Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guide: Block-Based Design

Download PDF
ID 683247
Date 6/09/2025
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
Answers to Top FAQs 1. Block-Based Design Flows A. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guides
1. Block-Based Design Flows x
1.1. Block-Based Design Terminology 1.2. Block-Based Design Overview 1.3. Design Methodologies Overview 1.4. Design Partitioning 1.5. Design Block Reuse Flows 1.6. Incremental Block-Based Compilation Flow 1.7. Setting-Up Team-Based Designs 1.8. Bottom-Up Design Considerations 1.9. Debugging Block-Based Designs with the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer 1.10. Block-Based Design Flows Revision History 1.11. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guide: Block-Based Design Document Archive
1.2. Block-Based Design Overview x
1.2.1. Design Block Reuse Overview 1.2.2. Incremental Block-Based Compilation Overview
1.2.1. Design Block Reuse Overview x
1.2.1.1. Design Block Reuse Examples
1.3. Design Methodologies Overview x
1.3.1. Top-Down Design Methodology Overview 1.3.2. Bottom-Up Design Methodology Overview 1.3.3. Team-Based Design Methodology Overview
1.4. Design Partitioning x
1.4.1. Planning Partitions for Periphery IP, Clocks, and PLLs 1.4.2. Creating Design Partitions 1.4.3. Design Partition Guidelines
1.5. Design Block Reuse Flows x
1.5.1. Reusing Core Partitions 1.5.2. Reusing Root Partitions 1.5.3. Reserved Core Entity Re-Binding 1.5.4. Viewing Quartus Database File Information
1.5.1. Reusing Core Partitions x
1.5.1.1. Step 1: Developer: Create a Design Partition 1.5.1.2. Step 2: Developer: Compile and Export the Core Partition 1.5.1.3. Step 3: Developer: Create a Black Box File 1.5.1.4. Step 4: Consumer: Add the Core Partition and Compile
1.5.2. Reusing Root Partitions x
1.5.2.1. Step 1: Developer: Create a Reserved Core Partition 1.5.2.2. Step 2: Developer: Define a Logic Lock Region 1.5.2.3. Step 3: Developer: Compile and Export the Root Partition 1.5.2.4. Step 4: Consumer: Add the Root Partition and Compile
1.5.4. Viewing Quartus Database File Information x
1.5.4.1. QDB File Attribute Types
1.6. Incremental Block-Based Compilation Flow x
1.6.1. Design Abstraction
1.6.1. Design Abstraction x
1.6.1.1. Empty Partition Clock Source Preservation
1.7. Setting-Up Team-Based Designs x
1.7.1. Creating a Top-Level Project for a Team-Based Design
1.7.1. Creating a Top-Level Project for a Team-Based Design x
1.7.1.1. Prepare a Design Partition for Project Integration
Answers to Top FAQs
1. Block-Based Design Flows
A. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition User Guides

1.6.1. Design Abstraction

Empty partitions are useful to account for undefined partitions developed independently or later in the design cycle. The Compiler uses an empty placeholder netlist for the partition, ties the partition output ports to ground, and removes the input ports. The Compiler removes any existing synthesis, placement, and routing information for an empty partition.

If you remove the Empty setting from a partition, the Compiler re-implements the partition from the source. Setting a partition to Empty can reduce design compilation time because the top-level design netlist does not include the logic for the empty partition. The Compiler does not run full synthesis and fitting algorithms on the empty partition logic.

Note: To avoid resource conflicts when using empty partitions, floorplan any empty partitions that you intend to subsequently replace with a .qdb.
Follow these steps to define an empty partition:
  1. Create a design partition, as Step 1: Developer: Create a Design Partition describes. Set the partition Type to Default. Any other setting is incompatible with empty partitions.
  2. For the Empty option, select Yes. This setting corresponds to the following assignment in the .qsf. 
    set_instance_assignment -name EMPTY ON -to \
     <hierarchal path of partition> -entity <name>

Section Content
Empty Partition Clock Source Preservation

Level Two Title