litex/README

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           Copyright 2012-2015 / EnjoyDigital
                florent@enjoy-digital.fr

       A small footprint and configurable embedded FPGA
             logic analyzer core powered by Migen

[> Doc
---------
HTML : www.enjoy-digital.fr/litex/litescope/
PDF  : www.enjoy-digital.fr/litex/litescope.pdf

[> Intro
---------
LiteScope is a small footprint and configurable embedded logic analyzer that you
can use in your FPGA and aims to provide a free, portable and flexible
alternative to vendor's solutions!

LiteScope is part of LiteX libraries whose aims are to lower entry level of complex
FPGA cores by providing simple, elegant and efficient implementations of
components used in today's SoC such as Ethernet, SATA, PCIe, SDRAM Controller...

The core uses simple and specific streaming buses and will provides in the future
adapters to use standardized AXI or Avalon-ST streaming buses.

Since Python is used to describe the HDL, the core is highly and easily
configurable.

LiteScope uses technologies developed in partnership with M-Labs Ltd:
 - Migen enables generating HDL with Python in an efficient way.
 - MiSoC provides the basic blocks to build a powerful and small footprint SoC.

LiteScope can be used as a Migen/MiSoC library (by simply installing  it
with the provided setup.py) or can be integrated with your standard design flow
by generating the verilog rtl that you will use as a standard core.

LiteScope produces "vcd" files that can be read in your regular waveforms viewer.

Since LiteScope also provides a UART <--> Wishbone brige so you only need 2
external Rx/Tx pins to be ready to debug or control all your Wishbone peripherals!

[> Features
-----------
- IO peek and poke with LiteScopeIO
- Logic analyser with LiteScopeLA:
  - Various triggering modules: Term, Range, Edge (add yours! :)
  - Run Length Encoder to "compress" data and increase recording depth
  - Subsampling
  - Storage qualifier
  - Data storage in block rams
- Bridges:
  - UART2Wishbone
  - Ethernet2Wishbone ("Etherbone")

[> Possible improvements
-------------------------
- add standardized interfaces (AXI, Avalon-ST)
- add protocols analyzers
- add signals injection/generation
- add storage in DRAM
- add storage in HDD with LiteSATA core (to be released soon!)
- add PCIe Wishbone bridge with LitePCIe (to be released soon!)
- ... See below Support and consulting :)

If you want to support these features, please contact us at florent [AT]
enjoy-digital.fr. You can also contact our partner on the public mailing list
devel [AT] lists.m-labs.hk.


[> Getting started
------------------
1. Install Python3 and your vendor's software

2. Obtain Migen and install it:
  git clone https://github.com/m-labs/migen
  cd migen
  python3 setup.py install
  cd ..

3. Obtain MiSoC and install it:
  git clone https://github.com/m-labs/misoc --recursive
  cd misoc
  python3 setup.py install
  cd ..

Note: in case you have issues with Migen/MiSoC, please retry
with our forks at:
  https://github.com/enjoy-digital/misoc
  https://github.com/enjoy-digital/migen
until new features are merged.

4. Obtain LiteScope and install it:
  git clone https://github.com/enjoy-digital/litescope

5. Build and load test design:
  python3 make.py -s [platform] all
  Supported platforms are the one altready supported by Mibuild:
  de0nano, m1, mixxeo, kc705, zedboard...

6. Test design:
  go to ./test directory and run:
  python3 test_io.py
  python3 test_la.py

[> Simulations:
  XXX convert simulations

[> Tests :
  XXX convert tests

[> License
-----------
LiteScope is released under the very permissive two-clause BSD license. Under the
terms of this license, you are authorized to use LiteScope for closed-source
proprietary designs.
Even though we do not require you to do so, those things are awesome, so please
do them if possible:
 - tell us that you are using LiteScope
 - cite LiteScope in publications related to research it has helped
 - send us feedback and suggestions for improvements
 - send us bug reports when something goes wrong
 - send us the modifications and improvements you have done to LiteScope.

[> Support and consulting
--------------------------
We love open-source hardware and like sharing our designs with others.

LiteScope is developed and maintained by EnjoyDigital.

If you would like to know more about LiteScope or if you are already a happy user
and would like to extend it for your needs, EnjoyDigital can provide standard
commercial support as well as consulting services.

So feel free to contact us, we'd love to work with you! (and eventually shorten
the list of the possible improvements :)

[> Contact
E-mail: florent [AT] enjoy-digital.fr