EEVblog® Electronics Community Forum
Electronics => FPGA => Topic started by: JPortici on June 19, 2026, 08:52:18 am
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I wanted to start doing some stuff in my linux box at home (Debian 13 / KDE / Wayland) and... what do i use?
I'd be using a cheap lattice or gowin, so i tried lattice first.
First i tried to install propel. Launching it gives an eclipse error, it requires openjdk-11. Seriously, 11? I had to install it manually in debian trixie from the sid packages, but it didn't configure properly, and it wasn't recognized.
Then i tried radiant. It installed, but it didn't launch due to "GLX" error. I gather it's because i don't have X Sessions available! but it should worg through XWayland...? I don't know. They still support only old distros.
What about gowin tools? am i doomed to the same fate?
Should i use proton/wine instead? open source tools? what else?
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Remember, 99.99% of FPGA design is timing, and only the manufacturers' own original tools contain the timing model of the device.
Without that timing information there's no possible way to prove that any design will work reliably and meet setup & hold requirements across temperature and from device to device.
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Remember, 99.99% of FPGA design is timing, and only the manufacturers' own original tools contain the timing model of the device.
Without that timing information there's no possible way to prove that any design will work reliably and meet setup & hold requirements across temperature and from device to device.
I'm aware. Which is why, unfortunately, open source tools are going to be the very last option.
What about official tools?
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That's the wrong question to ask if you're serious about FPGA design. If you were, you'd ask about devices, maybe devboards (though that's not a very good question either because you have to pick a devboard for the project, not the other way around), and then you do whatever it takes to get stuff done. OS is just a tool, as long as it can run the tools you need, that's all you ever need, and doesn't matter what that OS is. If you place your feelings/preferences/religion above "getting stuff done", you're not really serious about whatever it is you say you want to do. For example, I have both Windows and Linux because some tools work better in one OS or another - AMD/Xilinx tools work better in Linux, while Altium Designer only works in Windows. And don't tell me that one OS is more convenient than another - that's completely beside the point, as in professional setting OS is only used as a launcher for a professional software you need to do stuff, and all mainstream OSes are equally capable of doing that.
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In my view, open source just doesn't play with FPGAs. Sure, the simulator will work but you still know nothing about timing. And you can't talk about timing without routing and that requires detailed knowledge of mapping.
Much of my early work was on Spartan 6s and Vivado doesn't support them. I just keep the original toolchain on the original PC with the original OS (Win 7) with the original user software/source code sitting in the corner. It's an All-In-One so I just need to find a mouse and keyboard. I have plenty...