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Managing small IP library

Hi everyone, A few months ago, I have started working in a small group which designs FPGAs for video application. By the nature of this application, there is a collection of building blocks that are repeatedly being used in our designs. Currently, the knowledge about cores available and how to use them is kept by each designer, so if I need a core from someone I have to ask him to send it to me by e-mail. Certainly, this model is very problematic causing the same cores to be designed again and again by different engineers. I would like to suggest my managers a better way to share this valuable data between the engineers, and I'm looking for a solution that will provide:

  • Integration with a source control system (sadly, SourceSafe is being used in my company, so I'm binded to that awful tool)
  • A catalog of available cores
  • An easy way to add new cores and to update existing ones
  • A structured way to minimally document the core (functionality, interface)
  • Integration with design tools (Quartus, HDL Designer, Synplify...)

I would appreciate if anyone can give me an idea if such tools exist on the market, or to let me know how such task is being handled in other companies.

Thanks, Avishay

Reply to
avishay
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Step one is quality source control.

I'd start by finding a pc and setting up a subversion server. Sounds like you use windows, so maybe this would work:

formatting link

Then I'd check in my own stuff and show anyone interested how to do the same. If it works, and the designers like it, I doubt that the boss will mind, because it's also free. ...except for a few months of your "spare" time, of course :)

-- Mike Treseler

Reply to
Mike Treseler

Spot on!

I've also moved from Sourcesafe to SVN - life is much nicer now. Sourcesafe lost one of my files completely, I've lost trust in it.

TortoiseSVN integrates really nicely with Explorer, so you don't need to use another tool for accessing the library. This makes it easy to convert others!

It also does 3 way merging of differences, which sourcesafe never did.

Cheers, Martin

--
martin.j.thompson@trw.com 
TRW Conekt - Consultancy in Engineering, Knowledge and Technology
http://www.conekt.net/electronics.html
Reply to
Martin Thompson

After improved source control - as mentioned elsewhere on this thread - you could set up (if there isn't already) an in-house web-server, hosting a Wiki page. Then let everyone document what they do as they go, on the Wiki. You can set up a proforma page, that they just fill in the blanks, & voila: instant manual:)

Reply to
David R Brooks

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