Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
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Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#2Seems this page hasn't been updated in a while. People interested in open source FPGA toolchains might be better off starting at https://symbiflow.github.io/ which is the umbrella project (of which icestorm is a part), and is more up to date.
Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#3Despite the last entry on the linked page being in 2018, the source repository shows that it is an active project.
https://github.com/YosysHQ/icestorm
From memory (simple?) VHDL is supported by using gHDL as a synthesis engine, the output of which can feed into the yosys/icestorm tool chain?
Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#4I was led to this work because of the fomu [1]. Also, if you're familiar with the Precursor [2] you'll realize the second, smaller fpga inside is the iCE40 as well (which makes sense, the same people responsible for tomu/fomu are involved with the precursor).
Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#5I'm on my first foray into FPGA development, using IceStorm as the toolchain for a Lattice iCE40 FPGA (iCE40HX4K) to implement a system controller for my homebrew 6502 single board computer. The FPGA is (work in progress) doing clock management, address decoding, memory bank switching, SPI comms, some GPIO, and bootstrap to RAM from SPI flash memory.
It's fantastic having an open-source toolchain! It's why I chose the Lattice iCE40, and perhaps what got me over the line to even try FPGA development; the closed proprietary tools are very off-putting to new starters. I had previously dabbled with a Xilinx FPGA dev board, but spent most of my time battling the giant Xilinx ISE toolchain.
Big thanks to Claire Wolf for creating IceStorm and making FPGA dev more accessible to software engineering types like me.
Aside (cc: dang?) I think http://bygone.clairexen.net/icestorm/ is the newer/better canonical URL for IceStorm, since the creator changed their name, as linked to from their projects page at https://www.clairexen.net/projects and mentioned at the bottom of the current http://www.clifford.at/icestorm/ page.
Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#6Claire Wolf is fucking brilliant!
P.S. formal verification is like crack when you get your first try, be wary...
Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#7Claire Wolf is fucking brilliant! P.S. formal verification is like crack when you get your first try, be wary...
She really is a marvelous hacker! Great to see how far she's taken IceStorm, but my favourite project of hers is still OpenSCAD .. some kind of madness went on there, that turned beautiful.
Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#8The experience of a toolchain actually working correctly and not crashing all the time will be a disorienting experience for people coming from the proprietary FPGA toolchains.
Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#9I'm on my first foray into FPGA development, using IceStorm as the toolchain for a Lattice iCE40 FPGA (iCE40HX4K) to implement a system controller for my homebrew 6502 single board computer. The FPGA is (work in progress) doing clock management, address decoding, memory bank switching, SPI comms, some GPIO, and bootstrap to RAM from SPI flash memory. It's fantastic having an open-source toolchain! It's why I chose th…
That does seem to be the case; I wonder why she doesn't have a redirect?
Re: Project IceStorm: open-source toolchain for Lattice iCE40 FPGAs
#10The current project is known as SymbiFlow[1][2], it includes IceStorm and many other things.