Coolrunner II hello world

[kampianakis]

Hi everyone,

I know that the CPLD starter board that features the XC2C256 is deprecated but can someone provide a few links with a "hello world" application? A blink LED or anything to get me started and at least check if I have my toolchain set up properly.

Also, I am using xilinx ISE webpack but a few people have mentioned that vivaldo might be a better choice because xilinx doesn't support coolrunner anymore through webpack(?). I see the devices on the device list so I don't understand why I should use vivaldo.

Thanks!

 

 

[JColvin]

Hi kampianakis,

Xilinx's ISE webpack is the correct choice for the Coolrunner II starter kit. Vivado is only compatible with the 7-series Xilinx chips and newer; it does not support the older chips. I suspect the reason you heard that Vivado was recommended is because ISE is no longer actively supported by Xilinx, they only support and update Vivado now.

You can find resources for the Coolrunner II linked in this thread on our Forum.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,
JColvin

[kampianakis]

Thank you for the quick reply!

I managed to get the source files, synthesize etc but I seem to have a problem with the cable drivers. Just a heads up, I have never downloaded anything to a CPLD so I am completely new to the process. I have some experience simulating VHDL but that's it. 

What I am doing is double-clicking on the "configure target device" button and a program called impact pops up. I add my device after I press the boundary scan and then I press Program. Then I get this:

WARNING:iMPACT:923 - Can not find cable, check cable setup !

Which is expected since I got an error after I installed ISE that the cable drivers weren't installed. This seems to be a very common problem but can't find a solution for it. Oh I forgot to mention. My setup is on Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit and I have the Webpack ISE 14.7.

Any links/info on how to install the drivers would be great. Also any other links or help on how to download this basic example to my device would also be great. If it matters I got the version 'F' of the CPLD starter board.

edit: I followed the instructions here:
http://elinux.org/Install_Xilinx_USB_cable_drivers_for_Ubuntu
and I went to the "cable setup" from the menu on impact and selected the Digilent USB JTAG cable and I am getting this:
WARNING:iMPACT - The cable selected is not avaliable, please select a different one.
(Typo included)

Thanks!

 

[JColvin]

Hi kampianakis,

Sorry for not getting back to you as quickly as I did initially. What I believe you need to do, as per this forum thread, is install the Digilent Plug-In for Xilinx tools so that your USB JTAG cable can be recognized; you may also need to do a computer reboot (as per the thread I linked to earlier) but I don't know for certain if that will be necessary.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,
JColvin