Stateflow® charts provide concise descriptions of complex system behavior using hierarchical finite state machine (FSM) theory, flow diagram notation, and state-transition diagrams.
You use a chart to model a finite state machine or a complex control algorithm intended for realization as an ASIC or FPGA. When the model meets design requirements, you then generate HDL code (VHDL® or Verilog®) that implements the design embodied in the model. You can simulate and synthesize generated HDL code using industry standard tools, and then map your system designs into FPGAs and ASICs.
In general, generation of VHDL or Verilog code from a model containing a chart does not differ greatly from HDL code generation from other models. The HDL code generator is designed to
Support the largest possible subset of chart semantics that is consistent with HDL. This broad subset lets you generate HDL code from existing models without significant remodeling effort.
Generate bit-true, cycle-accurate HDL code that is fully compatible with Stateflow simulation semantics.
When your Simulink® model contains a Stateflow Chart that uses comments, HDL Coder™ generates the comments in the HDL code.
When you generate Verilog code from the model, HDL Coder displays the comments in the Stateflow Chart inline beside the corresponding Stateflow object.
You can use a tunable parameter in a Stateflow Chart intended for HDL code generation.
For more information, see Generate DUT Ports for Tunable Parameters.
The hdlcodercfir model shows how to generate HDL code for a subsystem that includes Stateflow charts.
To open the model, at the command line, enter:
hdlcodercfir
HDL Coder does not support Stateflow blocks that contain messages for HDL code generation.
A chart intended for HDL code generation must be part of a Simulink subsystem. If the chart for which you want to generate code is at the root level of your model, embed the chart in a subsystem. Connect the relevant signals to the subsystem inputs and outputs.
The code generator supports a subset of MATLAB® data types in charts that include:
Signed and unsigned integer
Fixed point
Boolean
Enumeration
Note
Except for data types assigned to ports, multidimensional arrays of these types are supported. Port data types must be either scalar or vector.
If you use single and double data types, HDL Coder generates real data types in the HDL code. You can simulate and verify the code by using third-party simulators such as ModelSim®.
However, real types are not synthesizable on the target FPGA device. The code
generator does not support generation of HDL code for the Stateflow
Chart in Native Floating Point mode. To generate
synthesizable HDL code when you use floating-point data types, develop the algorithm by
using MATLAB Function blocks or other Simulink Blocks Supported with Native Floating-Point.
You must enable the chart property Execute (enter) Chart at Initialization. This option executes the update chart function immediately following chart initialization. The option is required for HDL because outputs must be available at time 0 (hardware reset). Execution of a Chart at Initialization (Stateflow) describes existing restrictions under this property.
The reset action must not entail the delay of combinatorial logic. Therefore, do not perform arithmetic in initialization actions.
To generate HDL code that is more readable and has better synthesis results, enable
the Initialize Outputs Every Time Chart Wakes Up chart property. If
you use a Moore state machine, HDL Coder generates an error if you disable the chart property.
If you disable Initialize Outputs Every Time Chart Wakes Up, the chart output is persistent, so the generated HDL code must internally register the output values.
Note
Active state data is not supported in charts that use classic or Mealy semantics when the chart property Initialize outputs every time chart wakes up is enabled. For more information, see Monitor State Activity Through Active State Data (Stateflow).
A chart intended for HDL code generation must be entirely self-contained. The following restrictions apply:
Do not call MATLAB functions other than min or
max.
Do not use MATLAB System Objects in a Chart block.
Do not use MATLAB workspace data.
Do not call C math functions. HDL does not have a counterpart to the C math library.
If the Enable C-bit operations property is disabled, do not
use the exponentiation operator (^). The exponentiation operator is
implemented with the C Math Library function pow.
Do not include custom code. Information entered on the Simulation Target > Custom Code pane in the Configuration Parameters dialog box is ignored.
Do not share data (via Data Store Memory blocks) between charts. HDL Coder does not map such global data to HDL because HDL does not support global data.
Vector of Tunable Parameters as data types for Chart blocks are not supported.
HDL Coder supports the use of input and output events with Stateflow charts, subject to the following constraints:
You can define and use only one input event per Stateflow chart. (There is no restriction on the number of output events that you can use.)
The coder does not support HDL code generation for charts that have a single input event, and which also have nonzero initial values on the chart's output ports.
All input and output events must be edge-triggered.
For detailed information on input and output events, see Activate a Stateflow Chart by Sending Input Events (Stateflow) and Activate a Simulink Block by Sending Output Events (Stateflow).
Stateflow messages are not supported for HDL code generation.
Other than for loops, do not explicitly use loops in a chart
intended for HDL code generation. Observe the following restrictions on
for loops:
The data type of the loop counter variable must be
int32.
HDL Coder supports only constant-bounded loops.
The for loop example, sf_for, shows a design
pattern for a for loop using a graphical function.
HDL Coder imposes additional restrictions on the use of classic chart features. These limitations exist because HDL does not support some features of general-purpose sequential programming languages.
Do not define local events in a chart from which HDL code is generated.
Do not use the following implicit events:
enter
exit
change
You can use the following implicit events:
wakeup
tick
You can use temporal logic if the base events are limited to these types of implicit events.
Do not use recursion through graphical functions. HDL Coder does not currently support recursion.
Avoid unstructured code. Although charts allow unstructured code (through
transition flow diagrams and graphical functions), this usage results in
goto statements and multiple function return statements. HDL
does not support either goto statements or multiple function
return statements. Therefore, do not use unstructured flow diagrams.
If you have not selected the Initialize Outputs Every Time Chart Wakes Up chart option, do not read from output ports.
Do not use Data Store Memory objects.
Do not use pointer (&) or indirection
(*) operators. See Pointer and Address Operations (Stateflow).
If a chart gets a run-time overflow error during simulation, it is possible to disable data range error checking and generate HDL code for the chart. However, in such cases, some results obtained from the generated HDL code might not be bit-true to results from the simulation. The recommended practice is to enable overflow checking and eliminate overflow conditions from the model during simulation.
Sequence Viewer (Stateflow) | State Transition Table (Stateflow) | Truth Table (Stateflow)