User`s manual

What is a project?
3-36 Projects and system initialization ModelSim Xilinx User’s Manual
What is a project?
A project is a collection entity for an HDL design under specification or test. At a
minimum, it has a root directory, a work library and session state which is stored
in a .mpf file located in the project’s root directory. A project may also consist of:
• HDL source files
• subdirectories
• Local libraries
• References to global libraries
A new file extension
Why create a new file extension instead of using the .ini extension?
Project files with the new .mpf file extension contain some information that is
specific to a given design and project directory. For this reason, use of a .mpf file
is associated with current working directories residing in the project’s directory
tree.
On Windows systems the .ini file extension is used extensively to represent
configuration files for many applications, including the OS. By changing the
project file extension to .mpf, a new file type can be defined for Windows systems
that won't be confused with other configuration files. Please note that old .ini files
are still supported.
INI and MPF file comparison
What is the difference between old project (.ini) files and new project (.mpf) files?
• A .ini file specifies initial tool settings and is fully supported outside of a project.
• By convention the new project files will have a .mpf extension.
• New features of the project file are most useful when used in conjunction with
the ModelSim graphical user interface (GUI).
• A .mpf project file is specific to a given work session and may include the
settings from a .ini file.
• A .mpf project file is located in the project working directory. This ensures that
the path to a .mpf file will be <some_dir_path>/<project_name>/
<project_name>.mpf