Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guide: Design Compilation

ID 683283
Date 10/22/2021
Public
Document Table of Contents

1.7.5. Integrating Partitions into the Top-Level Design

To integrate a partition developed in a separate Quartus® Prime project into the top-level design, you can simply add the .qxp as a source file in your top-level design (just like a Verilog or VHDL source file). You can also use the Import Design Partition dialog box to import the partition.

The .qxp contains the design block exported from the partition and has the same name as the partition. When you instantiate the design block into a top-level design and include the .qxp as a source file, the software adds the exported netlist to the database for the top-level design. The .qxp port names are case sensitive if the original HDL of the partition was case sensitive.

When you use a .qxp as a source file in this way, you can choose whether you want the .qxp to be a partition in the top-level design. If you do not designate the .qxp instance as a partition, the software reuses just the post-synthesis compilation results from the .qxp, removes unconnected ports and unused logic just like a regular source file, and then performs placement and routing.

If you assigned the .qxp instance as a partition, you can set the netlist type in the Design Partitions Window to choose the level of results to preserve from the .qxp. To preserve the placement and routing results from the exported partition, set the netlist type to Post-Fit for the .qxp partition in the top-level design. If you assign the instance as a design partition, the partition boundary is preserved.