EDK

Overview

In this tutorial we will create a simple project that uses our own IP core (instead of using the General Purpose IO core provided by Xilinx) to read from the DIP switches and write to the LEDs. The software application will display the DIP switch values on the LED outputs and also send the DIP switch values to the UART.

Any IP core must connect to the OPB (or PLB) to communicate with the PowerPC. When connected to the OPB, the IP core becomes part of the memory map accessible to the PowerPC. The IP core will have a base address and a high address signifying where in the memory map it resides, and how much of the memory map it occupies. The PowerPC interacts with the IP core as though it were part of the memory.

Tutorial Overview

In this example, we will create a simple project using the Base System Builder that includes three peripherals: the RS232 UART and two GPIOs. One GPIO will be used for the DIP switches and the other for the LEDs. We will then use a C program to read data from the switches and write it to the LEDs. The result is that the LEDs will display the DIP switch settings.

Overview

In the previous example, we created a project using the BSB and all of the work related to the hardware design was done by the BSB. In this example, we will create the same simple project, but this time we will add the GPIO for the LEDs manually. This way we will learn the process of adding extra peripherals to our design and we will also better understand the hardware design features of XPS.