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Guide to Handling Code Processing Errors
Some errors (such as syntax errors or hierarchy errors) may prevent the EDA tool from building the schematic or launching simulation.
Without sufficient experience, these errors can be confusing, as the pop-up windows reporting them are not very informative (see fig. 1–2).
Suppose we forgot to place a semicolon at the end of one of the assignments, and then tried to launch simulation.
As a result, the pop-up windows shown in fig. 1–2 will appear.
Figure 1. First pop-up window when attempting to launch simulation with a syntax error in the project.
Figure 2. Second pop-up window when attempting to launch simulation with a syntax error in the project.
The second window contains an Open Messages View button. Click it. The messages window shown in fig. 3 will be activated.
Figure 3. Messages window after a failed attempt to launch simulation.
The messages in the Vivado commands section in fig. 2 provide little information. However, there are also critical warnings about the syntax error, with a link to the line in the file that triggered the warning. Of course, the EDA tool cannot always clearly explain what the error is — in this case, it simply detected that the keyword end appeared in an unexpected location (it was encountered before the assignment operator was terminated with a ;). In this situation, you need to figure out the exact nature of the error yourself (you can click the hyperlink in the critical warning to open the editor at the location of the error).
Keep in mind that most messages in this window persist even after the error is fixed, so it is recommended to clear the messages window when errors appear and it becomes difficult to distinguish old messages from new ones. This can be done by clicking the trash can icon in the messages window. Note that not all errors will be cleared — only those triggered by processes launched by the user. For example, if you clear the messages window without fixing the error, only the messages from the Vivado commands section will disappear. This is because the critical warnings appeared not when we attempted to launch simulation, but when Vivado automatically ran its code analysis tools. Vivado does this automatically every time a file is saved. These warnings will only disappear once a subsequent analysis confirms they have been resolved.