VisualHDL

VisualHDL is software utility which facilitates an integrated development environment for the Xilinx ISE toolchain, enabling users to study projects and create new ones from scratch. It offers support for syntax highlighting along with code completion and navigation, among other features.

Setting up VisualHDL shouldn't be a difficult task, since there are no special options involved. As far as the interface is concerned, the tool adopts a large window with a clean and intuitive aspect, where you can start a new project from scratch or template, or open an existing one from file.

You can use a project explorer to view source files (VHDL and THDL++), Xilinx IPCore directories, libraries, and any other resources. The project can be built, cleaned, visualized and checked for errors (shown in the bottom part of the screen), while the THDL++ code can be compiled.

It is also possible to modify the default toolchains for configurations (Behavioral Simulation, FPGA bitstream, post-route simulation) and, when it comes to general preferences, you can customize the editor colors, building and autocompletion mode, keyboard shortcuts, together with Xilinx toolchain options.

The tool leaves a small footprint on system performance, since it needs a low amount of CPU and RAM to work properly. It executes commands without delay. On the other hand, it popped up several errors in our tests while we were fiddling with the project explorer, and the app does not come loaded with rich features. Nevertheless, users are welcomed to try VisualHDL for themselves to see if it meets their requirements.