Is possible to program any FPGA with LabView FPGA

[alhebu]

Hello everyone,

I would like to know if the LabView FPGA module can program any FPGA in concrete the cyclone 2. The question is because my teacher told me that the FPGA module just works with the National Instruments hardware, is it correct?

[Jacobson-ni]

That is correct.

[alhebu]

what is correct?

Is correct that I can just program the National Instruments hardware with FPGAS?

Is correct that I can program the cyclone 2?

[Jacobson-ni]

Your teacher is correct that only NI boards can be programmed using LabVIEW FPGA.

[Intaris]

well......

If you look at the option to export a Vivado project for code written in LabVIEW, there may theoretically be a way to utilise that code as a starting point for incorporating into a project for a different target. It would be a form of rapid prototyping, and you would need to do the rest of the work within a typical Vivado toolchain. You wouldn't have anywhere near the comfort of a pure LabVIEW solution, but you might be able to get it to a point where you can use LabVIEW as a tool to generate IP for other projects.

[wiebe@CARYA]

There used to be a Texas Instrument board that was supported by NI, for academic use only. Not sure if it's still there. This was supported (and initiated) by NI. Arguably, this was a board (supported by) NI, so I'm not sure it qualifies as a non-NI FPGA board).

Not sure, but this might be related:

https://forums.ni.com/t5/Example-Code/LabVIEW-FPGA-IP-for-Texas-Instruments-ADS1258-16-Channel-24-Bi...  Probably not, it's just how to use the TI SPI interface...

So it's definitely technically possible. The FPGA toolkit might not have support for all the hardware (inputs, outputs for starters) on just any FPGA. So getting a non-NI FPGA to do something useful maybe (very) hard.

The most important thing is it's not allowed by the license.

For a legit entity (like a company or university), it would require some hacking to get something that can t be used legally. So a fun but pointless exercise. Unless the TI board is still an option for universities...

[Intaris]

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wiebe@CARYA wrote:

The most important thing is it's not allowed by the license.

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Well that's weird, because when talking to some "higher-up" FPGA guys from NI, I got the impression that using the Vivado export for exactly that purpose was an intended use case. To make LabVIEW a valid rapid prototyping tool for other targets.

[wiebe@CARYA]

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@Intaris wrote:

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wiebe@CARYA wrote:

The most important thing is it's not allowed by the license.

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Well that's weird, because when talking to some "higher-up" FPGA guys from NI, I got the impression that using the Vivado export for exactly that purpose was an intended use case. To make LabVIEW a valid rapid prototyping tool for other targets.

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I really hope that is where it's going. Or that I'm wrong to begin with. I'm pretty sure the FGPA license mentions (or used to not too long ago) that the toolkit can only be used for NI devices.

Design>Develop>Deploy was the slogan a few years ago. For my project, it was Design>Develop>StartOverAgainInVHDL... Well, some other programmer got to start over in VHDL...

[wiebe@CARYA]

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@Intaris wrote:

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wiebe@CARYA wrote:

The most important thing is it's not allowed by the license.

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Well that's weird, because when talking to some "higher-up" FPGA guys from NI, I got the impression that using the Vivado export for exactly that purpose was an intended use case. To make LabVIEW a valid rapid prototyping tool for other targets.

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https://www.ni.com/en-us/shop/product/labview-fpga-ip-export-utility.html

So the answer to the question "Is possible to program any FPGA with LabView FPGA" seems to be "yes, you can use LabVIEW FPGA to create VHDL to program any FPGA."

Not sure how practical is it, regarding IO and other HW related details.

[crossrulz]

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wiebe@CARYA wrote:

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@Intaris wrote:

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wiebe@CARYA wrote:

The most important thing is it's not allowed by the license.

---

Well that's weird, because when talking to some "higher-up" FPGA guys from NI, I got the impression that using the Vivado export for exactly that purpose was an intended use case. To make LabVIEW a valid rapid prototyping tool for other targets.

---

https://www.ni.com/en-us/shop/product/labview-fpga-ip-export-utility.html

So the answer to the question "Is possible to program any FPGA with LabView FPGA" seems to be "yes, you can use LabVIEW FPGA to create VHDL to program any FPGA."

Not sure how practical is it, regarding IO and other HW related details.

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I kept hearing rumors of that tool coming.  Seems interesting, but I don't currently see a good use around me.