•
Access to a variety of on-chip peripherals, and interfaces to off-chip memories and
peripherals
•
Hardware-assisted debug module enabling processor start, stop, step, and trace
under control of the Nios II software development tools
•
Optional memory management unit (MMU) to support operating systems that
require MMUs
•
Optional memory protection unit (MPU)
•
Software development environment based on the GNU C/C++ tool chain and the
Nios II Software Build Tools (SBT) for Eclipse
•
Integration with Intel FPGA’s SignalTap
®
II Embedded Logic Analyzer, enabling
real-time analysis of instructions and data along with other signals in the FPGA
design
•
Instruction set architecture (ISA) compatible across all Nios II processor systems
•
Performance up to 250 DMIPS
•
Error correcting code (ECC) support for all Nios II processor internal RAM blocks
A Nios II processor system is equivalent to a microcontroller or “computer on a chip”
that includes a processor and a combination of peripherals and memory on a single
chip. A Nios II processor system consists of a Nios II processor core, a set of on-chip
peripherals, on-chip memory, and interfaces to off-chip memory, all implemented on a
single Intel FPGA device. Like a microcontroller family, all Nios II processor systems
use a consistent instruction set and programming model.
1.2. Getting Started with the Nios II Processor
The easiest way to start designing effectively is to use an Intel development kit that
includes a ready-made development board and the Nios II Embedded Design Suite
(EDS) containing all the software development tools necessary to write Nios II
software.
The Nios II EDS includes the following two closely-related software development tool
flows:
•
The Nios II SBT
•
The Nios II SBT for Eclipse
Both tools flows are based on the GNU C/C++ compiler. The Nios II SBT for Eclipse
™
provides a familiar and established environment for software development. Using the
Nios II SBT for Eclipse, you can immediately begin developing and simulating Nios II
software applications.
The Nios II SBT also provides a command line interface.
Using the Nios II hardware reference designs included in an Intel development kit, you
can prototype an application running on a board before building a custom hardware
platform.
1. Introduction
NII-PRG | 2018.04.18
Nios II Processor Reference Guide
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