FPGA: Advantages coding conversion using HDL coder vs. direct coding in VHDL/Verilog

Dear all,

I would like to know, since the conversion of Simulink to VHDL/Verilog coding could be done using HDL coder tool etc, what are the advantages of having Quartus/Nios2 for instance to program a FPGA? Forgive me if this really sounds stupid.

Answer 1

[Tim McBrayer]

HDL Coder will generate bit true and cycle accurate HDL code from your Simulink or MATLAB design. It is not a synthesis tool; it cannot create a FPGA bitstream like Altera Quartus II does. The HDL Coder Workflow Advisor does integrate with Quartus (and Xilinx ISE and Vivado) to make it easy to generate the bistream using a 3rd-party synthesis tool. The HDL Verifier product allows the direct downloading of the bistream onto a supported board, and simulating on the actual hardware from within a Simulink simulation.