Looking for ::quartus::chip_editor::get_node_info documentation

Altera_Forum · ‎07-09-2008

[Cross-posted to "University Program" forum.]

This relates to the Quartus TCL hooks available through QUIP. I am trying to use ::quartus::chip_editor::get_node_info, but the documentation for get_node_info in the Quartus II Scripting Reference Manual (page 2-367 in 11/6/07 version) appears to apply only to ::quartus::sta::get_node_info. For example, the documentation lists "type" as a valid field to query, but ::quartus::chip_editor::get_node_info calls "type" an illegal net_node_info value.

# project is already open, and netlist has been read
foreach_in_collection node_id  {
    set name    #  works
    set type    #  doesn't work
}

I understand that get_node_info returns a collection, but I guess I don't understand collections enough to know whether they provide a way for me to browse their available fields. Is there some applicable documentation for ::quartus::chip_editor::get_node_info or is there a general way to inspect collection fields?

Altera_Forum · ‎07-09-2008

Open a command prompt and type "quartus_sh --qhelp"

On the top-left, go to the API package chip_planner, and then on the right side go to get_node_info and you'll see that type isn't an available option. You'll probably need to play around with these to find what you're looking for. Note that the timing representation of your design is not equivalent to the chip_planner version, which is why they have different APIs and what not.

Altera_Forum · ‎07-10-2008

Thanks Rysc. I didn't know about the --qhelp option, but it certainly is convenient.

It also took some string searches through ace_adb.dll for me to figure out that things like "Full Node Name" really are valid types to pass to get_node_info. The get_info_parameters result list is quite long, and some of the types are failing for me, but I'm going to wrap the call inside some exception handling to figure out what does and doesn't work.

Are there any other users on this forum using QUIP TCL hooks into Quartus?

Altera_Forum · ‎07-10-2008

I don't know what you're trying to do, but one nice thing for Chip Planner changes is to open the View -> Utility Windows -> Change Manager. Then make some changes in the Chip Planner GUI, which will get reflected in the Change Manager. Then, if I remember correctly, you can right-click in the Change Manager and export all those changes into a Tcl script. It might not have everything you want, but it's a nice starting template.

Altera_Forum · ‎07-10-2008

That is indeed helpful. Not directly what I'm looking for, but one more piece to help make sense of the puzzle. Much appreciated.