
The NEEK comprises a Cyclone III FPGA Starter Board and an LCD Multimedia High
Speed Mezzanine Card (HSMC) daughtercard in addition to accessories and software.
The following NEEK hardware resources are required to run the design you create in
this tutorial:
■ The following Cyclone III FPGA Starter Board resources are required:
■ Cyclone III EP3C25F324 FPGA
■ Embedded USB-Blaster™ circuitry (including an Altera EPM3128A CPLD)
allowing download of FPGA configuration files through your PC’s USB port
■ 256-Mbit DDR SDRAM
■ 1 MByte of synchronous SRAM
■ 16 MBytes of Intel P30/P33 flash memory
■ 50-MHz on-board oscillator
■ The following LCD daughtercard resources are required:
■ LCD touch-screen 800 × 480 pixel display
■ 10-bit VGA digital access card
The NEEK has additional features, including additional memory, not required to
implement this design.
The Qsys system contains both control path and data path components. The Nios II
processor is the main system controller. It initializes and calibrates the LCD controller,
intercepts user touch input, and initializes the data path. It communicates with other
control path components through Avalon Memory-Mapped (Avalon-MM) interface
ports.The Nios II processor reads the program code from DDR SDRAM memory, and
the DDR SDRAM also holds the video frame buffer. A tristate conduit bridge
component connects the flash controller with the off-chip flash memory.
The Nios II processor sends frame buffer data from the DDR SDRAM to a video
pipeline of specialized Avalon Streaming (Avalon-ST) components that move and
process the pixel data, converting it to video data signals and sending them to the
LCD screen.
The pixels must be rendered on the LCD screen smoothly and without delays. This
design achieves this goal by running the DDR SDRAM at a high clock rate to improve
the performance of the video frame buffer.

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Tutorial
Chapter 2: Designing the System 2–5
Design Strategy

Table 2–1 shows how the individual design requirements for this project are
implemented by specific design strategies, which in turn dictate the components you
add to your system in this tutorial.

Table 2–1. Standard Hardware Components to Implement the Digital Picture Viewer Requirements
Design Requirement Design Strategy Components Needed
■ LCD screen controller ■ PIO
Display JPEG pictures on the LCD Display ■ A video pipeline to send video data to ■ Video pipeline peripherals
the LCD screen
■ An interrupt to capture touch screen ■ PIO
Scroll through JPEG pictures events ■ SPI
■ Touch screen control
■ Need a large memory. Use the on-board ■ DDR SDRAM controller
DDR SDRAM ■ SGDMA
Frame buffering
■ Transfer video data from memory to
Video pipeline
Store JPEG images, FPGA configuration
file, application software, and reset Use the on-board flash memory Flash controller
vectors in a nonvolatile memory
Store program code, stack, and exception
Use the onboard DDR SDRAM DDR SDRAM controller
vectors
Generate interrupts and measure system
Need a timer Interval timer
performance
Download, run, and debug software JTAG UART communication interfaces JTAG UART
Keep track of hardware and software Ensure software is only run on the
System ID peripheral
builds hardware for which it was compiled

f The implementation of the video pipeline and the touch screen controller are
described in more detail in Implementing an LCD Controller and the Nios II 3C25
Microprocessor with LCD Controller Data Sheet.

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2–6 Chapter 2: Designing the System
Block Diagram

Block Diagram
Figure 2–2 shows a high-level block diagram of the system you develop to implement
the design.

Figure 2–2. High-Level Block Diagram of Digital Picture Viewer

To Flash Memory To LCD

Tristate
Conduit
Bridge

Video Subsystem
Nios II/f CFI Flash System Data Video
Timing Pixel Timing Pixel
Processor Controller ID SG-DMA Format Sync
Adatper 0 FIFO Adatper 1 Converter
Adapter Generator

System Interconnect Fabric

System JTAG IRQ LCD LCD LCD

DDR SDRAM SPI EEPROM EEPROM
Timer UART PIO DAT PIO CLK PIO EN PIO
Controller DATA PIO CLK PIO
Peripheral Subsystem

To SDRAM To Touch Screen To LCD Controller To EEPROM

As systems get larger and more complicated, it is easier to design at a higher level of
abstraction using—and reusing—customized HDL components, which may include
IP cores, verification IP and other design modules. Qsys automatically generates the
system interconnect fabric, which is the glue logic that connects the design blocks
together. The system interconnect fabric manages design issues such as dynamic
bus-width matching, interrupt priorities, and arbitration.

f For additional information about the Altera system interconnect fabric, refer to Avalon
Interface Specifications.

Qsys supports hierarchical system design, which means you can instantiate a system
as a component in a higher-level system. This approach allows you to divide a large
design into smaller subsystems, which are easier to manage and control. You can also
promote design reuse by reusing these subsystems with minimal changes in your
other designs. In this tutorial, the video pipeline components are grouped in the video
subsystem and low-frequency components such as the PIO and SPI components are
grouped in the peripheral subsystem.

f For additional information about Qsys, refer to the Qsys System Integration Tool page
of the Altera website.

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Tutorial
 3. Building the Qsys System

In this chapter, you add components to the system, make connections where required,
assign the clocks, set arbitration priorities, and generate the system.
The tutorial combines various components and subsystems to create a Qsys complete
system. The video subsystem and peripheral subsystem are also complete Qsys
systems, which you add to your top level system.
The following Qsys files are provided in the tutorial folder:
■ main_system.qsys—A partially-completed, top-level Qsys system, to which you
add a Nios II embedded processor, a DDR SDRAM controller, a flash controller,
and a video subsystem.
■ video_system.qsys—A completed Qsys system that contains the video pipeline
components.
■ peripheral_system.qsys—A completed Qsys system that contains the
low-frequency peripherals.
After you add the components to the top-level system, you must perform some
additional steps to create the .sof that you use to configure the FPGA. All of the
necessary steps are described in this chapter.
If you wish to skip the steps to create the .sof, you can use the completed design
available in your <working directory>/complete_system folder and skip to Chapter 4,
Completing the Quartus II Project.

Start Qsys
To run Qsys, perform the following steps:
1. Run the Quartus II software. On your Windows system, click Start > All Programs
> Altera > Quartus II <version>.
2. On the File menu, click Open Project.
3. Browse to locate <working directory>/tutorial/sys_arc_lab.qpf. The Quartus II
project for the tutorial opens. Ignore the error messages referring to the
unconnected components. You connect the components later in this tutorial.
4. On the Tools menu, click Qsys. Qsys opens.
5. On the File menu, click Open and browse to locate the top-level Qsys file,
<working directory>/tutorial/main_system.qsys. Qsys loads a partial system. In the
following section, you add the remaining components to the system.

1 For main_system.qsys, Qsys displays the subsystems as single

components. To view the subsystem details, start another Qsys instance and
open <working directory>/tutorial/video_subsystem.qsys or
peripheral_system.qsys.

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3–2 Chapter 3: Building the Qsys System
Specify Qsys System Components

Specify Qsys System Components

Table 3–1 shows the components of the completed design, including components in
the subsystems.

Table 3–1. Components in the Partial Qsys System

Component Component Instance Name Component Role
Nios II Processor cpu Runs the software that controls the system.
Controls the timing for driving read and write transactions on the
Generic Tri-State
flash external CFI flash memory. The CFI flash memory device stores the
Controller
JPEG images for the picture viewer application.
Tri-State Conduit
flash_bridge Connects the flash memory controller to the external flash memory.
Bridge
DDR SDRAM
Controller with ddr_sdram Stores execute code and data in the frame buffers.
ALTMEMPHY
Allows the Nios II_SBT to verify that the software is built for the
System ID sysid
correct hardware version.
Avalon-MM Clock Connects the processor in the high-frequency domain to the
slow_clock_crossing_bridge
Crossing Bridge slower-frequency peripherals.
PIO (Parallel I/O) lcd_i2c_scl LCD controller interface components. The three-wire interface
PIO (Parallel I/O) lcd_i2c_en includes a data signal, a clock signal, and an enable signal. Refer to
PIO (Parallel I/O) lcd_i2c_sdat Implementing an LCD Controller.

PIO (Parallel I/O) pio_id_eeprom_scl Two-wire EEPROM ID interface components. The I2C serial
EEPROM ID chip stores information about the board, including the
PIO (Parallel I/O) pio_id_eeprom_dat touch screen calibration data.
SPI (3 Wire Serial) touch_panel_spi Touch screen interface components. Refer to Implementing an LCD
PIO (Parallel I/O) touch_panel_pen_irq_n Controller.
JTAG UART jtag_uart Enables software to access a debug serial port.
Enables software to perform periodic interrupts for maintenance
Interval timer sys_clk_timer
and to maintain software application timing requirements.
Scatter-Gather DMA
sgdma Controls the video pipeline components.
Controller
Avalon-ST Timing
timer_adapter_0
Adapter
On-Chip Memory fifo
Avalon-ST Timing
timer_adapter_1
Adapter Video pipeline components. Refer to Implementing an LCD
Pixel Converter Controller.
pixel_converter
(BGR0 -> BGR)
Avalon-ST Data
data_format_adapter
Format Adapter
Video Sync Generator video_sync_generator

1 Ignore the error messages that appear in the Qsys message console. The steps in
“Complete the System” on page 3–9 resolve these errors.

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Specify Qsys System Components

This section shows you how to perform the following actions:

1. Add a Nios II Processor to Your System.
2. Add a DDR SDRAM Controller.
3. Add a Flash Controller.
4. Add a Video Subsystem.

1 Altera recommends that you save your work after you add each component. To save
the current Qsys system, on the File menu, click Save.

Add a Nios II Processor to Your System

Your system requires a CPU to run the software application that controls the tutorial
demo. To add a Nios II embedded processor to your system, perform the following
steps:
1. On the Component Library tab, expand Processors, and double-click Nios II
Processor.

1 Alternatively, you can use the search box on the Component Library tab to
locate components in the library.

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2. Select the Nios II/f processor. Figure 3–1 shows the Nios II Processor parameter
editor after you select the Nios II/f core.

Figure 3–1. Nios II Processor Component Settings

3. Click Finish.
4. In the Module Name column on the System Contents tab, right-click the new
Nios II processor name, click Rename, and type cpu to rename the new
component.
5. In the connection panel, connect the data_master port of cpu to the control_slave
port of sysid and the slow_clock_crossing_bridge_s0 port of
peripheral_subsystem.

1 To make a connection, click on the intersection of each pair of relevant

signal lines. A solid dot represent a connection; an open dot indicates the
two signals are not connected.

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Figure 3–2 shows the connection panel with the data_master port of cpu correctly
connected.

Figure 3–2. Qsys Connection Panel

Add a DDR SDRAM Controller

Your system requires a large, fast memory block to store executable code and the
video frame buffers. To give your system access to the on-board DDR SDRAM,
perform the following steps to add a DDR SDRAM controller to your system:
1. On the Component Library tab, expand Memories and Memory Controllers,
expand External Memory Interfaces, expand Memory Interfaces, expand DDR,
and double-click DDR SDRAM Controller with ALTMEMPHY.
2. On the Memory Settings page, update the following parameters:
a. For Speed grade, select the correct speed grade for your device. This tutorial
assumes speed grade 6.
b. For PLL reference clock frequency MHz, type 50.
c. For Memory clock frequency MHz, type 100.
d. For Controller data rate, select Full.
e. Under Memory Presets, scroll and click PSC A2S56D40CTP-G5 to match the
DDR SDRAM on the NEEK.
f. Click Modify parameters.
g. In the Parameters table, scroll to locate RAS to RAS delay time (tRRD).
h. In the Value cell for the parameter, type 11.0. For a memory interface clock
frequency of 100 MHz, the minimum tRRD requirement is 11.0 ns.
i. Click OK.

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Figure 3–3 shows the Memory Settings tab after you assign these settings.

Figure 3–3. Memory Settings for DDR SDRAM Controller with ALTMEMPHY

3. On the Controller Settings page, update the following parameters:

a. Under Efficiency, turn off Enable Reordering.
b. Under Efficiency, for Local Maximum Burst Count, select 1. Instead of
bursting, the tutorial design uses arbitration to optimize the system for higher
data throughput.
4. Click Finish.
5. In the Module Name column, right-click the new DDR SDRAM Controller with
ALTMEMPHY name, click Rename, and type ddr_sdram to rename the new
component.
6. Connect the s1 port of ddr_sdram to the data_master port of cpu and the
instruction_master port of cpu. This action gives the processor access to
instruction and data memory in the DDR SDRAM.

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7. In the Export column, click Click to export and set the following ddr_sdram signal
rows to the following names:
■ For external_connection, type ddr_sdram_external_connection.
■ For memory, type ddr_sdram_memory.
■ For auxfull, type ddr_sdram_auxfull.
Figure 3–4 shows the exported connections.

Figure 3–4. Exported DDR SDRAM Connections

Add a Flash Controller

To use the Generic Tri-state Controller component as a flash controller, perform the
following steps:
1. On the Component Library tab, expand Tri-State Components and double-click
Generic Tri-State Controller.
2. In the Presets list, select Intel 128P30.
3. Click Apply.

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Figure 3–5 shows the component with the Intel 128P30 preset parameter settings.

Figure 3–5. Flash Controller

4. Click Finish.
5. In the Module Name column, right-click the new Generic Tri-state Controller
name, click Rename, and type flash to rename the new component.
6. Connect the uas port of flash to the data_master port of cpu and the
instruction_master port of cpu.
7. Connect the tcm port of flash to the tcs port of flash_bridge.

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Complete the System

Add a Video Subsystem

The video subsystem consists of the video pipeline components. To add a video
subsystem to your system, perform the following steps:
1. On the Component Library tab, expand System and double-click video_system.
Figure 3–6 shows the video subsystem that you extracted from the tutorial’s .zip
file earlier.

Figure 3–6. Video Subsystem

2. Click Finish.
3. In the Module Name column, right-click the new video system name, click
Rename, and type video_subsystem to rename the new component.
4. Connect the sgdma_csr port of video_subsystem to the data_master port of cpu to
give the processor access to the SGDMA in the video subsystem.
5. Connect the s1 port of ddr_sdram to the sgdma_descriptor_read port of
video_subsystem, the sgdma_descriptor_write port of video_subsystem, and the
sgdma_m_read port of video_subsystem.
6. In the Export column, Click to export and type lcd_video_interface in the
video_subsystem video_interface signal row.
After you perform these instructions, the Qsys system contains all required
components. Next, you complete the system design and resolve the system validation
errors.

Complete the System

This section shows you how to complete your Qsys system and ensure the
components work together correctly. It contains the instructions that show you how to
perform the following actions:
1. Specify the External Clocks and Clock Connections.
2. Reassign the Component Base Addresses to Eliminate Memory Conflicts.
3. Set the Interrupt Priorities.
4. Set the Arbitration Priorities.

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Complete the System

5. Specify the Nios II Processor Boot Configuration.

Specify the External Clocks and Clock Connections

In this section, you connect each component to the correct clock.
The clock source for the full digital picture viewer is the 50-MHz oscillator on the
NEEK board. The 50-MHz oscillator is also the reference clock frequency for the DDR
SDRAM controller, which runs at 100 MHz. The 100-MHz clock from the DDR
SDRAM is used by most components in the system, including the processor, the flash
controller, and the video subsystem. Only the slow-frequency components in the
peripheral subsystem run at 50 MHz, using the oscillator clock.
Figure 3–7 shows the clock domains for the system.

Figure 3–7. Clock Domains

Nios II 100 MHz 50 MHz

Processor

S S S S S
CFI Flash DDR Peripheral
System ID S M Video
Controller SDRAM Subsystem
Controller Subsystem
M

S
Tristate
Conduit
Bridge

Figure 3–8 shows the Qsys Clock Settings tab with available clocks for the system.

Figure 3–8. Clocks for Digital Picture Viewer Qsys System

To change the clocks for the individual components, perform the following steps for
each component port:
1. On the System Contents tab, click the Clock column in the component row to
reveal a list of clocks.

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2. Select the desired clock name according to Table 3–2.

Table 3–2 lists the clocks for the different component ports. For each clock,
components are listed in the order they appear in the Qsys System Contents tab.

Table 3–2. Clocks for Individual Components in Digital Picture Viewer Qsys System
Clock Name Frequency Source Component/Port
osc_clk 50 MHz Oscillator ddr_sdram / refclk
■ flash_bridge / clk
■ peripheral_subsystem / clk_100
■ sysid / clk
ddr_sdram_sysclk 100 MHz SDRAM PLL
■ cpu / clk
■ flash / clk
■ video_subsystem / clk_100

Specify the Reset Connections

This design has a single reset coming into the Qsys system, namely, the clk_reset
port of osc_clk. Connect the components in the system to this main reset by clicking
on the connection dot between the clk_reset port of osc_clk and the following
component ports:
■ The reset port of flash_bridge
■ The reset_50 port of peripheral_subsystem
■ The reset_100 port of peripheral_subsystem
■ The reset port of sysid
■ The reset_n port of cpu
■ The soft_reset_n port of ddr_sdram
■ The global_reset_n port of ddr_sdram
■ The reset port of flash
■ The reset_n port of video_subsystem

Reassign the Component Base Addresses to Eliminate Memory Conflicts

To reassign component base addresses to eliminate undesired overlap between the
address spaces of different components, perform the following steps:
1. On the System menu, click Assign Base Addresses. Qsys assigns appropriate base
addresses for the components.

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2. Reassign the following base addresses to the Avalon Memory-Mapped

(Avalon-MM) slave ports of the following components:
■ For the jtag_debug_module port of cpu, type 0x1000000.
■ For the uas port of flash, type 0x00000000.
■ For the s1 port of ddr_sdram, type 0x2000000.
■ For the sgdma_csr port of video_subsystem, type 0x5000000.
■ For the slow_clock_crosing_bridge port of peripheral_subsystem, type
0x4000000.
■ For the control_slave port of sysid, type 0x1000800.
3. To view the address map for the system, click the Address Map tab.

Figure 3–9. Base Address Setting Conflict that Requires Manual Reassignment

Set the Interrupt Priorities

To render images on the LCD screen smoothly, the sgdma component of the video
subsystem must continuously service the frame buffer without stalling. When the
sgdma component completes a transaction, it must be updated immediately by the
Nios II processor. Therefore, sgdma must have the highest interrupt priority, followed
by the timer, jtag_uart, and touch-screen components. The lowest interrupt value
indicates the highest interrupt priority. Assign interrupt priorities to the system
components by performing the following steps for each interrupt-request (IRQ) port
listed in Table 3–3:
1. Click the System Contents tab.
2. On the left edge of the System Contents tab, click the filter icon. The Filters
dialog box appears.
3. In the Filter list, select All Interfaces.
4. Close the Filters dialog box.
5. For each port specified in Table 3–3, perform the following steps:
a. In the IRQ column, double-click the connection dot.
b. Type the interrupt priority value from Table 3–3.

Table 3–3. Interrupt Priority Assignments (Part 1 of 2)

Component Port Interrupt Priority Value
video_subsystem sgdma_csr_irq 2
peripheral_subsystem sys_clk_timer_irq 8
peripheral_subsystem jtag_uart_irq 10

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Table 3–3. Interrupt Priority Assignments (Part 2 of 2)

Component Port Interrupt Priority Value
peripheral_subsystem touch_panel_pen_irq_n 14
peripheral_subsystem touch_panel_spi_irq 16

Figure 3–10 shows the related peripheral_subsystem component ports after you
perform this step.

Figure 3–10. Interrupt Request Priority of lcd_sgdma Component

Set the Arbitration Priorities

To ensure that the video pipeline operates smoothly, you must assign the highest
arbitration priority to sgdma accesses to ddr_sdram. In addition, because the heap
memory is located in DDR SDRAM, you must increase the arbitration priority of the
Nios II processor for ddr_sdram to support more back-to-back data transactions.
To assign arbitration priorities among the components in your system, perform the
following steps:
1. Right-click anywhere on the System Contents tab, and click Show Arbitration
Shares. The connection panel displays the arbitration priority of each master for
each slave to which it is connected. By default, Qsys assigns arbitration priority 1
for each connected master-slave pair.
2. For each master-slave connection in Table 3–4, double-click the box that represents
the connection and type the new value from the table.

Table 3–4. Arbitration Priority Assignments

Master Port Slave Port Arbitration Priority
video_subsystem / sgdma_m_read ddr_sdram / s1 50
video_subsystem / sgdma_descriptor_write ddr_sdram / s1 8
video_subsystem / sgdma_descriptor_read ddr_sdram / s1 8

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Figure 3–11 shows the arbitration values after you make the assignments.

Figure 3–11. Arbitration Priorities in Digital Picture Viewer Qsys System

3. To hide the arbitration priorities, right-click anywhere on the System Contents

tab, and click Show Arbitration Shares.

Specify the Nios II Processor Boot Configuration

Immediately after completing its hardware reset sequence, the Nios II processor
begins executing software located at a predefined memory location. The reset vector
specifies this location.

1 Altera recommends that your reset vector specify a nonvolatile memory location.

When a software exception or interrupt event occurs, the Nios II processor begins
executing software in another predefined location.The exception vector specifies this
location.
To set the reset and exception vectors for the Nios II processor in your system,
perform the following steps:
1. In the Module Name column, double-click cpu. The Nios II processor parameter
editor appears.
2. In the Reset Vector Memory list, select flash.uas.
3. In the Reset Vector Offset box, type 0x100000.
4. In the Exception Vector Memory list, select ddr_sdram.s1.

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5. In the Exception Vector Offset box, type 0x20.

Figure 3–12 shows the Nios II Processor parameter editor after you perform these
steps.

Figure 3–12. Nios II Processor Reset and Exception Vector Settings

6. Click Finish.
Your Qsys system content is complete and you can now generate the Qsys system.

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Generate the System

Figure 3–13 shows the finalized Qsys system.

Figure 3–13. Final Digital Picture Viewer Qsys System

Generate the System

After you verify that all the component names in your Qsys system match the
component names in Figure 3–13, you are ready to generate your system.
To generate your Qsys system, perform the following steps:

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Generate the System

1. On the Generation tab, click the Generate button. The Generate dialog box
appears, displaying generation messages as generation proceeds.
As shown in Figure 2–1 on page 2–2, Qsys creates the following output items:
■ HDL files for the components in your system
■ HDL files for the system interconnect to connect the components together
■ System description used by the software development tool, the Nios II SBT for
Eclipse, to build the software project
After your system generates successfully, the following message appears:
Generate completed.
2. Click Close.

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 4. Completing the Quartus II Project

In this chapter, you complete the Quartus II project by adding the top-level HDL file,
which instantiates the Qsys system, adding the timing constraints file, and setting the
pin assignments. You compile your project in the Quartus II software to perform
analysis, synthesis, fitting, and timing analysis. Compilation generates an FPGA
image as a .sof file. After you download the FPGA image to the NEEK, the on-board
FPGA functions as a processor custom-made for your application.

1 If you wish to work with the completed project provided with the tutorial files, click
Open Project on the Quartus II software File menu, browse to locate <working
directory>/complete_system/sys_arc_lab.qpf, then skip directly to “Configure the
FPGA” on page 4–3.

Complete the Quartus II Project

This section teaches you how to complete your Quartus II project. It contains the
instructions that show you how to perform the following actions:
1. Add Files to the Quartus II Project
2. Add the Pin Assignments
3. Compile Your Design

Add Files to the Quartus II Project

To add files from Qsys to your Quartus II project, perform the following steps:
1. In the Quartus II software, on the File Menu, click Open Project.
2. Browse to locate <working directory>/tutorial/sys_arc_lab.qpf.
3. On the Project menu, click the Add/Remove Files in Project.
4. Verify the following files are included in the project:
■ main_system.qip—The Quartus II IP File (.qip), which contains information
from Qsys system generation
■ sys_arc_lab_top_level.v—The top-level wrapper file, which instantiates the
main_system.qsys system
■ sys_arc_lab.sdc—The Synopsys Design Constraints File (.sdc), which contains
timing constraints for the top-level system

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Complete the Quartus II Project

Figure 4–1 shows the files included in the project.

Figure 4–1. Quartus II Project Files

Add the Pin Assignments

To add the pin assignments to your Quartus II project, perform the following steps:
1. On the Assignments menu, click Pin Planner.
2. For each row in the pin table, double-click the Location column cell and select the
desired pin. For this project, all pins are already assigned.
Figure 4–2 shows the pin planner.

Figure 4–2. Qsys System Inserted in Top-Level Project

3. Close the pin planner.

Compile Your Design

To compile your design, perform the following steps:
1. On the Processing menu, click Start Compilation.
The Quartus II software requires a few minutes to compile the design. Completion
percentages update in the Tasks view as compilation proceeds. The design should
compile without errors.

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Configure the FPGA

2. When compilation completes, click OK to close the Full Compilation was

successful message.
Compilation produces the .sof file, <working directory>/tutorial/sys_arc_lab.sof.

Configure the FPGA

Next, use the Quartus II Programmer to download the .sof to the NEEK and configure
the Cyclone III device on the board.

f For more information about the Quartus II Programmer, refer to the Quartus II
Programmer chapter in volume 3 of the Quartus II Handbook.

To configure the FPGA, perform the following steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Programmer.
2. Ensure that the power switch (SW1) on the back side of the NEEK is in the OFF
position (up).
3. Connect the USB cable from your PC to the NEEK.
4. Connect the power cable to the NEEK.
5. Press the power switch to turn on the NEEK.
6. In the Quartus II Programmer, click Hardware Setup.
7. Under Currently selected hardware, click USB-Blaster [USB-0].
8. Click Close.
9. Click Auto Detect. The Device column lists the EP3C25F324 device on your board,
indicating that the Quartus II Programmer detected the device. Figure 4–3 shows
the Quartus II Programmer after you perform this step.

Figure 4–3. Quartus II Programmer

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Configure the FPGA

10. If your .sof does not appear in the Quartus II Programmer, perform the following
steps:
a. Click Add File.
b. Browse to locate <working directory>/tutorial/sys_arc_lab.sof.
c. Click Open.
11. Turn on Program/Configure for your .sof.
12. Click Start to program the FPGA.
After the Programmer completes programming the FPGA, the progress bar reaches
100%, and no error messages appear.
After you complete all the steps in this chapter, you have successfully compiled and
downloaded the FPGA image to the Cyclone III device on your NEEK. The processor
is ready to run. Next, you must develop the software application and download it to
the NEEK.

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 5. Creating the Software Application

In this chapter, you use the Nios II SBT for Eclipse to develop the software application
that runs on your system. You create a new software application project, a board
support package (BSP) for your project (to provide a software runtime environment
customized for the hardware system defined in the previous chapter), add the
software source files to the project, configure the project, and build the project. The
result of the build process is an .elf file. The Nios II SBT for Eclipse downloads the
application .elf to the memory location at which the Nios II processor expects to find
the executable program. The Nios II processor then runs the application .elf.

f For more information about the Nios II SBT for Eclipse, refer to the Getting Started with
the Graphical User Interface chapter of the Nios II Software Developer’s Handbook and to
the Developing Nios II Software chapter of the Embedded Design Handbook.

Create a New BSP Project

To create the BSP project in the Nios II SBT for Eclipse, perform the following steps:
1. Start the Nios II SBT for Eclipse. On Windows computers, click Start, point to
Programs, Altera, Nios II EDS <version>, and then click Nios II <version>
Software Build Tools for Eclipse. On Linux computers, run the executable file
<Nios II EDS install path>/bin/eclipse-nios2.
2. If the Workspace Launcher dialog box appears, click OK to accept the default
workspace location.
3. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Nios II Board Support Package.
The Nios II Board Support Package wizard appears. Figure 5–1 shows the GUI.
4. In the Project name box, type picture_viewer_bsp.
5. Next to SOPC Information File name, browse to locate <working
directory>/tutorial/main_system.sopcinfo.
6. In the BSP type list, select Micrium MicroC/OS-II.
7. Click Finish.

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Create a New Software Project

Figure 5–1 shows the Nios II Board Support Package project wizard.

Figure 5–1. Nios II Board Support Package Project Wizard

Create a New Software Project

To create your software project in the Nios II SBT for Eclipse, perform the following
steps:
1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Nios II Application. The Nios II
Application wizard appears. Figure 5–2 shows the GUI.
2. In the Project name box, type picture_viewer.
3. Next to BSP location, the browse button.
4. Select picture_viewer_bsp.
5. Click Finish.

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Add Source Code Files to the Project

Figure 5–2 shows the New Project dialog box after you perform these steps.

Figure 5–2. New Application Project Wizard

Add Source Code Files to the Project

Your working directory contains a software_source_files folder. The files in this
folder are the source code files for the tutorial software application project.
To copy these files to the software application folder, perform the following steps:
1. In an application such as Windows Explorer, open the <working
directory>/software_source_files folder and select all the folders and files.
2. Drag the files and drop them on the picture_viewer folder in the Project Explorer
view of the Nios II SBT for Eclipse. The File and Folder Operation dialog box
appears.
3. Select Copy files and folders and click OK.

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Configure the BSP Properties

4. Right-click the picture_viewer folder, and click Refresh.

The files copy to the software project directory, and their names appear in the
Nios II SBT for Eclipse as shown in Figure 5–3.

Figure 5–3. Software Application Project with Source Code Files

Configure the BSP Properties

In this section, you configure the BSP to specify the properties of this software system.
BSP properties include the interface for stdio and stderr messages, the memory in
which to allocate the stack and the heap, and whether an operating system or network
stack should be included in the project image. Most of the BSP properties have default
settings you do not need to change.
To configure the BSP properties, perform the following steps:
1. In the Project Explorer view, right-click picture_viewer_bsp, point to Nios II, and
click BSP Editor. The Nios II BSP Editor opens.
2. On the Main tab, select peripheral_subsystem_jtag_uart for stderr, stdin, and
stdout.

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3. For sys_clk_timer, select peripheral_subsystem_sys_clk_timer.

Figure 5–4 shows the settings for the Nios II BSP Editor Main tab.

Figure 5–4. BSP Settings for BSP Editor Main Tab

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Specify the Zip File System Settings

4. On the Linker Script tab, for each enabled row in the Linker Section Mappings
table, select ddr_sdram in the Linker Region Name column.
Figure 5–5 shows the settings for the Nios II BSP Editor Linker Script tab.

Figure 5–5. BSP Settings for BSP Editor Linker Script Tab

5. On the File menu, click Save.

6. Click Exit to close the Nios II BSP Editor.

Specify the Zip File System Settings

The tutorial software application project manipulates stored JPEG images. These
JPEG images are stored in the CFI flash memory on the NEEK. The project uses the
Altera read-only zip file system to store and access the JPEG images in flash memory.
To use the read-only zip file system, you must ensure that the JPEG image files are
zipped in a single file in uncompressed mode. The tutorial design files include a
prezipped, uncompressed file that contains the JPEG image files.
To add the Altera read-only zip file system and set up your project to store the
prezipped JPEG images to the NEEK flash memory, perform the following steps:
1. In an application such as Windows Explorer, open the <working directory> folder
and select jpeg_images.zip.
2. Drag and drop jpeg_images.zip on the picture_viewer_bsp folder in the Project
Explorer view of the Nios II SBT for Eclipse. The File Operation dialog box
appears.
3. Select Copy files and click OK. The file copies to the BSP project directory and
appears in the Nios II SBT for Eclipse.

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Build the Software Project

4. Right-click picture_viewer_bsp, point to Nios II, and click BSP Editor.

5. On the Software Packages tab, in the Enable column, turn on altera_ro_zipfs. The
altera_ro_zipfs parameters appear.
6. For ro_zipfs_base, type 0x00000000, which is the base address of in the hardware
system.
7. For ro_zipfs_name, type /mnt/rozipfs, which is the mount point to use to access
the .jpg files.
8. For ro_zipfs_offset, type 0x400000, which is the start address of the location in
flash where the .jpg files will be stored.
Figure 5–5 shows the settings for the Nios II BSP Editor Linker Script tab.

Figure 5–6. Altera Read-Only Zip File System Settings for Digital Picture Viewer

9. On the File menu, click Save.

10. Click Generate. An updated BSP is generated.
11. Click Exit to close the Nios II BSP Editor.

f For more information about the Altera read-only zip file system, refer to the
Read-Only Zip File System chapter of the Nios II Software Developer’s Handbook.

Build the Software Project

To compile and build the image files for your software project, perform the following
steps:
1. In the Project Explorer view, right-click picture_viewer, and click Build Project.
The Nios II SBT for Eclipse compiles the BSP and application software projects. The
result of the compilation process is an .elf file.

1 If you are prompted to regenerate the BSP, right click picture_viewer_bsp and click
Regenerate BSP, then repeat step 1.

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Program the Zip File to Flash Memory

Program the Zip File to Flash Memory

You use the Flash Programmer to convert the .zip file to a Motorola S record file
(.flash) and program the .flash file to the flash memory on the NEEK.
To convert the .zip file and program the flash memory, perform the following steps:
1. In the Nios II SBT for Eclipse, on the Nios II menu, click Flash Programmer. The
Nios II Flash Programmer appears.
2. In the Nios II Flash Programmer, on the File menu, click New. The New Nios II
Flash Programmer Settings File dialog box appears.
3. Select Get flash programmer system details from BSP Settings File.
4. In the BSP Settings File name box, browse to locate <working
directory>/tutorial/software/picture_viewer_bsp/settings.bsp.
5. Click OK.
6. On the Flash: flash tab, click Add. The Select Files for Flash Conversion dialog
box appears.
7. In the Files of type list, select All Files.
8. Browse to locate <working
directory>/tutorial/software/picture_viewer_bsp/jpeg_images.zip.
9. Under Files for flash conversion, double-click in the Flash Offset column.
10. In the Flash Offset box, type 0x400000.
11. Click Start. A new Nios II Flash Programmer Settings File (.flash-settings) is
created and flash memory is programmed.

1 If you encounter errors during flash programming, repeat the steps in

“Configure the FPGA” on page 4–3 to reconfigure the board with the .sof
file, then repeat step 11.

12. Click Exit to close the Nios II Flash Programmer.

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Chapter 5: Creating the Software Application 5–9
Run the Software Application on the NEEK

Figure 5–7 shows the Nios II Flash Programmer after completing the steps.

Figure 5–7. Flash Programmer Settings to Program Flash Memory With JPEG Images .zip File

f For more information about the Flash Programmer, refer to the Nios II Flash
Programmer User Guide.

Run the Software Application on the NEEK

Running an application on the target hardware requires the following two image files:
■ FPGA hardware image—.sof
■ Software executable image—.elf
In Chapter 4, Completing the Quartus II Project, you configured the FPGA by
downloading the .sof to the FPGA. After you configure the FPGA, it is ready to run
the software application. You download the application through the USB cable that
remains plugged in to the NEEK board.
To run the software project on the Nios II processor you configured on the NEEK,
perform the following steps:
1. In the Project Explorer view, right-click picture_viewer.
2. Click Run As > Nios II Hardware.

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5–10 Chapter 5: Creating the Software Application
Console Output

3. If the Run Configurations dialog box appears, perform the following steps:
a. On the Target Connection tab, click Refresh Connections and Apply until a
board connection establishes.
b. Click Run.
The Run or Run As command rebuilds the software project to create an up–to-date
executable and then download the code to memory. The debugger resets the Nios II
processor, and the Nios II processor then executes the downloaded code.

Console Output
After the application begins executing, it relays messages to the Nios II SBT for
Eclipse through the JTAG interface. Figure 5–8 shows the output in the Nios II view.

Figure 5–8. Output from Successful Run of Digital Picture Viewer

Interact with the Software Application

When the picture_viewer application starts running on the Nios II processor, the
digital picture viewer displays the first JPEG image. To display the next image, press
the Forward button on the LCD touch screen. To display the previous image, press the
Back button on the LCD touch screen. Two small thumbnail images on the bottom of
the screen display the decoding status of the previous and next images.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed the embedded systems tutorial.

1 The Nios II Flash Programmer overwrites the default application selector on the
NEEK. To restore the factory image, refer to the "Restoring the Factory Image"
appendix in the Nios II Embedded Evaluation Kit, Cyclone III Edition User Guide.

Booting from Flash Memory

To boot from the flash memory, you need to program the flash memory with the .sof
and .elf files. You use the Nios II Flash Programmer to convert the .sof and .elf files to
.flash format and program the .flash files into flash memory.
To convert the files and program the flash memory, perform the following steps:
1. On the Nios II menu, click Flash Programmer. The Nios II Flash Programmer
appears.

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Chapter 5: Creating the Software Application 5–11
Booting from Flash Memory

2. On the File menu, click New. The New Flash Programmer Settings Files dialog
box appears.
3. Select Get flash programmer system details from BSP Settings File.
4. In the BSP Settings File name box, browse to locate <working
directory>/tutorial/software/picture_viewer_bsp/settings.bsp.
5. Click OK.
6. To convert and program the .sof, perform the following steps:
a. On the Flash: flash tab, click Add. The Select Files for Flash Conversion
dialog box appears.
b. In the Files of type list, select Quartus II SOF File.
c. Browse to locate <working directory>/tutorial/sys_arc_lab.sof.
d. Under Files for flash conversion, double-click in the Flash Offset column.
e. In the Flash Offset box, type 0x20000.
f. Next to the File generation command box, click Properties.
g. In the Additional arguments box, type --activeparallel.
h. Click Close.
7. To convert and program the .elf, perform the following steps:
a. On the Flash: flash tab, click Add. The Select Files for Flash Conversion
dialog box appears.
b. In the Files of type list, select Nios II ELF File.
c. Browse to locate <working
directory>/tutorial/software/picture_viewer/picture_viewer.elf.
8. Click Start. A new Nios II Flash Programmer Settings File (.flash-settings) is
created and flash memory is programmed. Programming might take a few
minutes.

1 If you encounter errors during flash programming, repeat the steps in

“Configure the FPGA” on page 4–3 to reconfigure the board with the .sof
file, then repeat step 8.

9. Click Exit to close the Nios II Flash Programmer.

10. After flash programming is done, power cycle the NEEK to run the picture viewer.

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5–12 Chapter 5: Creating the Software Application
Booting from Flash Memory

Figure 5–9 shows the Nios II Flash Programmer after completing the steps.

Figure 5–9. Flash Programmer Settings to Boot from Flash Memory

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 Additional Information

This chapter provides additional information about the document and Altera.

Taking the Next Step

Altera offers many resources to help you get started designing your own embedded
designs. If you are starting from scratch, Altera recommends that you purchase an
Altera development kit.
If you already have a working project, you can add a Qsys system to your top-level
project as a stub or add your design to the Qsys system as a custom component.

f The following documents and web pages provide information to help you create
custom components for your Qsys system:

■ The System Design with Qsys section of Volume 1: Design and Synthesis of the
Quartus II Handbook provides complete reference on using Qsys, including topics
such as building memory subsystems, creating custom components, and
automatically generating interconnect fabric based on a network-on-a-chip
topology.
■ Avalon Memory-Mapped Master Templates web page describes how to use an
Avalon-MM template to create an Avalon-MM custom component.
■ Avalon Memory-Mapped Slave Template web page describes how to use an
Avalon-MM template to create an Avalon-MM slave custom component.
■ Guidelines for Developing a Nios II HAL Device Driver describes how to develop
software device drivers for your custom component.

f The following Altera documents and web pages provide background and general
information about building embedded systems using Altera tools:

Subject Information Source

Processors from Altera and Embedded Alliance Partners web
Altera embedded solutions
page
Embedded IP peripherals Embedded Peripherals IP User Guide
Embedded system design Embedded Design Handbook
Development Kits, Daughter Cards & Programming
Evaluation and development kits
Hardware web page
Nios II processor Nios II Processor Reference Handbook
Nios II processor system design
Nios II Embedded Processor Design Examples web page
examples and software applications
Nios II software development tools Nios II Software Developer’s Handbook
Altera Forum website
Nios II user community
Altera Wiki website

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Info–2 Additional Information
Document Revision History

Subject Information Source

Online tutorials and in-person Embedded HW Designer Curriculum web page
training Embedded SW Designer Curriculum web page
System Design with Qsys section of Volume 1: Design and
Qsys
Synthesis of the Quartus II Handbook

Document Revision History

The following table shows the revision history for this document.

Date Version Changes

June 2011 2.0 Updated for Qsys and the Nios II Software Build Tools for Eclipse.
May 2009 1.0 Initial release.

How to Contact Altera

To locate the most up-to-date information about Altera products, refer to the
following table.

Contact (1) Contact Method Address

Technical support Website www.altera.com/support
Website www.altera.com/training
Technical training
Email [email protected]
Product literature Website www.altera.com/literature
Nontechnical support (general) Email [email protected]
(software licensing) Email [email protected]
Note to Table:
(1) You can also contact your local Altera sales office or sales representative.

Typographic Conventions
The following table shows the typographic conventions this document uses.

Visual Cue Meaning

Indicate command names, dialog box titles, dialog box options, and other GUI
Bold Type with Initial Capital
labels. For example, Save As dialog box. For GUI elements, capitalization matches
Letters
the GUI.
Indicates directory names, project names, disk drive names, file names, file name
bold type extensions, software utility names, and GUI labels. For example, \qdesigns
directory, D: drive, and chiptrip.gdf file.
Italic Type with Initial Capital Letters Indicate document titles. For example, Stratix IV Design Guidelines.
Indicates variables. For example, n + 1.
italic type Variable names are enclosed in angle brackets (< >). For example, <file name> and
<project name>.pof file.

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Additional Information Info–3
Typographic Conventions

Visual Cue Meaning

Indicate keyboard keys and menu names. For example, the Delete key and the
Initial Capital Letters
Options menu.
Quotation marks indicate references to sections in a document and titles of
“Subheading Title”
Quartus II Help topics. For example, “Typographic Conventions.”
Indicates signal, port, register, bit, block, and primitive names. For example, data1,
tdi, and input. The suffix n denotes an active-low signal. For example, resetn.
Indicates command line commands and anything that must be typed exactly as it
Courier type appears. For example, c:\qdesigns\tutorial\chiptrip.gdf.
Also indicates sections of an actual file, such as a Report File, references to parts of
files (for example, the AHDL keyword SUBDESIGN), and logic function names (for
example, TRI).
r An angled arrow instructs you to press the Enter key.
1., 2., 3., and Numbered steps indicate a list of items when the sequence of the items is important,
a., b., c., and so on such as the steps listed in a procedure.
■ ■ ■ Bullets indicate a list of items when the sequence of the items is not important.
1 The hand points to information that requires special attention.
h The question mark directs you to a software help system with related information.
f The feet direct you to another document or website with related information.
m The multimedia icon directs you to a related multimedia presentation.
A caution calls attention to a condition or possible situation that can damage or
c
destroy the product or your work.
A warning calls attention to a condition or possible situation that can cause you
w
injury.
The envelope links to the Email Subscription Management Center page of the Altera
website, where you can sign up to receive update notifications for Altera documents.

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Info–4 Additional Information
Typographic Conventions

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