VHDL

PRACTICAL FILE

NISHANT GUPTA
064/EC/08
 INTRODUCTION TO VHDL

VHDL stands for VHSIC (Very High Speed Integrated Circuits) Hardware Description Language. In
the mid-1980’s the U.S. Department of Defense and the IEEE sponsored the development of
this hardware description language with the goal to develop very high-speed integrated circuit.
It has become now one of industry’s standard languages used to describe digital systems. The
other widely used hardware description language is Verilog. Both are powerful languages that
allow you to describe and simulate complex digital systems. A third HDL language is ABEL
(Advanced Boolean Equation Language) which was specifically designed for Programmable
Logic Devices (PLD). ABEL is less powerful than the other two languages and is less popular in
industry. This tutorial deals with VHDL, as described by the IEEE standard 1076-1993.

Although these languages look similar as conventional programming languages, there are some
important differences. A hardware description language is inherently parallel, i.e. commands,
which correspond to logic gates, are executed (computed) in parallel, as soon as a new input
arrives. A HDL program mimics the behavior of a physical, usually digital, system. It also allows
incorporation of timing specifications (gate delays) as well as to describe a system as an
interconnection of different components.

VHDL allows one to describe a digital system at the structural or the behavioral level. The behavioral
level can be further divided into two kinds of styles: Data flow and Algorithmic. The dataflow
representation describes how data moves through the system. This is typically done in terms of data
flow between registers (Register Transfer level). The data flow model makes use of concurrent
statements that are executed in parallel as soon as data arrives at the input. On the other hand,
sequential statements are executed in the sequence that they are specified. VHDL allows both
concurrent and sequential signal assignments that will determine the manner in which they are
executed. Examples of both representations will be given later.VHDL is commonly used to write text
models that describe a logic circuit. Such a model is processed by a synthesis program, only if it
is part of the logic design. A simulation program is used to test the logic design using simulation
models to represent the logic circuits that interface to the design. This collection of simulation
models is commonly called a testbench.

VHDL has file input and output capabilities, and can be used as a general-purpose language for
text processing, but files are more commonly used by a simulation testbench for stimulus or
verification data. There are some VHDL compilers which build executable binaries. In this case,
it might be possible to use VHDL to write a testbench to verify the functionality of the design
using files on the host computer to define stimuli, to interact with the user, and to compare
results with those expected. However, most designers leave this job to the simulator.

VHDL is not a case sensitive language. One can design hardware in a VHDL IDE (for FPGA
implementation such as Xilinx ISE, Altera Quartus, or Synopsys Synplify) to produce the RTL
schematic of the desired circuit. After that, the generated schematic can be verified using
simulation software which shows the waveforms of inputs and outputs of the circuit after
generating the appropriate testbench. To generate an appropriate testbench for a particular
circuit or VHDL code, the inputs have to be defined correctly. For example, for clock input, a
loop process or an iterative statement is required.

The key advantage of VHDL when used for systems design is that it allows the behavior of the
required system to be described (modeled) and verified (simulated) before synthesis tools
translate the design into real hardware (gates and wires).

Another benefit is that VHDL allows the description of a concurrent system (many parts, each
with its own sub-behaviour, working together at the same time). VHDL is a Dataflow language,
unlike procedural computing languages such as BASIC, C, and assembly.

VHDL is a specific type of hardware description language or HDL. There are many other
examples of HDLs but the other one commonly used is called Verilog. The actual name VHDL is
a acronym that stands for "VHSIC Hardware Description Language". This article contains
information on the rudimentary topics that can be considered necessary to getting started with
VHDL. Additionally there are code examples to illustrate the concepts covered more clearly.

VHDL is a programming language, much like C++, it has its own syntax and semantics. The
big difference from what is considered a traditional programing language is that instead of
describing what instructions a processor will execute, it describes how circuits should be
organized. As it is emulating real hardware it is inherently parallel and also treats timing as
important. This language is a commonly used in the design of field-programmable gate
arrays(FPGA)and application specific integrated circuits(ASIC). What hardware description
languages provide is a way to run simulations, check the logic of the code, and something called
logic synthesis. Logic synthesis is simply the translation of the language in to a physical circuit
implementation. This allows for a much easier and less error prone hardware development
process.
 EXPERIMENT NO.1

Write a program to show the output of various gates (AND, OR, NOR,NOT,XOR,NAND)

entity gate is entity gate_tb is

port(x,y:in BIT; end entity;
outa,outb,outc,outd,oute,outf:out BIT); architecture gate_arch_tb of gate_tb is
end entity; component gate is
architecture gate_arch of gate is port(x,y:in BIT;
begin outa,outb,outc,outd,oute,outf:out BIT);
outa<=x and y; end component;
outb<=x or y; signal in1,in2,o1,o2,o3,o4,o5,o6:BIT;
outc<=x xor y; begin
outd<=x nor y; inst:gate port
oute<= not x; map(in1,in2,o1,o2,o3,o4,o5,o6);
outf<=x nand Y; process
end gate_arch; begin
in1<='0';
in2<='0';
wait for 100 ns;

in1<='0';
in2<='1';
wait for 100 ns;

in1<='1';
in2<='0';
wait for 100 ns;

in1<='1';
in2<='1';
wait for 100 ns;
end process;
end gate_arch_tb;
 EXPERIMENT NO.2

Write a program to AND two 4 BIT inputs to give a 4 BIT output

entity gate_four is entity gate_four_tb is

port(x,y:in BIT_vector(0 to 3); end entity;
outa:out BIT_vector(0 to 3)); architecture arch_gate_four_tb of gate_four_tb is
end entity; component gate_four is
architecture arch_gate_four of gate_four is port(x,y:in BIT_vector(0 to 3);
begin outa:out BIT_vector(0 to 3));
outa(0)<=x(0) and y(0); end component;
outa(1)<=x(1) and y(1); signal in1,in2,o1:BIT_vector(0 to 3);
outa(2)<=x(2) and y(2); begin
outa(3)<=x(3) and y(3); inst:gate_four port
end arch_gate_four; map(in1,in2,o1);
process
begin
in1(0)<='0';
in1(1)<='0';
in1(2)<='1';
in1(3)<='1';
in2(0)<='0';
in2(1)<='1';
in2(2)<='0';
in2(3)<='1';
wait for 100 ns;
end process;
end arch_gate_four_tb;
 EXPERIMENT NO.3

Write a program to show the output of a half adder.

Half Adder

entity halfadder is entity halfadder_tb is

port(x,y:in bit; end entity;
sum,carry:out bit);
end entity; architecture arch_halfadder_tb of halfadder_tb is
component halfadder is
architecture arch_halfadder of halfadder is port(x,y:in bit;
begin sum,carry:out bit);
sum<=x xor y; end component;
carry<=x and y;
end arch_halfadder; signal in1,in2,sum,carry:bit;
begin
inst:halfadder port map(in1,in2,sum,carry);
process
begin
in1<='0';
in2<='0';

wait for 100 ns;

in1<='0';
in2<='1';

wait for 100 ns;

in1<='1';

in2<='0';

wait for 100 ns;

in1<='1';
in2<='1';

wait for 100 ns;

end process;
end arch_halfadder_tb;
 EXPERIMENT NO.4

To construct Full Adder using Half Adder

entity fulladder is entity fulladder_tb is

port(sum, carry, z :in bit; end entity;
sum0,carry0:out bit);
end entity; architecture arch_fulladder_tb of fulladder_tb is

architecture arch_fulladder of fulladder is component fulladder is

port(z,sum,carry:in bit;
component halfadder is sum0,carry0:out bit);
port(x,y :in bit; end component;
sum,carry:out bit);
end component; signal in1,in2,in3,sum0,carry0 :bit;
begin
inst:fulladder port map(in1,in2,in3,sum0,carry0);
begin process
sum0<=sum xor z; begin
carry0<=(sum and z) or carry; in1<='0';
end arch_fulladder; in2<='0';

wait for 100 ns;

in1<='0';
in2<='1';

wait for 100 ns;

in1<='1';

in2<='0';

wait for 100 ns;

in1<='1';
in2<='1';

wait for 100 ns;

end process;
end arch_fulladder_tb;
 EXPERIMENT NO.5

To construct 4 Bit Comparator

entity compare is signal ina,inb: bit_vector(3 downto 0);

port(a,b: in bit_vector(3 downto 0); signal of1,of2,of3: bit;
f1,f2,f3: out bit); begin
end entity; inst: compare port map(ina,inb,of1,of2,of3);
process
architecture arch_compare of compare is begin
begin
process(a,b) ina <="0000";
begin inb <="0000";

if(a>b) then wait for 100 ns;

f1<='0';
f2<='0'; ina<="1111";
f3<='1'; inb<="1111";

elsif(a<b) then wait for 100 ns;

f1<='1';
f2<='0'; ina<="0101";
f3<='0'; inb<="1010";

else wait for 100 ns;

f1<='0';
f2<='1'; ina<="1010";
f3<='0'; inb<="1011";
end if;
end process; wait for 100 ns;
end arch_compare;
ina<="1011";
inb<="1010";
TESTBENCH
wait for 100 ns;
entity compare_tb is
end entity;
ina<="0010";
inb<="0011";
architecture arch_compare_tb of compare_tb is

wait for 100 ns;

end process;
component compare is
end arch_compare_tb;
port(a,b: in bit_vector(3 downto 0);
f1,f2,f3: out bit);
end component;
 EXPERIMENT NO.6

To construct 3X8 Decoder

entity dec38 is wait for 100 ns;

port( a: in bit_vector(2 downto 0); inp<="000";
b: out bit_vector(7 downto 0)); wait for 100 ns;
end entity;
inp<="001";
architecture arch_dec38 of dec38 is wait for 100 ns;

begin inp<="010";
b(0)<= (not a(2))and (not a(1)) and (not a(0)); wait for 100 ns;
b(1)<= (not a(2))and (not a(1)) and (a(0));
b(2)<= (not a(2))and (a(1)) and (not a(0)); inp<="011";
b(3)<= (not a(2))and (a(1)) and (a(0)); wait for 100 ns;
b(4)<= (a(2))and (not a(1)) and (not a(0));
b(5)<= (a(2))and (not a(1)) and (a(0)); inp<="100";
b(6)<= (a(2))and (a(1)) and (not a(0)); wait for 100 ns;
b(7)<= (a(2))and (a(1)) and (a(0));
inp<="101";
end arch_dec38; wait for 100 ns;

inp<="110";
TESTBENCH wait for 100 ns;
entity dec38_tb is
end entity; inp<="111";
wait for 100 ns;
architecture arch_dec38_tb of dec38_tb is
inp<="101";
component dec38 is wait for 100 ns;
port( a: in bit_vector(2 downto 0);
b: out bit_vector(7 downto 0)); end process;
end component; end arch_dec38_tb;
signal inp: bit_vector(2 downto 0);
signal outp:bit_vector(7 downto 0);

begin

inst: dec38 port map(inp,outp);

process
begin
 EXPERIMENT NO.7

To construct Full Subtractor

entity subs is inx<='0';

port(x,y,bin: in bit; iny<='0';
diff,bout: out bit); inbin<='0'; -- should be odiff-> 0, obout-> 0
end entity; wait for 100 ns;

architecture arch_subs of subs is inx<='0';

begin iny<='1';
-- logic relation for output pins inbin<='0'; -- should be odiff-> 1, obout-> 1
diff<= x xor y xor bin; wait for 100 ns;
bout <= ((not x)and y) or (y and (not(x xor y)));
end arch_subs; inx<='1';
iny<='0';
TESTBENCH inbin<='1'; -- should be odiff-> 0, obout-> 0
wait for 100 ns;
entity subs_tb is
end entity; inx<='0';
iny<='1';
architecture arch_subs_tb of subs_tb is inbin<='1'; -- should be odiff-> 0, obout-> 1
wait for 100 ns;
component subs is
port(x,y,bin: in bit; inx<='1';
diff,bout: out bit); iny<='0';
end component; inbin<='0'; -- should be odiff-> 1, obout-> 0
wait for 100 ns;
signal inx,iny,inbin,odiff,obout: bit;
begin inx<='1';
inst: subs port map(inx,iny,inbin,odiff,obout); iny<='1';
process inbin<='1'; -- should be odiff-> 1, obout-> 1
begin wait for 100 ns;

end process;
end arch_subs_tb;
 EXPERIMENT NO.8

To construct D, T and JK Flip Flop

D Flip Flop clk_process:process

entity dff is begin
port (d,clk: in bit; clk<='0';
q: out bit); wait for clk_period/2;
end entity; clk<='1';
wait for clk_period/2;
architecture arch_dff of dff is end process;
begin
process(clk) stim_process:process
begin begin
if(clk'event and clk='1') then
q <= d; d1<='0';
end if; wait for clk_period*2;
end process;
end arch_dff; d1<='1';
wait for clk_period*2;

TESTBENCH
d1<='0';
entity dff_tb is
wait for clk_period*2;
end entity;

d1<='1';
architecture arch_dff_tb of dff_tb is
wait for clk_period*2;

component dff is
end process;
port (d,clk: in bit;
end arch_dff_tb;
q: out bit);
end component;

signal d1,clk,q1: bit;

constant clk_period:time:=50 ns;

begin
inst: dff port map (d1,clk,q1);
D Flip Flop
 EXPERIMENT NO. 9

To construct 8-Bit Shift Register

Include dff.vhdl in the workspace.

entity shift8 is begin

port(dd,clka: in bit; inst: shift8 port map(inp,clk,outp);
oo: out bit); clk_process:process
end shift8; begin
architecture arch_shift8 of shift8 is clk<='0';
signal output: bit_vector(6 downto wait for clk_period/2;
0):="0000000"; clk<='1';
component dff is wait for clk_period/2;
port (d,clk: in bit; end process;
q: out bit); stim_process:process
end component; begin
begin inp<='1';
d0: dff port map(dd,clka,output(0)); wait for clk_period;
d1: dff port map(output(0),clka,output(1)); inp<='0';
d2: dff port map(output(1),clka,output(2)); wait for clk_period;
d3: dff port map(output(2),clka,output(3)); inp<='1';
d4: dff port map(output(3),clka,output(4)); wait for clk_period;
d5: dff port map(output(4),clka,output(5)); inp<='0';
d6: dff port map(output(5),clka,output(6)); wait for clk_period;
d7: dff port map(output(6),clka,oo); inp<='1';
end arch_shift8; wait for clk_period;
TESTBENCH inp<='0';
entity shift8_tb is wait for clk_period;
end entity;
inp<='1';
architecture arch_shift8_tb of shift8_tb is wait for clk_period;
component shift8 is
port(dd,clka: in bit; end process;
oo: out bit); end arch_shift8_tb;
end component;
signal outp,inp,clk: bit;
constant clk_period: time:= 50 ns;