Specifications

Road Map for the SBT
Before you start using the Nios II SBT, it is important to understand its scope. This section helps you
understand their purpose, what they include, and what each tool does. Understanding these points helps
you determine how each tool fits in with your development process, what parts of the tools you need, and
what features you can disregard for now.
What the Build Tools Create
The purpose of the build tools is to create and build Nios II software projects. A Nios II project is a
makefile with associated source files.
The SBT creates the following types of projects:
• Nios II application—A program implementing some desired functionality, such as control or signal
processing.
• Nios II BSP—A library providing access to hardware in the Nios II system, such as UARTs and other
I/O devices. A BSP provides a software runtime environment customized for one processor in a
hardware system. A BSP optionally also includes the operating system, and other basic system software
packages such as communications protocol stacks.
• User library—A library implementing a collection of reusable functions, such as graphics algorithms.
Comparing the Command Line with Eclipse
Aside from the Eclipse GUI, there are very few differences between the SBT command line and the Nios II
SBT for Eclipse.
Table 4-1: Differences between Nios II SBT for Eclipse and the Command Line
Feature Eclipse Command Line
Project source file management Specify sources automatically,
e.g. by dragging and dropping
into project
Specify sources manually
using command arguments
Debugging Yes Import project to Eclipse
environment
Integrates with custom shell scripts
and tool flows
No Yes
The Nios II SBT for Eclipse provides access to a large, useful subset of SBT functionality. Any project you
create in Eclipse can also be created using the SBT from the command line or in a script. Create your
software project using the interface that is most convenient for you. Later, it is easy to perform additional
project tasks in the other interface if you find it advantageous to do so.
Makefiles
Makefiles are a key element of Nios II C/C++ projects. The Nios II SBT includes powerful tools to create
makefiles. An understanding of how these tools work can help you make the most optimal use of them.
4-2
Road Map for the SBT
NII5V2
2015.05.14
Altera Corporation
Nios II Software Build Tools
Send Feedback