1. A Web-Based Register File Generator
for Xilinx ZYNQ, MicroBlaze,
and any other AXI4-lite system.
Guy Eschemann
noasic GmbH

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About me
● Electrical engineer (INSA-Lyon, France)
● 15+ years of experience in FPGA design
● Self-employed FPGA consultant since 2009
● Xilinx Alliance Program associate partner since 2011
● Current:
– Self-employed FPGA consultant at noasic GmbH
– FPGA design engineer/representative at Enclustra
– Sales representative at Sigasi France
● Main focus:
– VHDL design and verification
– Embedded software development
– Custom electronic design automation (EDA) tools

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About airhdl
● Web-based register file generator
● Launched in 2015
● About 200 registered users
● Free
● Probably one of the first web-based EDA tools

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What's a register file
● Bus RD/WR logic
● Registers
– fixed 32-bit wide
– modes
● read-write
● write-only
● read-only
● interrupt (W1C)
● Fields
● User logic interface

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Where do I need register files

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Register files caveats
● Register files are the hardware/software interface
– Register definitions are used by hardware and
software engineers
– Consistency is key: SW definitions must match the
hardware implementation
● Register definitions change all the time
– e.g. add/remove/rename register or field
– Changes must be easy

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The airhdl solution
● Create register map in your browser at
https://airhdl.com
● Add registers and fields
● Download generated code
– VHDL
– C
– Documentation
– XML/ JSON
● Integrate in your project

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Demo

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Register map entry (1)

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Register map entry (2)

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Register map entry (3)

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Generated products

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airhdl benefits
● Saves time and trouble
● HW/SW files are consistent by design
(generated from master register map)
● all register definitions in one place
● can be accessed from anywhere
● no need to install/license anything
● free

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Try it out
● Register at https://airhdl.com
● Let me know what you think: guy@noasic.com

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Roadmap / Ideas
● Add Verilog support
● Share register maps
● Register map revision ID
● Register value calculator
● Microsoft Word / PDF export
● Other generators
– CRC
– LFSR

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Contact
noasic GmbH
Guy Eschemann
Sundheimer Feld 6
77694 Kehl / Germany
guy@noasic.com
Follow me on twitter: @geschema