IOP16 Constants Unit

Constants ROM with Address Counter

A constants ROM used to store strings. This is useful for printing strings to the VDU and UART.

• Constants ROM
  • 256-byte (max)
  • Null terminated strings
  • ROM "assembler" creates .MIF file
• 8-bit Address Counter
  • Loadable with start address
  • Auto-increment address

Programming

• Load start address (W)
• Read Data

Hook-up

• Add to Top Level VHDL code

Pins

• None - all internal

Signals

-- Decodes/Strobes
...
  signal w_ldConAdr				:	std_logic;
  signal w_rdConAdr				:	std_logic;
...
-- Interfaces
...
signal w_ConstsData			:	std_logic_vector(7 downto 0);

VHDL Instance

-- Constants Unit
CONST_UNIT : entity work.ConstantsUnit
port map (	
  i_clock     => i_clk,
  i_dataIn    => w_periphOut,
  i_ldStr     => w_ldConAdr,
  i_rdStr     => w_rdConAdr,
  o_constData => w_ConstsData
);

Hook-up Strobes/Read Mux

• Add to strobes and read mux

Constants Compiler

• Program - pyConstants_cpu_001.py
  • Python 3
  • Prompts for input file

Creates two output files

• • Cross reference list of LABEL, address
  • .MIF file with ROM contents
    • Load ROM file by double-clickjng ConstantsROM_256B below ConstantsUnit
• Input file is CSV
  • Header line - ['LABEL','STRING']

Resources

• Logic Cells: 74
• Registers: 46
• Memory Bits: 2048
• M9Ks: 1