Installing Xilinx ISE 8.2i in Ubuntu 6.06 at 死火手記

I’ve installed Xilinx ISE 8.2i on my Ubuntu Dapper (6.06 LTS), which is so smooth and easy that I haven’t expected. There is a little trick for post installation configuration, but it’s easy to find solution on web. Here is my installation procedure.

1. Of course, insert the DVD (or download and extract the offline package).
2. As stated on installtion guide (P.29(, open the Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal), and move to the CDROM (usually /media/cdrom0) or extracted file path.
3. Again referring to installation guide, type “./setup” and hit enter to run the setup program.
4. And again referring to installation guide, type “source settings.sh” and hit enter.

Now, the installation is complete. You may type “~/Xilinx/bin/lin/ise” to run ISE. By this moment, my ISE runs fine, except the Pinout and Area Constraints Editor (PACE) didn’t start up when I click “Assign Package Pins” in Process window. From circuitben’s website, we can find that the solution is to start the program by “DISPLAY=:0; ~/Xilinx/bin/lin/ise“, and I’ve proved that it works.

As to simpify the startup of ISE, I’d decided to create a link in the application menu. I’ve found that directly run “DISPLAY=:0; ~/Xilinx/bin/lin/ise” in the menu gives error, thus I create a .sh file to run this startup script, and the menu just call this .sh file.

1. Open Text Editor (Applications > Accessories > Text Editor), input “DISPLAY=:0; ~/Xilinx/bin/lin/ise” (without quote) in the empty file, and save the file in the Xilinx installtion directory, named “launch.sh” (i.e. ~/Xilinx/launch.sh).
2. Right click on the menu, and select “Edit Menus”.
3. On the left, select a appropiate directory (I choose “Programming”), then click “File > New Entry”.
4. In “Name” field, type “Xilinx ISE” (or any name you like). In the “Command” field, type “./Xilinx/launch.sh”. You may pick an icon you like, and make sure “Run In Terminal” is not checked.
5. Close the Menu Editor, and it’s done!

Actually I’m new to Xilinx ISE, as well as Ubuntu. If I made something wrong or you have anything want to share, please feel free to leave a mesasge or drop me a email (hkxforce@gmail.com)