Intel® Quartus® Prime Standard Edition User Guide: Debug Tools

ID 683552
Date 9/24/2018
Public
Document Table of Contents

5.6.1. Ensure Setting Compatibility Between .stp and .sof Files

A .stp file is compatible with a .sof file when the settings for the logic analyzer, such as the size of the capture buffer and the monitoring and triggering signals match the programming settings of the target device. If the files are not compatible you can still program the device, but you cannot run or control the logic analyzer from the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer Editor.

  • To ensure programming compatibility, program the device with the .sof file generated in the most recent compilation.
  • To check whether a particular .sof is compatible with the current Signal Tap configuration, attach the .sof to the SOF manager.
Note: When the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer detects incompatibility after the analysis starts, the Intel® Quartus® Prime software generates a system error message containing two CRC values: the expected value and the value retrieved from the .stp instance on the device. The CRC value comes from all Signal Tap settings that affect the compilation.

As a best practice, use the .stp file with a Intel® Quartus® Prime project. The project database contains information about the integrity of the current Signal Tap Logic Analyzer session. Without the project database, there is no way to verify that the current .stp file matches the .sof file in the device. If you have an .stp file that does not match the .sof file, the Signal Tap Logic Analyzer can capture incorrect data.