computer science

Vivado

Vivado is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Vivado rather than just read about it. In short: Vivado Design Suite is a software suite for synthesis and analysis of hardware description language (HDL) designs, superseding Xilinx ISE with additional features for system on a chip development and high-level synthesis (HLS). Vivado represents a ground-up rewrite and re-thinking of the entire design flow (compared to ISE).

Key takeaways

Vivado belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Vivado to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Vivado from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Vivado Design Suite is a software suite for synthesis and analysis of hardware description language (HDL) designs, superseding Xilinx ISE with additional features for system on a chip development and high-level synthesis (HLS). Vivado represents a ground-up rewrite and re-thinking of the entire design flow (compared to ISE). Like the later versions of ISE, Vivado includes the in-built logic simulator. Vivado also introduces high-level synthesis, with a toolchain that converts C code into programmable logic. Replacing the 15 year old ISE with Vivado Design Suite took 1,000 person-years and cost US$200 million.

Features Vivado was introduced in April 2012, and is an integrated design environment (IDE) with system-to-IC level tools built on a shared scalable data model and a common debug environment. Vivado includes electronic system level (ESL) design tools for synthesizing and verifying C-based algorithmic IP; standards based packaging of both algorithmic and RTL IP for reuse; standards based IP stitching and systems integration of all types of system building blocks; and the verification of blocks and systems. A free version WebPACK Edition of Vivado provides designers with a limited version of the design environment.

Components The Vivado High-Level Synthesis compiler enables C, C++ and SystemC programs to be directly targeted into Xilinx devices without the need to manually create RTL. Vivado HLS is widely reviewed to increase developer productivity, and is confirmed to support C++ classes, templates, functions and operator overloading. Vivado 2014.1 introduced support for automatically converting OpenCL kernels to IP for Xilinx devices. OpenCL kernels are programs that execute across various CPU, GPU and FPGA platforms. The Vivado Simulator is a component of the Vivado Design Suite. It is a compiled-language simulator that supports mixed-language, Tcl scripts, encrypted IP and enhanced verification. The Vivado IP Integrator allows engineers to quickly integrate and configure IP from the large Xilinx IP library. The Integrator is also tuned for MathWorks Simulink designs built with Xilinx's System Generator and Vivado High-Level Synthesis. The Vivado Tcl Store is a scripting system for developing add-ons to Vivado, and can be used to add and modify Vivado's capabilities. Tcl is the scripting language on which Vivado itself is based. All of Vivado's underlying functions can be invoked and controlled via Tcl scripts.

Device support Vivado supports Xilinx's 7-series and all the newer devices (UltraScale and UltraScale+ series). For development targeting older Xilinx's devices and CPLDs, the already discontinued Xilinx ISE has to be used. Since 2019, when Versal systems were released, Vivado also supports the integration of AI engine components.

See also Xilinx ISE Quartus Prime ModelSim

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Vivado

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Vivado claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Vivado before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Vivado ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Vivado

In research: Vivado appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Vivado in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Vivado is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics AMD software, Computer-aided design software, Digital electronics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Vivado outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Vivado in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Vivado means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Vivado out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vivado in simple terms?

Why does Vivado matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Vivado?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Vivado.