design entity Definition

A primitive, Intel® FPGA IP, macrofunction, or state machine, which can be represented by either a name or a symbol in a design file.

A design entity can be a top-level design entity, which is a design entity that is the root of a design hierarchy, or a lower-level design entity (or, subdesign). A design entity can instantiate any number of lower-level design entities, and is the parent for the lower-level design entities.

The following design entity types are supported in the Intel® Quartus® Prime software:

  • AHDL subdesigns
  • Block Design (.bdf) File entities
  • EDIF cells in EDIF designs
  • Verilog HDL modules
  • Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL) entity-architecture design units

Design entities are also referred to as logic functions or entities.