HDLMake version 3.0 promoted to Master
added by Javier D. Garcia-Lasheras on 2017-05-26 13:35:30.636275
HDLMake 3.0
After a massive refactoring & upgrade process, we have finally published the brand-new HDLMake 3.0 version. This version not only sports a whole set of new features, but has been carefully crafted so that the source code providing a common interface for the growing set of supported tools can be easily maintained.
New Features
These are some of the highlighted features for the new HDLMake v3.0 Release:
- Updated HDL code parser and solver: the new release includes by default the usage of an embedded HDL code parser and file dependency solver to manage the synthesis and simulation process in an optimal way.
- Support for Python 3.x: the new release supports both Python2.7 and Python3.x deployments in a single source code branch, enabling an easier integration into newer O.S. distributions.
- Native support for Linux & Windows shells: The new release not only supports Linux shells as the previous ones, but features native support too for Windows shells such as the classic CMD promt or the new PowerShell.
- TCL based Makefiles: in order to streamline the process of supporting as many tools as possible in a hierarchical way, in a changing world and rapidly evolving world of FPGA technology and tool providers, we have adopted TCL as the common language layer used by the generated synthesis Makefiles.
- Proper packaging: from the HDLMake 3.0 onwards, the source code is distributed as a Python package, what allows for a much cleaner installation procedure.
More info
You can find more info about the HDLMake 3.0 version in the following links:
HDLMake v3.0 release candidate: call for beta testers
added by Javier D. Garcia-Lasheras on 2016-09-19 15:51:44.445553
Version 3.0: a major HDLMake release milestone.
After a massive refactoring & upgrade process, we have just taped-out the brand-new HDLMake 3.0 release candidate. This version supersedes v2.2 as the future Master candidate, as it features some new features that were planned as critical for spreading the usage of the HDLMake tool.
We apologize about the unexpected delay for this year's release... but we have devoted a lot of time in polishing and getting the source code ready for both reaching a wider audience and allowing a friendly entry to potential new contributors.
New Features
These are some of the highlighted features for the new v3.0 Release:
- Updated HDL code parser and solver: the new release includes by default the usage of an embedded HDL code parser and solver to manage the synthesis and simulation process. We have tried to be as conservative as possible to not break (so much) projects based on older versions, but please report any issue you may find.
- Support for Python 3.x: the new release supports both Python2.7 and Python3.x deployments in a single source code branch, enabling an easier integration into newer O.S. distributions.
- Native support for Linux & Windows shells: The new release not only supports Linux shells as the previous ones, but features native support too for Windows shells such as the classic CMD promt or PowerShell.
- TCL based Makefiles: in order to streamline the process of supporting as many tools as possible in a hierarchical way, in a changing world and rapidly evolving world of FPGA technology and tool providers, we have adopted TCL as the common language layer used by the generated Makefiles.
- Optional Web-based graphical frontend: A new graphical frontend based on Node.JS has been developed so that HDLMake can be friendly controlled in both local and server based deployments.
- Yocto Project Integration: the HDLMake release candidate has been successfully integrated into Yocto Project based design-flows to build an entire binary runtime for SPEC based White Rabbit deployments, ranging from the embedded Linux O.S. Kernel, libraries and drivers to the several FPGA bitstreams that need to be synthesized for dynamic hardware reconfiguration.
Call for Contributors
We are very interested in spreading the adoption of the HDLMake tool in as many actual deployments as possible, so do not hesitate writing in the official Discourse forum for public requests or contacting the HDLMake active project manager for confidential or commercial issues.
Version milestone & deadline
Starting from this announcement, we start a Quarantine period for the HDLMake v3.0 release after we will propose to promote this version as the new Master.
In this period, in order to foster a wider adoption of the tool, GL Research will provide commercial support for free (as a free beer) to those institutions and commercial companies interested in exploring HDLMake adoption and becoming potential contributors.
In addition, we will inherit and tackle the issues from version 2.2 reported as not yet solved by their respective issuers in this period. Please, check the current status for the issue when using this release and report it to the official Discourse forum so that we can track it.
For further information about opened issues to be tackled before the 3.0 publishing milestone, check the 3.0 version entry at OHR.
Documentation
The documentation is included into the source code and written in Sphinx format. Please, report for any fix, typo or upgrade you want to be issued and solved before publishing as a stable release.
As a convenient resource, HDLMake relies on ReadTheDocs to host an updated version of the pre-built documentation for HDLMake v3.0 release candidate.
Git access to source code
You can find the HDLMake v3.0 release candidate source code by cloning the Git branch for release-3.0 and installing it as a common Python package on top of your favourite host machine Python deployment.
HDLMake version 2.1 promoted to Master
added by Javier D. Garcia-Lasheras on 2015-04-24 10:43:48.135996
After a huge testing effort, including complex simulations and White Rabbit design synthesis (e.g. WR-NIC), the new HDLMake 2.1 version is out and ready for production-grade use.
The new release supports a load of new synthesis and simulation tools and includes improved features such as custom user code insertion into the whole Manifest.py tree or incremental ISE synthesis in both local and remote hosts.
Check HDLMake wiki for up-to-date detailed information.
NOTE:* In order to migrate an old HDLMake project to the new version, you should check the following guidelines:
HDLMake Release Candidate 2.1 is out!
added by Javier D. Garcia-Lasheras on 2015-02-09 09:36:18.135769
This release candidate is an incremental improvement based in the HDLMake 2.0 version introduced at the 8th White Rabbit workshop. In this way, new features has been added / tested and the documentation has been improved. Some of the highlighted features in this release are:
- Incremental bitstream generation for Xilinx ISE in both local and remote mode.
- Stable and documented post and pre synthesis/simulation commands.
- Stable and documented custom variables and conditional design hierarchy generation.
After the release candidate 2.1 has been conveniently tested and debugged by the users, this version will become the new master (if new features are requested, these will go to version 2.2). In the meantime, you can access the source code and the documentation in the following links:
Note*: In order to avoid conflicts and to make order in the project branches, the Gitflow workflow has been adopted. From 2015 onwards, all the project contributors should be aware of the new developer guidelines. Otherwise, the contributions could not be merged into the master branch.
7-02-14: as seen on Reddit!
added by Erik van der Bij on 2014-02-07 09:22:26.515300
HDLmake has been referred to on Reddit as a way to compilations of Xilinx projects easier.
It may also help against headache as the requester had an issue: I'd be grateful, I'm banging my head against the documentation at the moment.