Auto Incremental Compile scripts does not work as is

[JPNaude]

I have found numerous issues with enable_auto_incremental_compile.tcl. Unfortunately this scripts does not seem to be usable as is and I'm surprised that they are available at all in the Tcl Store.

I've attached a modified working version (tested in Vivado 2016.2) and discussed the changes made below:

Issue 1:
The scripts replaces launch_runs with its own incremental version. The problem is that reset_run (which is called by the GUI first) removes the .dcps that is meant to be reused before launch_runs is actually called. This makes these scripts useless in most cases, unless the user runs launch_runs without reset_runs in the Tcl Console.

reset_run should also be replacedo with an incremental version. The attached fixed versions does exactly that.

Issue 2:

line 259 is invalid as is:

set runs_placed_or_routed [ list ]

It should be:

set runs_placed_or_routed [ list $impl_runs ]

Issue 3:

Just an enhancement:

Replace line 246 as from:

puts "AutoIncrementalCompile: Incremental Flow not enabled as $guideFile for scheme $::tclapp::xilinx::incrcompile::autoIncrCompileScheme does not exist"

to become:

        if {[string length $guideFile] == 0} {
            puts "AutoIncrementalCompile: Incremental Flow not enabled no guide file for scheme $::tclapp::xilinx::incrcompile::autoIncrCompileScheme does exists"
        } else {
            puts "AutoIncrementalCompile: Incremental Flow not enabled as $guideFile for scheme $::tclapp::xilinx::incrcompile::autoIncrCompileScheme does not exist"
        }

Issue 4:

Proc ::tclapp::xilinx::incrcompile::get_placed_or_routed_dcp is flawed in its implementation as it does not create a copy of the checkpoint outside of the implementation directory.

This results in Vivado giving:

CRITICAL WARNING: [Vivado 12-3202] The incremental checkpoint file 'D:/proj/reference_designs/incremental_compile/incremental_compile.runs/impl_1/top_routed.dcp' is in the run directory 'D:/proj/reference_designs/incremental_compile/incremental_compile.runs/impl_1' and will be deleted the next time this run is reset.

It should create a copy of the found checkpoint outside of the implementation directory. This can be done by adding the following just before the last line of the function:

    set impl_dir_cdUp "$impl_dir/../"
    if {[string length $dcpFile] != 0} {
        set dcpFileName [file tail $dcpFile]
        set dcpFileTarget "${impl_dir_cdUp}${dcpFileName}"
        if {[catch {file copy -force $dcpFile $dcpFileTarget}]} {
            puts "AutoIncrementalCompile: Could not create copy of incremental checkpoint: Source = $dcpFile, Destination = $dcpFileTarget."
        } else {
            #puts "Successfully created reference copy of routed checkpoint for incremental reuse. Location: $dcpFileTarget."
        }
        set dcpFile $dcpFileTarget
    } else {
        # When the user resets the run in the GUI, the latest dcp will be removed and we will get in here.
        # However, we might still have a dcp which we've copied to the .runs directory previously that we can use.         
        # Check if it exists and if so reuse it:
        set top [ get_property TOP [current_fileset] ]
        set dcpFileTarget "${impl_dir_cdUp}${top}_routed.dcp"
        if {[file exists $dcpFileTarget] == 0} {
            set dcpFileTarget "${impl_dir_cdUp}${top}_placed.dcp"
            puts "2 = $dcpFileTarget"
        }

        if {[file exists $dcpFileTarget]} {
            set dcpFile $dcpFileTarget
            puts "AutoIncrementalCompile: Reusing previously copied guide file: $dcpFileTarget."
        }
    }

Issue 5:

Change Line 249 from

puts "AutoIncrementalCompile: Incremental Flow enabled for $run with ${refRun}'s guide file ($guideFile) as the reference checkpoint"

to

puts "AutoIncrementalCompile: Incremental Flow enabled for $run with ${refRun}'s guide file ($guideFile) as the reference checkpoint"

to make for easier reading...

Issue 6:

If no reuse checkpoint can be found, the script should correctly reset the previously set INCREMENTAL_CHECKPOINT property! If it isn't not done, Vivado falls over with:

ERROR: [Vivado 12-3280] Incremental checkpoint file 'D:/proj/reference_designs/incremental_compile/incremental_compile.runs/top_routed.dcp' set on run 'impl_1' does not exist.

This can be done using:

reset_property INCREMENTAL_CHECKPOINT $run