User guide

What's New in the Nios II IDE
9
Two design
flows
The Nios II embedded design suite (EDS) version 7.1 offers two design
flows involving the Nios II IDE. You can work entirely within the IDE, or
you can work with the new Nios II software build tools in the Nios II
command shell and then import your work into the IDE for debugging.
The two design flows are not interchangeable. Once you have committed
to using one design flow, there is no way to switch to using the other
design flow.
Refer to the Nios II Software Developer's Handbook at
www.altera.com/literature/hb/nios2/n2sw_nii5v2.pdf for more
information about the two Nios II EDS design flows.
Importing
Nios II
software
build tools
projects
The Nios II EDS version 7.1 contains a new set of software build tools
that enable you to create C/C++ applications and board support
packages (BSP) from the Nios II command shell. You can then import
Nios II software build projects into the IDE for debugging.
Imported C/C++ applications become user-managed (standard Eclipse)
make projects in the IDE. You can edit, build, run and debug these
C/C++ applications just like you would other Nios II user-makefile
C/C++ application projects.
You can also import the BSP created by the Nios II BSP generator and
other supporting source code (like newlib) so source code is available to
the IDE debugger and C/C++ search. There is no IDE-managed
association between the imported C/C++ application and the BSP (like
there is between Nios II C/C++ application projects and Nios II system
library projects). The C/C++ application's makefile associates the
application and the BSP.
Refer to the Nios II Software Developer's Handbook at
www.altera.com/literature/hb/nios2/n2sw_nii5v2.pdf for more
information about the Nios II software build tools.
Improved
standard
CDT support
Nios II C/C++ application projects and Nios II system library projects
now make use of the standard CDT C/C++ Include Paths and Symbols,
C/C++ Make Project, and C/C++ Project Paths properties. The IDE now
finds include files and symbols from the Outline view during project
development and offers improved source code discovery during
debugging.
Refer to the Related Topics in Properties dialog box for more information
about these properties.