tcl

• Originally seemed to have meant 'Tool Command Language'.

• Popular with EDA tools

• https://wiki.tcl-lang.org/page/Tcl+Tutorial+Lesson+0

• tclsh: a simple tcl interpreter

General

• loop: foreach elem in [seqvar]

Variables

• Starts with a $ sign
• Declare with set ??

set outputDir ./my_dir
file mkdir $outputDir

Comments

• Starts with #.
• Hacky way to have multi-line comment also possible.

https://wiki.tcl-lang.org/page/comment

File operations

• Delete a file (non-existant file won't cause error): file delete file1 file2
  • https://stackoverflow.com/questions/65260147/tcl-delete-file
• Delete a directory: file delete -force <dirname>

Command line arguments

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24376421/passing-arguments-from-command-line-into-a-tcl-script

• argc: number of command line arguments

• argv: command line arguments

  • first argument: lindex $argv 0

• argv0: name of script (as in $argv0)

• indexing a list: lindex

Printing (puts)

# A newline is added by default
% puts "hello world"
hello world

# Use -nonewline to skip the new line
% puts -nonewline "hello world"
hello world%

See: https://wiki.tcl-lang.org/page/Tcl+cheat+sheet

Procedures (proc)

This is how new commands are made in tcl.

proc say_hello {} {
  puts "Hello!"
}

% say_hello
Hello!

Or with an argument:

proc say_hello name {
  puts "Hello $name!"
}

% say_hello "Jack"
Hello Jack!

Or with multiple arguments:

proc say_hello {fname lname} {
  puts "Hello $fname $lname!"
}

% say_hello "Jack" "Sparrow"
Hello Jack Sparrow!

See:

• https://www.gibbard.me/tcl_script_cheatsheet/
• https://wiki.tcl-lang.org/page/Tcl+Tutorial+Lesson+11

Xilinix Vivado

• Launch (no gui, but with tcl prompt): vivado -mode tcl

  • Can use source name.tcl to load a tcl file interactively

• launch in batch mode (no gui, no tcl prompt): vivado -mode batch -source filename.tcl

• tcl console:

  • start_gui
  • stop_gui

• Globbing in paths: [ glob ./src/hdl/*.vhdl ]

• Read source file:

  • read_verilog top.v
    • Use with -sv for systemverilog
  • read_vhdl
  • read_edif: netlist. Usable for proprietary IPs ??
  • read_ip: useful for core generators (xco, xci)

• synth_design: synthesis

• opt_design: optimizations ??

• power_optdesign: (optional)

  • Can introduce clock gating to save power

• place_design: placing

• phys_optdesign: (optional)

  • Try additional logic optimizations
  • Improve timing and area

• route_design: routing

• write_checkpoint

• open_checkpoint: open a previously save dcp file

• launch_run: launch a run that was previously created

  • Properties of a run can be set with set_property before running
  • Runs are used only in project mode ??

• create_run: create a run

• report_{designanalysis}

  • https://www.xilinx.com/video/hardware/vivado-report-design-analysis.html

• Checkpoint: netlist at a particular stage of the EDA process

• Reports

  • report_utilization
  • report_timing
  • report_drc: design rule check

• write_verilog: write the netlist at its current stage as verilog

  • Useful for examining/simulating

• write_xdc: write the constraints which were used during routing

  • can be used only after routing can be done, I suppose ?

• write_bitstream: generate bitstream

• remove_files PYNQ-Z2_3pin.xdc: remove a file that was added to project

  • This won't delete the file, just removes it from current vivado project

—

• https://www.adiuvoengineering.com/post/microzed-chronicles-scripting-vivado
• https://byu-cpe.github.io/ComputingBootCamp/tutorials/vivado_tcl/
• https://support.xilinx.com/s/question/0D52E00006jDbmJSAS/synthesis-and-implementation-from-command-line?language=en_US
• https://support.xilinx.com/s/question/0D52E00006hpiWYSAY/runing-synthesis-using-tcl?language=en_US
• vivado design suite tcl command reference guide
• https://github.com/byu-cpe/BYU-Computing-Tutorials/wiki/TclVivado
• An official tcl vivado reference guide: https://docs.amd.com/v/u/2019.2-English/ug835-vivado-tcl-commands

—

# https://github.com/ATaylorCEngFIET/mz_428/blob/master/project/project-flow.tcl
# https://www.adiuvoengineering.com/post/microzed-chronicles-scripting-vivado
# start_gui
create_project hello /media/julinusername/zwei/data/vivado_projs/hello -part xc7k160tffv676-1
add_files -norecurse /home/julinusername/verilog/Demo.topEntity/topEntity.v
set_property top topEntity [current_fileset]
update_compile_order -fileset sources_1
launch_runs synth_1 -jobs 8
wait_on_run synth_1
launch_runs impl_1 -jobs 8 -to_step write_bitstream
wait_on_run impl_1

Trivia

• stooop: a single file sourcable library
  • https://wiki.tcl-lang.org/page/stooop

References

• https://wiki.tcl-lang.org/page/Tcl+cheat+sheet
• http://www.cheat-sheets.org/saved-copy/TclTk_quickref.pdf