Nios® V Processor Software Developer Handbook

ID 743810
Date 4/01/2024
Public
Document Table of Contents

3.3. Nios® V Processor Software Development Flow

The Nios® V processor software generation process includes the following stages:
Table 13.  Nios V Processor Software Generation Stages
Stage Description
Hardware configuration
  • Obtain the hardware design on which the Nios V processor software runs. You need to have the Platform Designer System File (.qsys) of the Nios® V processor-based system.

  • You can obtain the .qsys file from:
BSP configuration
  1. Decide what features the BSP requires. (e.g., RTOS, specialized software support, small memory footprint, etc)
  2. Define BSP by specifying the components in the BSP and relevant settings, then generate the settings.bsp file
  3. Create a BSP CMakeLists.txt using the niosv-bsp utility
Optional user library configuration
  1. Include the custom software user library source files in a single directory
  2. Create a user library CMakeLists.txt using the niosv-app utility
Application project configuration
  1. Develop the application code based on the hardware design. There are some example codes in Nios V Design Example Scripts for your reference.
  2. Create an application CMakeLists.txt using the niosv-app utility
Software System Design
  • Developing with the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
  • Programme the Nios® V processor
  • Writing exception handlers
  • Optimize the application for performance and size
  • Real-time operating system (RTOS) integration
Application deployment
  • Linking (run-time memory)
  • Boot loading the system application
  • Programming flash memory

If you change the hardware system, you must recreate, update, or regenerate the BSP project to keep the library header files up to date. For information about how to keep your BSP up to date with your hardware, refer to Revising your BSP.