The Xilinx M1 Development System place and route tools operate on NCD (Native Circuit Description) format files.
Previous releases of the Xilinx XACT software (versions 5.x and earlier) stored physical design information in an LCA (Logic Cell Array) format.
Although it is recommended that pre-M1 software designs should be submitted to the Xilinx M1 tools in unmapped, unrouted XNF format, it may be desirable in some cases to read, preserve, or utilize the physical information stored in an LCA file. For example, you may want to evaluate delays, perform timing simulation, or preserve the mapping and placement of a design or design block. When this is the case, you can use the LCA2NCD program to perform the necessary file conversion. For more details, see the following figure.
Figure 3.3 Conversion Using LCA2NCD |  |
Once converted, the NCD file may be edited in EPIC, processed for simulation, re-routed by PAR, or used as a guide file for MAP, PAR, or both.
WARNINGLCA2NCD does not work on all device architectures. Refer to the Xilinx Programmable Logic Data Book for compatibility information.
