iverilog/mingw.txt

MINGW PORT OF ICARUS VERILOG

    Copyright 2006 Stephen Williams  <steve@icarus.com>
    Copyright 2010 Martin Whitaker


Icarus Verilog source can be compiled with the MinGW C/C++ compilers
to get a Windows binary that does not require the POSIX compatibility
cruft of the Cygwin.dll library. The resulting program can be run with
or without Cygwin, so this is the preferred Windows distribution form.
The configure scripts automatically detect that the compilers in use
are the MinGW compilers and will configure the Makefiles appropriately.

The base MinGW package doesn't contain tools beyond the compiler, but
there is the MSYS package that the makers of MinGW publish that has
enough extra tools to get most everything else working. There are a
few extra packages needed beyond MinGW and MSYS, and the following
instructions explain how to get them and install them.

* Some Preliminary Comments  -- PLEASE READ ME --

The Windows port of Icarus Verilog is the most difficult of all the
ports. The Windows system off the shelf is completely stripped, devoid
of any support for software development. Everything needed to compile
Icarus Verilog must be collected from various sources and stitched
together by hand. Normal human beings with a basic understanding of
software development can do this, but some patience (and access to the
Internet) is required. You may choose to print these instructions. FOR
BEST RESULTS, FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY.

NOTE that if you have Cygwin installed, it is best to not use a Cygwin
window to do the build, as the Cygwin tools will intermix with the
MinGW tools such that it is hard to be sure you are using the right
compiler. Thus, it is recommended that these steps *not* be done in a
Cygwin window. Use a MinGW window instead, and be careful that your
MSYS/MinGW tools are not masked by paths that point to Cygwin binaries.

We have no plans to intentionally support MSVC++ compilation. Don't ask.

Incidentally, besides MinGW, none of the packages installed in the
following steps are needed after installation of Icarus Verilog is
complete. They are only needed to build the compiler. The MinGW
package can be used to compile VPI modules if you choose.

* Install MinGW and MSYS Base Packages

From the MinGW project (http://www.mingw.org), download and run the
MinGW graphical installer (mingw-get-inst). Select the following
components to be installed:

  C Compiler
  C++ Compiler
  MSYS Basic System
  MinGW Developer Toolkit

NOTE: If the download site is responding slowly, the installer tends
      to time out. If this happens it will skip the package it is
      currently trying to download and continue. If this happens,
      you can install the skipped packages later using the mingw-get
      command in a MinGW shell.

The default installation path is C:\MinGW, but you can change this to
anything you like (but make sure there are no spaces in the path names).
This path is referred to as <mingw> in subsequent instructions.

The installation will leave a "MinGW Shell" icon in the MinGW sub-menu
of your Start menu. This icon brings up a shell window (a command line)
that has paths all set up for executing MSYS and MinGW commands.

NOTE: If you intend to compile VPI modules for Icarus Verilog, you
      need MinGW, even if you are using a precompiled binary. VPI
      modules only require MinGW, and none of the other libraries.

* Install Additional MinGW Packages

Start a MinGW shell. In the shell window, execute the following
commands:

  mingw-get install libz
  mingw-get install bzip2
  mingw-get install pthreads-w32
  mingw-get install msys-man

If you also want to build Git (optional):

  mingw-get install libiconv
  mingw-get install msys-perl

NOTE: Building Git allows you to execute Git commands in a MinGW shell,
      and allows the Icarus Verilog tools to report more detailed version
      information when called with the -V option.

* Install GnuWin32 Packages

The GnuWin32 project is a collection of open source programs and libraries
ported to Windows. These also work well with the MinGW compiler, and in
fact Icarus Verilog uses a few pieces from this collection.

From the GnuWin project (http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net), download the
following packages:

  gperf-3.0.1-bin
  readline-5.0.1-bin

NOTE: You need the binaries and the developer files, but you do not
      need the source to these packages.

From the downloaded gperf-3.0.1-bin zip archive:

  extract bin\gperf.exe to <mingw>\bin

From the downloaded readline-5.0.1-bin zip archive:

  extract bin\*     to <mingw>\bin
  extract lib\*     to <mingw>\lib
  extract include\* to <mingw>\include

where <mingw> is the location you chose to install MinGW.

NOTE: readline is only required to enable command line editing when
      in the vvp interactive mode.

* Install Git for Windows (optional)

NOTE: You can skip this step if you are building from a snapshot or
      stable release.

From the msysgit project (http://code.google.com/p/msysgit), download
and install the Git for Windows binary package.

NOTE: When installing, you must select the option of preserving Unix
      style line endings.

The installation will leave a "Git Shell" icon on the desktop and in the
Git sub-menu of your Start menu. This icon brings up a shell window (a
command line) that has paths all set up for executing Git commands.

* Get the Git Source (optional)

NOTE: You can skip this step if you don't want to build Git.

Start a Git shell. In the Git shell window, change directory to the
location where you wish to store the source code and execute the
following command:

  git clone git://repo.or.cz/git/mingw.git git

This will create a directory "git" that contains all the source code
for Icarus Verilog.

The path to the directory containing the source code is referred to as
<git-source> in subsequent instructions.

NOTE: Make sure there are no spaces in the <git-source> path names.
      Use forward slashes in place of back slashes when using
      <git-source> in a MinGW shell.

* Build Git (optional)

NOTE: You can skip this step if you don't want to build Git.

In the MinGW shell window, execute the following commands:

  cd <git-source>
  make NO_OPENSSL=YesPlease NO_TCLTK=YesPlease INSTALL=/bin/install \
       prefix=/usr/local install

You can now uninstall the Git for Windows binary package if you wish,
as Git commands can now be executed in the MinGW shell.

* Get the Icarus Verilog Source

In the MinGW shell window, change directory to the location where you
wish to store the source code.

If you are building from a snapshot, execute the following command:

  gunzip -d verilog-xxxxxxxx.tar.gz | tar xvf -

This will create a directory "verilog-xxxxxxxx" that contains all the
source code for Icarus Verilog.

NOTE: The exact name of the file will vary according to the snapshot.
      The 'xxxxxxxx' name is only an example.

If you are obtaining source from Git, execute the following command:

  git clone git://icarus.com/~steve-icarus/verilog verilog

This will create a directory "verilog" that contains all the source code
for Icarus Verilog.

NOTE: If you haven't built Git, you will need to execute the above
      command in a Git shell.

The path to the directory containing the source code is referred to as
<ivl-source> in subsequent instructions.

NOTE: Make sure there are no spaces in the <ivl-source> path names.
      Use forward slashes in place of back slashes when using
      <ivl-source> in a MinGW shell.

* Preconfigure Icarus Verilog (not normally needed)

Under certain cases, you may need to "preconfigure" the Icarus Verilog
source tree. You should only need to do this if you are obtaining source
from Git, or you are using an existing source tree that you've patched to
cause configure.in files to change.

NOTE: If you are building from a fresh, bundled source tree that you
      downloaded from an FTP site, then SKIP THIS STEP. Go on to the
      "Configure Icarus Verilog" step below.

First, remove any autom4te.cache directories that may exist in your
source tree. These can make a mess of autoconf runs. Then, in the
MinGW shell window, execute the following commands:

  cd <ivl-source>
  sh autoconf.sh

This script will run the "autoconf" command to generate all the necessary
"configure" scripts.

* Configure and Build Icarus Verilog

Now we are all set to configure and compile Icarus Verilog. Choose a
destination path where you will want to install the binaries. This
choice is not permanent, so don't get too much angst over it. Just
choose a name without white space. The destination path is referred
to as <ivl-install> in subsequent instructions.

NOTE: Make sure there are no spaces in the <ivl-install> path names.
      Use forward slashes in place of back slashes when using
      <ivl-install> in a MinGW shell.

In the MinGW shell window, execute the following commands:

  cd <ivl-source>
  ./configure --prefix=<ivl-install>
  make

NOTE: If you execute configure without the --prefix option, the
      default installation path is <mingw>\msys\1.0\local, which
      in a MinGW shell is aliased to /usr/local/bin.

* Install Icarus Verilog

If the compile ran OK, then next you install Icarus Verilog in the
directory you have chosen.

In the MinGW shell window, execute the following commands:

  cd <ivl-source>
  make install

This is part of what the configure program did for you. The Makefiles
know to put the files in the <ivl-install> directory.

You now need to add <ivl-install>\bin and <mingw>\bin to your Windows
"PATH" environment variable. Alternatively, you can copy the DLLs
needed by Icarus Verilog from <mingw>\bin to <ivl-install>bin, and
just add <ivl-install>\bin to your Windows "PATH" environment variable.

* Running Icarus Verilog

You can run Icarus Verilog either from a Windows command shell window
or from a MinGW shell window.

NOTE: You will need to start a new shell to pick up any changes you
      have made to the "PATH" environment variable.

Currently, iverilog.exe uses the path to itself to locate the libraries
and modules associated with itself. In other words, if you execute the
<ivl-install>\bin\iverilog.exe program, it will locate its subparts in
the <ivl-install> directory and subdirectories below that. This means
you can move the Icarus Verilog installation by simply moving the root
directory and all its contents.

The vvp.pdf and iverilog.pdf files document the main commands. View
these with Acrobat reader, or any other viewer capable of displaying
PDF format files.