Basic vhdl by Qassem Alweh

Introduction

What is VHDL?

1. VHDL stands for ( very high speed integrated circuit hardware description language)
2. as a HDL ( hardware description language) VHDL is used for formal description and design of digital logic, it describes the circuit's operation, its design and organization, and simulates the design to test and verify its operation.

Getting started with vhdl

For the purpose of our lab we will be using the vhdl compiler (ghdl)
First we will simulate (or execute) a simple hello world program for the sake of demonstration. Second we will move on to simulate a 1 bit adder And finally you will simulate and submit a 4 bit adder for grading

Hello world

Start by creating a new directory under the home folder and name it project1

Hello world
In the project1 directory add a text file Open the text file with gedit and paste in the source code for the hello world program Click on the edit menu and hit preferences a window will appear highlight the plugins tab and select both external tools and python console Finally rename the file to hello and change the extension to .vhdl

Hello world

Hello world

Clicking on the dash home search for the terminal (or the cmd from the start menu on windows) Now change the directory to simplify things a notch by typing the command (in our case only) cd /home/ubuntu/project1

Hello world

A vhdl program is run in three steps

1. by analyzing (or checking the codes for errors)

2. by elaborating (or creating an executable file) 3. and finally by simulating (or compiling the executable file)

Hello world

To analyze the code type the command To elaborate the program type the command And to run the executable file (or simulate) type the command If everything was correct the phrase hello benedict college should be printed in the terminal

ghdl -a hello.vhdl

ghdl -e hello_world

ghdl -r hello_world

Hello world

One bit adder

Although it is possible to write and compile general programs as in the hello world example, it is generally used for hardware design that why we will take a look at a one bit adder The procedures for simulating a one bit adder is different in the sense that the source code is of no use without a way to test it To test our one bit adder we integrate a testbench into our design

A testbench will check exhaustively all inputs

One bit adder

As with the hello world example we will start by creating a new directory and naming it project2 Next create two text documents one for the source code and another for the testbench Paste, rename to src and testbench, and change the file extension to .vhdl

One bit adder

One bit adder

One bit adder

As always after staring the terminal change the directory using the cd command Now analyze both commands respectively

1. ghdl -a src.vhdl 2. ghdl -a testbench.vhdl

Next elaborate the testbench using the command

ghdl -e TEST_ADD

One bit adder

And finally compile the testbench You may wish to create a .vcd file to view the wave using gtkwave If compiled correctly you should end up with vcd file in the project2 directory which can be viewed with gtkwave

ghdl -r TEST_ADD

ghdl -r TEST_ADD --vcd=adder.vcd

One bit adder

One bit adder

Four bit adder

Now its your turn using the provided source code and testbench design and simulate a four bit adder Along with the adder run the results in the gtkwave wave utility Finally submit your work for grading along with a step by step explanation for how your work was conducted

Source code for hello world

-- Hello benedict college program.

use std.textio.all; -- Imports the standard textio package.

-- Defines a design entity, without any ports.

entity hello_world is
end hello_world; architecture behaviour of hello_world is

Source code for one bit adder

-- Simulation Tutorial

-- 1-bit Adder
-- This is just to make a reference to some common things needed. LIBRARY IEEE;

use IEEE.STD_LOGIC_1164.ALL; -- We declare the 1-bit adder with the inputs and outputs

Testbench for one bit adder

-- 1-bit Adder Testbench -- A testbench is used to rigorously tests a design that you have made. -- The output of the testbench should allow the designer to see if

-- the design worked. The testbench should also report where the testbench
-- failed.

Source code for four bit adder

-- 1-bit Adder -- This is just to make a reference to some common things needed. LIBRARY IEEE; use IEEE.STD_LOGIC_1164.ALL; -- We declare the 1-bit adder with the inputs and outputs -- shown inside the port().

Testbench for four bit adder

-- 1-bit Adder Testbench -- A testbench is used to rigorously tests a design that you have made. -- The output of the testbench should allow the designer to see if

-- the design worked. The testbench should also report where the testbench
-- failed.