In our code, it is the value of the Counter signal that triggers state changes.
Corner case for counter fpga simulation code#
The code within exactly one of the when choices (branches) is allowed to run, depending on the current state. On each rising edge of the clock, the process wakes up, and the state signal is evaluated. The FSM was implemented using a Case-statement within a clocked process. This means that the signal can only have one of the eight named state values, and no other values. Then, we declared a state signal of this new type that we created. We declared an enumerated type with all the eight different states of our traffic lights. The waveform after we entered the run 5 min command in the ModelSim console: If Counter = ClockFrequencyHz * 5 -1 then Generic map(ClockFrequencyHz => ClockFrequencyHz) I_TrafficLights : entity work.T20_TrafficLights(rtl) We are using a low clock frequency to speed up the simulationĬonstant ClockFrequencyHz : integer := 100 - 100 HzĬonstant ClockPeriod : time := 1000 ms / ClockFrequencyHz The final code for the state machine testbench:Īrchitecture sim of T20_FiniteStateMachineTb is
Corner case for counter fpga simulation how to#
In this video tutorial we will learn how to create a finite-state machine in VHDL: One-process vs two-process vs three-process state machine Exercise There are several ways to create an FSM in VHDL. This is a template for one-process state machine: The state will then typically change when a predefined condition is met. The When statement can also contain code which should be executed while in that particular state. The Case statement contains a When statement for each of the possible states, causing the program to take different paths for every state. Using the state signal, the finite-state machine can then be implemented in a process with a Case statement. The syntax for declaring a signal with an enumerated type in VHDL is: Once we have our enumerated type, we can declare a signal of the new type which can be used for keeping track of the FSM’s current state.
In fact, if you take a look in the std_logic_1164 package, you will find that the std_ulogic type is nothing more than an enumerated type with the values 'U', 'X', '0', '1', 'Z', 'W', 'L', 'H', and '-' listed as enumeration values. These are data types just like signed or unsigned, but instead of integer numbers, we can supply a custom list of possible values. We can represent states in VHDL using an enumerated type. It is elapsed time and the previous state of outputs which advances this state machine. Our example state machine has no controlling inputs, the output is the state of the lights in north/south and west/east directions. The traffic lights have a finite number of states, which we have given identifiable names. This blog post is part of the Basic VHDL Tutorials series.Ĭonsider the states of the traffic lights at this intersection: The state signal serves as an internal memory of what happened in the previous iteration. State-machines in VHDL are clocked processes whose outputs are controlled by the value of a state signal. Whenever you need to create some sort of time-dependent algorithm in VHDL, or if you are faced with the problem of implementing a computer program in an FPGA, it can usually be solved by using an FSM. A finite-state machine (FSM) is a mechanism whose output is dependent not only on the current state of the input, but also on past input and output values.