write_vhdl - 2022.1 English

Vivado Design Suite Tcl Command Reference Guide (UG835)

Document ID

UG835

Release Date

2022-05-05

Version

2022.1 English

Export the current netlist in VHDL format

Syntax

write_vhdl [‑cell <arg>] [‑mode <arg>] [‑lib] [‑port_diff_buffers]
    [‑write_all_overrides] [‑keep_vcc_gnd] [‑rename_top <arg>] [‑arch_only]
    [‑force] [‑include_xilinx_libs] [‑quiet] [‑verbose] <file>

Returns

The name of the output file or directory.

Usage

Name	Description
`[-cell]`	Root of the design to write, e.g. des.subblk.cpu Default: whole design
`[-mode]`	Output mode. Valid values: funcsim, pin_planning, synth_stub Default: funcsim
`[-lib]`	Write each library into a separate file
`[-port_diff_buffers]`	Output differential buffers when writing in -port mode
`[-write_all_overrides]`	Write parameter overrides on Xilinx primitives even if the same as the default value
`[-keep_vcc_gnd]`	Don't replace VCC/GND instances by literal constants on load terminals. For simulation modes only.
`[-rename_top]`	Replace top module name with custom name e.g. netlist Default: new top module name
`[-arch_only]`	Write only the architecture, not the entity declaration for the top cell
`[-force]`	Overwrite existing file
`[-include_xilinx_libs]`	Include simulation models directly in netlist instead of linking to library
`[-quiet]`	Ignore command errors
`[-verbose]`	Suspend message limits during command execution
`<file>`	Which file to write

Description

Write a VHDL netlist of the current design or from a specific cell of the design to the specified file or directory.

The output of this command is a VHDL IEEE 1076.4 VITAL-2000 compliant VHDL file that contains netlist information obtained from the input design files. You can output a complete netlist of the design or specific cell, or output a port list for the design.

Arguments

-cell <arg> - (Optional) Write the VHDL netlist from a specified cell or block level of the design hierarchy. The output VHDL file or files will only include information contained within the specified cell or module.

-mode <arg> - (Optional) The mode to use when writing the VHDL file. By default, the simulation netlist is written for the whole design. Valid mode values are:

funcsim - Output the VHDL netlist to be used as a functional simulation model. The output netlist is not suitable for synthesis. This is the default setting.
pin_planning - Output only the I/O ports in the entity declaration for the top module.
synth_stub - Output the ports from the top-level of the design for use as a synthesis stub.

-lib - (Optional) Create a separate VHDL file for each library used by the design.

Note: This option is the opposite of, and replaces the -nolib option from prior releases. Previously the default behavior of write_vhdl was to output a separate VHDL file for each library used in the design, unless -nolib was specified. Now you must specify the -lib option to output separate files for each library.

-port_diff_buffers - (Optional) Add the differential pair buffers and internal wires associated with those buffers into the output ports list. This argument is only valid when -mode pin_planning or -mode synth_stub is specified.

-write_all_overrides [ true | false ] - (Optional) Write parameter overrides in the design to the VHDL output even if the value of the parameter is the same as the defined primitive default value. If the option is false then parameter values which are equivalent to the primitive defaults are not output to the VHDL file. Setting this option to true will not change the result but makes the output netlist more verbose.

-keep_vcc_gnd - (Optional) By default, when writing a nelist for simulation, or from an IP integrator block design, the Vivado® Design Suite replaces VCC and GND primitives, and the nets they drive, with literal constants on each of the loads on the net. The -keep_vcc_gnd option disables this default behavior and preserves the VCC or GND primitives.

-rename_top <arg> - (Optional) Rename the top module in the output as specified. This option only works with -mode funcsim to allow the VHDL netlist to plug into top-level simulation test benches.

-arch_only - (Optional) Suppress the entity definition of the top module, and outputs the architecture only. This simplifies the use of the output VHDL netlist with a separate test bench.

-force - (Optional) Overwrite the VHDL files if they already exists.

-include_xilinx_libs - (Optional) Write the simulation models directly in the output netlist file rather than pointing to the libraries by reference.

-quiet - (Optional) Execute the command quietly, returning no messages from the command. The command also returns TCL_OK regardless of any errors encountered during execution.

Note: Any errors encountered on the command-line, while launching the command, will be returned. Only errors occurring inside the command will be trapped.

-verbose - (Optional) Temporarily override any message limits and return all messages from this command.

Note: Message limits can be defined with the set_msg_config command.

<file> - (Required) The filename of the VHDL file to write. If the file name does not have either a .vhd or .vhdl file extension then the name is assumed to be a directory, and the VHDL file is named after the top module, and is output to the specified directory.

Note: If the path is not specified as part of the file name, the file will be written into the current working directory, or the directory from which the tool was launched.

Examples

The following example writes a VHDL simulation netlist file for the whole design to the specified file and path:

write_vhdl C:/Data/bft_top.vhd

In the following example the entity definition of the top-level module is not output to the VHDL netlist:

write_vhdl C:/Data/vhdl_arch_only.vhd -arch_only