Compiler

Overview: Using the Design Assistant



You can use the Design Assistant to check the reliability of a design based on a set of design rules. The Design Assistant is especially useful for checking the reliability of a design before converting the design for HardCopy devices.

The Design Assistant supports designs that target any Altera® device supported by the Quartus® II software except a MAX® 3000 and MAX 7000 device.

The Design Assistant can use the following rules to analyze the design:

You can use the Design Assistant rules list in the Design Assistant page of the Settings dialog box (Assignments menu) to specify which rules you want the Design Assistant to apply to a design. If you turn on Nodes with high fan-out, Report all nodes with more than <n> fan-outs, and/or Report top <n> nodes with the highest fan-out in the Design Assistant rules list, you can use the High-Fanout Net Settings dialog box, which is available from the Design Assistant page, to specify the nodes you want the Design Assistant to report. The Design Assistant Settings section of the Compilation Report window lists all the Design Assistant rules, and indicates which rules you turn on and the settings you specify.

You can run the Design Assistant during a compilation or an analysis and synthesis of a design by turning on any Design Assistant rule or category in the Design Assistant rules list. When you compile the design, the Design Assistant performs a post-fitting analysis, that is, the Design Assistant analyzes the netlist that the Compiler generates for the design during fitting. When you perform an analysis and synthesis on the design, the Design Assistant performs a post-synthesis analysis; that is, the Design Assistant analyzes the netlist that the Compiler generates for the design during logic synthesis.

You can also run the Design Assistant after a successful compilation or a successful analysis and synthesis using the Start > Start Design Assistant command (Processing menu). When you start the Design Assistant after performing a compilation, the Design Assistant performs a post-fitting analysis on the design. When you start the Design Assistant after performing an analysis and synthesis, the Design Assistant performs a post-synthesis analysis on the design.

The Design Assistant generates warning messages when the design does not follow a design rule, and generates information messages to provide information regarding a design rule. Both types of messages appear in the Messages window, and in the Messages section of the Compilation Report window. The Design Assistant Results section of the Compilation Report window also lists information for each instance that a rule is not followed, and any nodes you directed the Design Assistant to report. In addition, if you turn on More than one VREF pin is assigned to HardCopy test pin in an I/O bank in the Design Assistant rules list, and the Design Assistant finds violation(s) of this rule, the HardCopy Test Pins section of the Compilation Report window lists all the test pins in a HardCopy device.

NOTE For more information about the Report window sections, go to Overview: Viewing the Results of a Compilation or Simulation in the Report Window

The Design Assistant classifies messages using the following four severity levels:

Critical The rule violation described in the message critically affects the reliability of the design. For designs that are being converted for HardCopy devices, Altera will not be able to convert the design successfully without closely reviewing the violations with the designer.
High The rule violation described in the message affects the reliability of the design. For designs that are being converted for HardCopy devices, Altera must review the violation before converting the design.
Medium The rule violation described in the message may result in implementation complexity. For designs that are being converted for HardCopy devices, the violation may have schedule or effort impact.
Information only The message contains information regarding a design rule.

The Design Assistant Results section lists the severity of each rule violation. In addition, the Design Assistant Summary section of the Compilation Report window lists the number of messages that the Design Assistant generated for each severity level.


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