Ashling* RiscFree* Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Altera® FPGAs User Guide

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ID 730783
Date 4/11/2025
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Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. About this Document 2. Ashling RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs 3. Ashling Visual Studio Code Extension for Altera FPGAs 4. Ashling RiscFree* Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Altera® FPGAs User Guide Archives 5. Document Revision History for the Ashling RiscFree* Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Altera® FPGAs User Guide A. Appendix
2. Ashling RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs x
2.1. About the RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs IDE 2.2. Getting Started with the Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs 2.3. Using Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs with Nios® V Processor System 2.4. Using Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs with Arm* Hard Processor System 2.5. Debugging Features with RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs
2.1. About the RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs IDE x
2.1.1. Supported Devices 2.1.2. Quartus® Prime Software Support 2.1.3. Intel® Simics® Simulator for Intel® FPGAs Support
2.2. Getting Started with the Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs x
2.2.1. Installing RiscFree* IDE for Altera FPGAs 2.2.2. Getting Started with RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs 2.2.3. Creating the Project 2.2.4. Building the Application 2.2.5. Run and Debug Configurations in the RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs 2.2.6. Debug Information in the RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs
2.2.1. Installing RiscFree* IDE for Altera FPGAs x
2.2.1.1. Bundled Installation with the Quartus® Prime Software 2.2.1.2. Standalone Installation
2.2.1.2. Standalone Installation x
2.2.1.2.1. Standalone Installation with Supported Quartus® Prime Software 2.2.1.2.2. Standalone Installation with the Quartus® Prime Programmer and Tools
2.2.2. Getting Started with RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs x
2.2.2.1. Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs Workbench
2.2.2.1. Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs Workbench x
2.2.2.1.1. Perspective, Editors, and Views 2.2.2.1.2. Starting a Project 2.2.2.1.3. Navigating the Project 2.2.2.1.4. Building the Project 2.2.2.1.5. Configuring the FPGA 2.2.2.1.6. Running the Project 2.2.2.1.7. Debugging the Project
2.2.3. Creating the Project x
2.2.3.1. Specifying the Project Location 2.2.3.2. Specifying the Project Name 2.2.3.3. Specifying the Project Type 2.2.3.4. Specifying the Configurations
2.2.5. Run and Debug Configurations in the RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs x
2.2.5.1. Opening the Run and Debug Configuration Dialog Boxes
2.2.6. Debug Information in the RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs x
2.2.6.1. Variables 2.2.6.2. Expressions 2.2.6.3. Registers 2.2.6.4. Memory 2.2.6.5. Disassembly
2.3. Using Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs with Nios® V Processor System x
2.3.1. Importing Nios® V Processor Project 2.3.2. Building Nios® V Processor Project 2.3.3. Running a Nios® V Processor Project 2.3.4. Debugging a Nios® V Processor Project 2.3.5. Debugging Tools
2.3.4. Debugging a Nios® V Processor Project x
2.3.4.1. Download and Debug Nios® V Processor Application 2.3.4.2. Connect to a Running Nios® V Processor Application 2.3.4.3. Considerations when Debugging ROM-based Designs
2.3.4.3. Considerations when Debugging ROM-based Designs x
2.3.4.3.1. Unable to download (Load Image) 2.3.4.3.2. Unable to Set Software Breakpoint
2.3.5. Debugging Tools x
2.3.5.1. View Variables 2.3.5.2. Adding Expressions 2.3.5.3. View Memory 2.3.5.4. Disassembly View with Registers View/ Stepping into assembler functions 2.3.5.5. Hardware Breakpoint 2.3.5.6. Configuring Program Counter Manually
2.4. Using Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs with Arm* Hard Processor System x
2.4.1. Pre-requisite for Debugging Arm* HPS Project 2.4.2. Importing Arm* HPS Project 2.4.3. Setting Debug Configurations and Downloading Arm* HPS Project Using RiscFree* IDE
2.5. Debugging Features with RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs x
2.5.1. Debug Features in RiscFree* IDE 2.5.2. Processor System Debug 2.5.3. Heterogeneous Multicore Debug 2.5.4. Debugging µC/OS-II Application 2.5.5. Debugging FreeRTOS Application 2.5.6. Debugging Zephyr Application 2.5.7. Arm* HPS On-Chip Trace 2.5.8. Debugging the Arm* Linux Kernel 2.5.9. Debugging Target Software in an Intel® Simics Simulator Session
2.5.1. Debug Features in RiscFree* IDE x
2.5.1.1. Viewing Global Variables 2.5.1.2. Launching Memory Browser 2.5.1.3. Debugger Console 2.5.1.4. Specifying the SVD File 2.5.1.5. Breakpoint Settings 2.5.1.6. JTAG UART Output Terminal
2.5.2. Processor System Debug x
2.5.2.1. GUI for Debugging
2.5.3. Heterogeneous Multicore Debug x
2.5.3.1. Importing Nios® V Processor and Arm* HPS Projects 2.5.3.2. Setting Core Configuration
2.5.7. Arm* HPS On-Chip Trace x
2.5.7.1. Trace Bar 2.5.7.2. Trace View
2.5.8. Debugging the Arm* Linux Kernel x
2.5.8.1. Preparing Linux for Kernel Debugging 2.5.8.2. Debugging the Arm* HPS Linux Kernel
3. Ashling Visual Studio Code Extension for Altera FPGAs x
3.1. About the Ashling Visual Studio Code Extension 3.2. Getting Started with Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension 3.3. Using Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension with Nios® V Processor System 3.4. Using Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension with Arm Hard Processor System 3.5. Debugging Features in Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension
3.1. About the Ashling Visual Studio Code Extension x
3.1.1. Supported Devices 3.1.2. Quartus® Prime Software Support
3.2. Getting Started with Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension x
3.2.1. Installing Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension 3.2.2. Getting Started with Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension 3.2.3. Debug Configurations using Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension for Altera FPGAS 3.2.4. Debug Information in the Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension for Altera FPGAs
3.2.1. Installing Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension x
3.2.1.1. Prerequisites 3.2.1.2. Installing Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension for Altera FPGAs
3.2.2. Getting Started with Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension x
3.2.2.1. Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension Workbench
3.2.2.1. Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension Workbench x
3.2.2.1.1. Perspective, Editors, and Views 3.2.2.1.2. Starting a Project 3.2.2.1.3. Navigating the Project 3.2.2.1.4. Building the Project 3.2.2.1.5. Configuring the FPGA 3.2.2.1.6. Debugging the Project
3.2.4. Debug Information in the Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension for Altera FPGAs x
3.2.4.1. Variables 3.2.4.2. Expressions 3.2.4.3. Registers 3.2.4.4. Memory 3.2.4.5. Disassembly
3.3. Using Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension with Nios® V Processor System x
3.3.1. Creating Nios® V Processor BSP using Nios® V Processor BSP Generator 3.3.2. Creating Nios® V Processor Application Project using Nios® V App Generator 3.3.3. Importing Nios® V Processor Project 3.3.4. Building Nios® V Processor Project 3.3.5. Debugging a Nios® V Processor Project 3.3.6. Debugging Tools
3.3.5. Debugging a Nios® V Processor Project x
3.3.5.1. Downloading and Debugging Nios® V Processor Application 3.3.5.2. Connecting to a Running Nios® V Processor Application 3.3.5.3. Considerations when Debugging ROM-based Designs
3.3.5.3. Considerations when Debugging ROM-based Designs x
3.3.5.3.1. Unable to download (Load Image) 3.3.5.3.2. Unable to Set Software Breakpoint
3.3.6. Debugging Tools x
3.3.6.1. View Variables 3.3.6.2. Adding Expressions 3.3.6.3. View Memory 3.3.6.4. Disassembly View with Registers View Stepping into Assembler Functions 3.3.6.5. Hardware Breakpoint 3.3.6.6. Configuring the Program Counter Manually
3.4. Using Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension with Arm Hard Processor System x
3.4.1. Pre-requisite for Debugging Arm HPS Project 3.4.2. Importing Arm* HPS Project 3.4.3. Setting Debug Configurations and Downloading Arm HPS Project Using Visual Studio Code
3.5. Debugging Features in Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension x
3.5.1. Debug Features in Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension 3.5.2. Nios® V Processor System Debug 3.5.3. Heterogeneous Multicore Debug
3.5.1. Debug Features in Ashling* Visual Studio Code Extension x
3.5.1.1. Launching Memory Browser 3.5.1.2. Debugger Console 3.5.1.3. JTAG UART Output Terminal 3.5.1.4. Debugging RTOS
3.5.2. Nios® V Processor System Debug x
3.5.2.1. GUI for Debugging
3.5.3. Heterogeneous Multicore Debug x
3.5.3.1. Importing Projects 3.5.3.2. Debugging Multicore Projects (Multiple Nios® V Processor cores) 3.5.3.3. Debugging Multicore project ( Nios® V processor core and ARM HPS)
A. Appendix x
A.1. Optional Toolchain Configuration in Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs A.2. Performing External Tools Configuration in Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs A.3. Debugging with Command-Line Interface A.4. Help Content A.5. Open-Source Components in RiscFree* IDE
A.1. Optional Toolchain Configuration in Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs x
A.1.1. Toolchain for Application and BSP A.1.2. Toolchain for Arm* Processor A.1.3. Modifying Toolchain Configuration
A.3. Debugging with Command-Line Interface x
A.3.1. Running Ashling* GBD Server A.3.2. Running GDB A.3.3. Nios® V Processor Example A.3.4. ARM HPS Core Example
1. About this Document
2. Ashling RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs
3. Ashling Visual Studio Code Extension for Altera FPGAs
4. Ashling RiscFree* Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Altera® FPGAs User Guide Archives
5. Document Revision History for the Ashling RiscFree* Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Altera® FPGAs User Guide
A. Appendix

3.3.5.1. Downloading and Debugging Nios® V Processor Application

You can download and debug a Nios® V processor software project on the targeted Altera FPGA using the Visual Studio Code.
Follow these steps to download and debug the project,:
  1. Go to ASHLING PROJECT VIEW > app > Debug Configurations. Click the + icon beside Debug Configurations to list down the supported launch configurations.
  2. Click Nios V Hardware Debugging and specify a name for the launch.
    Figure 122. Debug Configurations
    Figure 123. Create Nios V Hardware Debugging
  3. A debug configuration window appears. An .elf file is auto selected from the project in the Main tab. You can select a different .elf by using the Browse feature.
    Figure 124. Debug Configurations for Nios® V Processor — Main Tab
  4. Click Debugger tab, click the drop-down icon to select appropriate debug probe for the debug session.
  5. Under the Debugger tab, set these settings:
    • Debug probe: Agilex SI/SoC Dev Kit (Name of the FPGA board/development kit)
    • Transport type: JTAG.
    • JTAG frequency: 16 MHz.
  6. Click Auto-detect Scan Chain to automatically detect JTAG scan chain information of the target device. Make your selection for Tap selection and Core selection.
    Figure 125. Debug Configurations for Nios V Processor — Debugger Tab
  7. Leave all other settings as they are, including those in the Startup tab, as the sensible defaults have been set.
    Note: If you turn off the Resume feature, you can start debugging from the processor initialization stage.
    Figure 126. Debug Configurations for Nios® V Processor — Turn off Resume

    This example shows that the program counter is at 0x3c0, which is displayed in the disassembly just after the reset vector. The processor jumps to 0x3c0, which is _start (the beginning of the Nios® V processor initialization).

    If you turn on the Resume feature, you can debug from the user application.
    Figure 127. Debug Configurations for Nios® V Processor — Turn on Resume
    This example shows that the program counter is at 0x37c, which is paused at the main function and is shown in the disassembly. The processor then jumps to 0x37c, which is paused at looper().
  8. Click Debug in the top right corner of the launch configuration dialog.
    Figure 128. Debug Configurations for Nios® V Processor — Startup Tab
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