The STAPL Player may be used to program
ProASIC®PLUS, as well as third-generation flash devices such as
Fusion®,
IGLOO,
ProASIC3L, and
ProASIC3, and interprets the contents of a STAPL file, which is generated by Actel's
Libero® IDE and
Designer software tools. The file contains information about the programming of Actel ProASIC
PLUS devices, as well as the JTAG scan chain for a single device. The data format is a JEDEC standard known as the Standard Test and Programming Language (STAPL) format. The JEDEC STAPL standard (JESD71) can be obtained from
www.jedec.org. For third-generation devices, note that the STAPL Player will not support serialization of the FlashROM nor will it support Smart Erase-enabled silicon.
The STAPL Player reads the STAPL file and executes the file's programming instructions. Because all programming details are in the STAPL file, the STAPL Player itself is completely device-independent. In other words, the system does not need to implement any programming algorithm details; the STAPL file provides all of the details.
The STAPL Player consists of two basic portions:
- High-level generic source code that executes the main program
- Low-level system-specific routines
In addition to processing the STAPL file, the STAPL Player has the following functions:
- Check the CRC of a STAPL file (without executing the STAPL file)
- Has access to the signals of an IEEE 1149.1 interface
- Reliable mechanism for creating accurate real-time delays
- Reports exit status information following the execution of a STAPLE file (e.g., an exit code)
The STAPL Player has one distinct advantage over DirectC, the ability to upgrade. When a new programming algorithm is required, you just need to regenerate a STAPL file using the latest version of Libero IDE or Designer software and download it into the system.
STAPL Players can be implemented in either interpreted or compiled form. The source code for the Actel STAPL Player is available for download and works with Actel's FlashPro family of programmers.
The Actel STAPL Player supports the entire third-generation family of silicon: Fusion, IGLOO, ProASIC3L, and ProASIC3. It also supports the ProASICPLUS family.
