User guide

Welcome to the Nios II IDE
The Nios II integrated development environment (IDE) is a graphical software development
tool for the Nios II family of embedded processors.
The Nios II IDE provides a consistent development platform that works for all Nios II
processor systems. You can accomplish all software development tasks within the Nios II IDE,
including editing, building, debugging, and profiling programs. The IDE allows you to create
single-threaded programs as well as complex applications based on a real-time operating
system (RTOS) and middleware libraries available from Altera and third-party vendors .
The IDE also allows you to import and debug projects you created from the Nios II command
shell with the Nios II software build tools, such as the Nios II BSP generator.
Design Flow:
There are two typical design flows involving the Nios II IDE. You can work entirely within
the IDE, or you can work with the Nios II software build tools in the Nios II command shell
and then import your work into the IDE for debugging. Depending on your particular
design, not all design flow steps are required for either flow. You can return to a previous
step at any point in the process.
In the IDE-only design flow, the IDE creates and manages the makefiles for you. This
design flow is best for users who require only limited control over the build process and do
not require customized scripting. The IDE-only design flow includes the following steps:
Create a project
Configure the project properties
Edit the C/C++ application code
Build the C/C++ application project
Run and debug the project
Profile execution performance
Store the project firmware on a target board
In the Nios II software build tools design flow, you import projects into the IDE (primarily
for debugging) that were created with the Nios II software build tools outside of the IDE.
This design flow is best for users who require more control over the build process, need
customized scripting, and don't want the IDE to manage the makefiles.
The Nios II command line design flow includes the following steps:
Create and configure software projects on the command line
Import the command line projects
Edit the C/C++ application code
Build the C/C++ application project
Run and debug the project
Profile execution performance
Store the project firmware on a target board
Refer to the Related Topics
for more information about using the Nios II software build
tools on the command line, and the two Nios II design flows.
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