edalize VS icestudio

Check out FuseSoC: https://github.com/olofk/fusesoc which can handle Vivado builds for you (utilizing edalize: https://github.com/olofk/edalize) along with some nice package management. It can run against multiple tools so you can also get it to build simulations using Verilator or a commercial EDA tool if you have access to them.

Check out https://github.com/olofk/fusesoc. It gives you a command line build flow that can drive Vivado (along with many other eda tools via edalize https://github.com/olofk/edalize) without having to touch the GUI (though you might want it for programming the board, though FuseSoC can do that too).

This reminds me very much of edalize[1], which does something very similar.

[1]: https://github.com/olofk/edalize

In fact that docs are out of date and even more boards are supported and you can find the list directly in icestudio menu. If you want to check it beforehand, i think it's possible to see the list here in source code:

https://github.com/FPGAwars/icestudio/tree/develop/app/resou...

This is crazy helpful for beginners: https://github.com/FPGAwars/icestudio

They have drag and drop visual gates and cores with very well documented examples.

This is the project: https://github.com/FPGAwars/icestudio

I am slowly moving off my retro computing hobby. The last straw was recent chip shortage and crazy prices. I bought myself a copy of "The 8088 Project Book" and I wanted to build the presented 8088 breadboard computer. Guess what? The only factory that was building compatible 8088/8086 chips caught fire (Renesas factory fire). I had to order 20 year old chips for the price x2 of the new chips. But not only that, some chips are either unavailable or crazy expensive due to a lot of recent interests in retro-comp.

In other way, the hobby became unreasonably expensive for me. So I decided to move my interests into FPGA. The fun is almost the same, but the cost is way lower (you only need to buy a good board and a book, and you are set up). I started with this extremely simple IDE: https://github.com/FPGAwars/icestudio

As for this build, I have mixed feelings about using FPGAs to revive old computers. Can't we create something new out of it? It would be fun to have a _modern_ FPGA based SBC with easy to program graphics (memory mapped) and with simple device interface (I think USB is way too complicated for hobbyists). Just something powerful enough to create games, yet simple enough so that teenager can write a simple OS in his spare time.