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Xilinx Zynq tools

Former Member

I'm just getting started with Zynq on a Zedboard.  I've done some reading and just want to confirm if my understanding is correct so far.


Vivado is used to design/configure the logic and soft IP that goes in the FPGA fabric (a.k.a. PL) of the Zynq processor.  Versions exist for both Windows and Linux.  A hardware description file (HDF) can be exported from Vivado.  The HDF can be used by the Xilinx SDK or the PetaLinux SDK to configure the software environment. 


In the case of the Xilinx SDK, the HDF is used in Eclipse to develop a standalone application for the ARM processor(s).  (I haven't gotten this far in my reading yet, but I suppose there are Eclipse plugins from Xilinx that slurp in the HDF and spit out some header files containing device/register addresses?)


In the case of PetaLinux SDK, the HDF is used to create the BSP (?) and specify the drivers to include in a Linux image that can be booted by the ARM processor.  PetaLinux SDK only runs on a Linux host.  Supported distros are RHEL 5/6 and SUSE 11, but some have been successful in running PetaLinux SDK on Debian/Ubuntu.


Appreciate any corrections.

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    Your understanding is pretty accurate.

     

    I would note that you should keep your Vivado tools and PetaLinux tools 'in sync'. That is you want to use Vivado 2014.2 (not the latest Vivado release 2014.3) with the PetaLinux 2014.2 tools. The PetaLinux releases have been on the 'even' releases only, so expect the next PetaLinux release to be 2014.4 (probably no 2014.3 release).

     

    -Gary