Daniel wrote:
> As I understand it, only the "net list loader" (is that what they call
> it?) that loads the synthesized logic into the FPGA is not available as
> a free tool.

No.  The free tools include an unrestricted "Impact", which is the FPGA
loader.  It can load the 3S4000 without any difficulty.  However, I suspect
that end users of the card would never use Impact.  And in any case, there
already exist free alternatives to Impact for the XC3S series parts.

What Webpack 7.1i cannot do is synthesize, place, and route a design
for a 3S4000.  So anyone doing RTL development would either need to buy
the full ISE package, or use Webpack 6.3i with the service pack, since
that has full 3S4000 support.

Since the RTL is not initially going to be publicly available, it sounds
like only a few people would need to do that.  When the RTL is GPL'd or
LGPL'd at a later date, then a lot more people will want to have
no-charge tools for development.

Eric
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