AN 978: Nios® V Processor Migration Guidelines

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ID 773196
Date 5/22/2025
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Overview 2. Architecture Comparison 3. Processor Core Upgrade Paths 4. Design Flow Comparison 5. Processor Core Comparison 6. Feature Comparison 7. Assembly Language Comparison 8. Document Revision History for the AN 978: Nios® V Processor Migration Guidelines
2. Architecture Comparison x
2.1. Features Comparison 2.2. Ecosystem Comparison 2.3. Software Optimization
4. Design Flow Comparison x
4.1. Differences in the Design Flow 4.2. Design Upgrade from Nios® II Processor to Nios® V Processor
4.2. Design Upgrade from Nios® II Processor to Nios® V Processor x
4.2.1. Quartus® Prime Standard Edition 4.2.2. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition
4.2.1. Quartus® Prime Standard Edition x
4.2.1.1. Hardware Component 4.2.1.2. Software Component
4.2.2. Quartus® Prime Pro Edition x
4.2.2.1. Hardware Component 4.2.2.2. Software Component
5. Processor Core Comparison x
5.1. Upgrading Nios® II/e Processor to Nios® V/c Processor 5.2. Upgrading Nios® II Processor to Nios® V/m Processor 5.3. Upgrading Nios® II/f Processor to Nios® V/g Processor
5.1. Upgrading Nios® II/e Processor to Nios® V/c Processor x
5.1.1. Hardware Perspective 5.1.2. Software Perspective
5.1.1. Hardware Perspective x
5.1.1.1. Signal and Interface Mapping 5.1.1.2. IP Parameter Configuration 5.1.1.3. BSP Project Generation
5.1.2. Software Perspective x
5.1.2.1. Command-Line Build Flow 5.1.2.2. IDE Build Flow
5.2. Upgrading Nios® II Processor to Nios® V/m Processor x
5.2.1. Hardware Perspective 5.2.2. Software Perspective
5.2.1. Hardware Perspective x
5.2.1.1. Signal and Interface Mapping 5.2.1.2. IP Parameter Configuration 5.2.1.3. BSP Project Generation
5.2.2. Software Perspective x
5.2.2.1. Command-Line Build Flow 5.2.2.2. IDE Build Flow
5.3. Upgrading Nios® II/f Processor to Nios® V/g Processor x
5.3.1. Hardware Perspective 5.3.2. Software Perspective
5.3.1. Hardware Perspective x
5.3.1.1. Signal and Interface Mapping 5.3.1.2. IP Parameter Configuration 5.3.1.3. BSP Project Generation
5.3.2. Software Perspective x
5.3.2.1. Command-Line Build Flow 5.3.2.2. IDE Build Flow
6. Feature Comparison x
6.1. Timer 6.2. Interrupt 6.3. Shadow Register 6.4. Ethernet Stack 6.5. Bootloader 6.6. Data and Instruction Cache 6.7. Tightly Coupled Memory 6.8. Custom Instructions 6.9. Error Correction Code 6.10. Altera HAL Settings 6.11. Micrium MicroC/OS-II BSP Settings 6.12. Software Packages
7. Assembly Language Comparison x
7.1. Arithmetic and Logic Operations 7.2. Data Handling and Memory Operations 7.3. Control Flow Operations 7.4. Miscellaneous Operations
1. Overview
2. Architecture Comparison
3. Processor Core Upgrade Paths
4. Design Flow Comparison
5. Processor Core Comparison
6. Feature Comparison
7. Assembly Language Comparison
8. Document Revision History for the AN 978: Nios® V Processor Migration Guidelines

2.3. Software Optimization

The following information represents a Hello World application's program size with various software optimizations. You can evaluate your application ELF file using the nios2-stack-report and niosv-stack-report commands.

Both Nios® II and Nios® V processor software support the default Newlib C library and the option for Reduced Device Drivers. The difference lies in the optimized C library, which is the Small-C library in the Nios® II processor, and the Picolibc library in the Nios® V processor.

Hello World Application

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
  printf("Hello from Nios II!\n");
  return 0;
}
Table 4.  ELF Footprint Optimization Comparison
Board Support Package Settings hal.make.cflags_optimization Program Size (KB)
Nios® II Processor Nios® V Processor
Default (Newlib) O0 28 33
O2 24 28
Os 23 27
Reduced Device Drivers O0 20 26
O2 17 22
Os 17 22
Small-C O0 14 —
O2 10 —
Os 10 —
Picolibc O0 — 16
O2 — 12
Os — 11
  • Small-C
  • Reduced Device Drivers
 O0 6 —
O2 5 —
Os 4 —
  • Picolibc
  • Reduced Device Drivers
 O0 — 9
O2 — 6
Os — 6
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