FPGA VI vs. FPGA bitfile, what are the advantages & disadvantages

[Liquid_Crystal]

What are the advantages & disadvantages of using a FPGA VI vs. FPGA bitfile,

[jkurtw]

Hey mgroom,

Are you asking why can you select FPGA VI or bitfile on the Open FPGA Reference VI?

When you have VI selected, if you change the FPGA VI, then your host code will tell you that you need to recompile before you can run. So, your host code stays synched up with the version of your FPGA VI that is in the project.

If you select the bitfile then you can make changes to the FPGA VI in LabVIEW and save them, and as long as you don't recompile and overwrite the bitfile, you can still run your host code with the compiled version of your FPGA VI. Additionally, if someone gives you a bit file, you can use it without even having the VI.

Hope this helps.

Kurt  

[Liquid_Crystal]

Thanks for the info Kurt.

It looks like the bitfile is best used when the software is complete and the .vi allows flexability when developing.

Merrill