Method 3: Open/Read Checkpoint - 2023.1 English

Vivado Design Suite User Guide: Dynamic Function eXchange (UG909)

Document ID
UG909
Release Date
2023-05-24
Version
2023.1 English

If the static (top-level) design has synthesis or implementation results stored as a checkpoint, it can be loaded using the open_checkpoint command. This command reads in the static design checkpoint and opens it in active memory:

open_checkpoint <file>

If the checkpoint is for the complete netlist of a RM (that is, not for static), the instance name can be specified using read_checkpoint -cell. If the checkpoint is a post-implementation checkpoint, the additional -strict option must be used. This option can also be used with a post-synthesis checkpoint to ensure exact port matching. To read in a checkpoint in a RM, the top-level design must be open and have a black box for the specified cell. Then the following command can be specified:

read_checkpoint -cell <cellname> <file> [-strict]
Table 1. read_checkpoint Switches
Switch Name Description
-cell Specifies the full hierarchical name of the RM.
-strict Requires exact ports match for replacing a cell, and checks that part, package, and speed grade values are identical. Should be used when restoring implementation data.
<file> Specifies the full or relative path to the checkpoint (DCP) to be read in.
CAUTION:
Do not use this method if the synthesized checkpoint has underlying modules that are not included. The read_checkpoint -cell approach does not support nesting. Use the link_design approach instead in Method 1: Add and Link Files.
CAUTION:
Any Tcl variable pointing to design objects becomes invalid after subsequent read_checkpoint -cell commands. The content of those variables needs to be rebuilt prior to a second call to read_checkpoint -cell. Failure to do so could result to unwanted behavior (or even crashes) due to referencing objects that no longer exist.