Some time ago I managed to get (under NDA) the programming info
from Xilinx so now I can program one of their coolrunners via JTAG
with my
toolchain (the CPLD on this design is reprogrammable over the net,
i.e. the
board CPU does its JTAG access etc.).

I am now getting to what should be the easy part - writing the CPLD
source
to produce some (very simple) logic in a jedec file, after which I am
fine.

I got the current xilinx software, started it under windows and got
really
scared.
Last time I used a not-in-house written logic compiler tool it was
the PHDL
thing for the Philips coolrunner (before I had my tool working). It
was blindingly
obvious how to use it and I don't remember having to discover much if
anything
about it, I just used it. Did not waste an hour.

I already wasted a few hours with the new xilinx tool.

It looks like because I want to hit a nail - and I do know how to use
a hammer quite
well - I have to hire a farm of robots so one will drive another to
the shop
where they will pick a truck of hammers and bring them back for
another
robot to choose the right hammer, then they'l put together a table
onto
which the operation will be performed and eventrually the talk robot
will
be telling me how to proceed with which hammer so I can hit my nail
while
holding my arms to protect me from injuring myself.
Just terrific.

Can someone please suggest something simpler? Which is my fastest way?
I am not interested in learning all about their tools, I just want my
logic
into a jedec file (normally a 10 minutes' task here for what this is
with my
old coolrunner tools, but now I want to use a xcr3128xl part). There
is some
ABEL thing, is it usable in a way similar to more sane CPLD tools? (I
gather
it gets translated into vhdl to be processed but I guess I can live
with that for
now). Or their schematic entry, can it be usable? I wasted an hour
until I
**began to** figure out how to assign pins to things (far from having
mastered
that yet - not bad for a guy who has written his own toolchains for
such stuff
while having to do some reverse enginnering on the way, eh...).

Thanks,

Dimiter

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Dimiter Popoff Transgalactic Instruments

http://www.tgi-sci.com
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/didi_tg...7600228621276/