I wanna have a simple module that adds two std_logic_vectors. However, when using the code below with the + operator it does not synthesize.
library IEEE;
use IEEE.std_logic_1164.all;
use IEEE.std_logic_arith.all;
entity add_module is
port(
pr_in1 : in std_logic_vector(31 downto 0);
pr_in2 : in std_logic_vector(31 downto 0);
pr_out : out std_logic_vector(31 downto 0)
);
end add_module;
architecture Behavior of add_module is
begin
pr_out <= pr_in1 + pr_in2;
end architecture Behavior;
The error message I get from XST
Line 17. + can not have such operands in this context.
Do I miss a library? If possible, I do not wanna convert the inputs into natural numbers.
Many thanks
Answer
How do you want the compiler to know if your std_logic_vectors are signed or unsigned ? Adder implementation is not the same in these two cases, so you need to explicitly tell the compiler what you want it to do ;-)
Note: VHDL syntax highlighting in StackOverflow is crappy. Copy/paste this code in your preferred VHDL editor to read it more easily.
library IEEE;
use IEEE.std_logic_1164.all;
-- use IEEE.std_logic_arith.all; -- don't use this
use IEEE.numeric_std.all; -- use that, it's a better coding guideline
-- Also, never ever use IEEE.std_unsigned.all or IEEE.std_signed.all, these
-- are the worst libraries ever. They automatically cast all your vectors
-- to signed or unsigned. Talk about maintainability and strong typed language...
entity add_module is
port(
pr_in1 : in std_logic_vector(31 downto 0);
pr_in2 : in std_logic_vector(31 downto 0);
pr_out : out std_logic_vector(31 downto 0)
);
end add_module;
architecture Behavior of add_module is
begin
-- Here, you first need to cast your input vectors to signed or unsigned
-- (according to your needs). Then, you will be allowed to add them.
-- The result will be a signed or unsigned vector, so you won't be able
-- to assign it directly to your output vector. You first need to cast
-- the result to std_logic_vector.
-- This is the safest and best way to do a computation in VHDL.
pr_out <= std_logic_vector(unsigned(pr_in1) + unsigned(pr_in2));
end architecture Behavior;