Step 4: Makefile Flow

This step explains the basics of the Makefile flow and how SDx™ uses it. The advantages of using this flow include the following:
  • Easy automation into any system.
  • Faster turnaround time on small design changes.

  1. In the Project Explorer, navigate to the Emulation-SW directory and look for the makefile file. Double-click the file to open it in the editor. This is the makefile that SDx creates and uses for building and running emulations. Alternatively, navigate to the Emulation-HW directory and look for the makefile file. Open the file.

  2. Notice that in there is a unique makefile for each build. In the opened makefile in the editor window, look at line 21. Notice that it contains either hw_emu or sw_emu.

    Figure: Makefile Editor window

  3. The makefile can also access SDx without using the GUI.

    Open up a new terminal session and navigate to the workspace. Then navigate to the Emulation-SW directory and type: make incremental. The process produces a typical SDx log output.
    Note: If no changes are made to the host or kernel code, this re-runs the entire software emulation flow.

Lab 2 of this tutorial goes into more detail on how to use the makefile and command line flow.