Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guide: Design Compilation

ID 683283
Date 10/22/2021
Public
Document Table of Contents

2.2.1. Recommendations for the Netlist Type

For subsequent compilations, you specify which post-compilation netlist you want to use with the netlist type for each partition.

Use the following general guidelines to set the netlist type for each partition:

  • Source File—Use this setting to resynthesize the source code (with any new assignments, and replace any previous synthesis or Fitter results).
    • If you modify the design source, the software automatically resynthesizes the partitions with the appropriate netlist type, which makes the Source File setting optional in this case.
    • Most assignments do not trigger an automatic recompilation, so you must set the netlist type to Source File to compile the source files with new assignments or constraints that affect synthesis.
  • Post-Synthesis (default)Use this setting to re-fit the design (with any new Fitter assignments), but preserve the synthesis results when the source files have not changed. If it is difficult to meet the required timing performance, you can use this setting to allow the Fitter the most flexibility in placement and routing. This setting does not reduce compilation time as much as the Post-Fit setting or preserve timing performance from the previous compilation.
  • Post-Fit—Use this setting to preserve Fitter and performance results when the source files have not changed. This setting reduces compilation time the most, and preserves timing performance from the previous compilation.
  • Post-Fit with Fitter Preservation Level set to Placement—Use the Advanced Fitter Preservation Level setting on the Advanced tab in the Design Partition Properties dialog box to allow more flexibility and find the best routing for all partitions given their placement.

The Quartus® Prime software Rapid Recompile feature instructs the Compiler to reuse the compatible compilation results if most of the design has not changed since the last compilation. This feature reduces compilation time and preserves performance when there are small and isolated design changes within a partition, and works with all netlist type settings. With this feature, you do not have control over which parts of the design are recompiled; the Compiler determines which parts of the design must be recompiled.