MB-Lite

I've tried to use the thesis instructions on how to synthesize an MB-lite design but they seem irrelevant. The instructions advised to include design files in mblite/design/core* directory, the design files are: (i) testbench.vhd which of course is not synthesizable and (ii) config_Pkg.vhd which is used as a configuration for the design. Improvising, I've included all the files in the hw directory. From then on, it is unclear to which file should be synthesize, possible candidates are core0 and core_wb (which should be an MB-lite core with a wishbone bus adapter). Also, some tutorial on software development would be helpful, I'm experimenting with ROM creation and possibly using the Xilinx SDK for Microblaze processor.

You are right! The main files are core OR core_wb - depending on your needs. You will have to setup two libraries: one with standard components (std) and one for the mb-lite core (mblite).

I've included several Makefiles for ModelSim to help you through the process of creating a simulation. You can find one in trunk/designs/core. In that directory you will find memory files which contain the hello world program. All information about how to setup the libraries can be found in the Makefiles.

After you have successfully performed a simulation, you can try to synthesize a design. You need to setup the libraries and add all files in the corresponding libraries. You will have to find a way to initialize the memory without using the mem files. For this purpose you could use the bin2vhd utility. This program generates initialized memory blocks for you. You should also study the Xilinx documentation about how to generate and synthesize these - it can be a time consuming process to synthesize initialized memory if you don't take the right approach.

Information about software development can be obtained from Xilinx. You will need a proper compiler for the microblaze architecture (mb-gcc) and all relevant libraries. You can study the Makefiles in trunk/sw/hello_world to see how a simple program can be written. It is quite self-explanatory in my opinion.