使用 Homebrew, Nix 安装 nvc

项目链接

• 主页
• 仓库
• 上游文档
• 软件包管理器页面

命令和别名

• nvc

项目历史

Nick Gasson wrote in 2011 about a VHDL compiler named `nvc`, and his GitHub Sponsors profile later described NVC as a spare-time Free Software VHDL compiler and simulator project he had worked on for 10 years. That small independent compiler has since grown into a maintained simulator with releases, Windows packaging, Homebrew/Nix packaging, verification-framework integration, and mixed-language work.

采用历史

NVC sits in the open HDL tooling ecosystem: not a synthesizer, but useful for compiling, elaborating, and running VHDL test benches. The README explicitly calls out support for OSVVM, UVVM, VUnit, and cocotb, which is the practical adoption surface for verification users. Homebrew analytics on 2026-07-01 showed 783 installs over 365 days, a modest but real signal for a specialized EDA tool.

使用方式

The normal workflow is three commands: analyze source files into a work library with `nvc -a`, elaborate a top-level test bench with `nvc -e`, then run it with `nvc -r`. Users can combine those steps in one command for quick test-bench runs, install standard verification libraries, dump waveforms, and experiment with newer mixed VHDL/Verilog support when their designs fit the supported subset.

为什么软件包爱好者会关心

NVC matters to package nerds because it is a compact, open HDL simulator that packages cleanly and complements heavier commercial simulators and GHDL. Its LLVM-native-code design also gives it a distinct performance story in the VHDL simulation niche.

时间线

• 2011-11-05: Nick Gasson publishes a post about writing a VHDL compiler named `nvc`.
• 2026-04-12: GitHub releases show NVC 1.20.0 with improved Verilog and mixed-language support.
• 2026-07-01: Homebrew lists NVC 1.21.1 with LLVM and zstd dependencies.

Related projects

• GHDL
• LLVM
• OSVVM
• UVVM
• VUnit
• cocotb

来源

• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nvc
• https://github.com/nickg/nvc
• https://github.com/nickg/nvc/releases
• https://github.com/sponsors/nickg
• https://www.doof.me.uk/2011/11/05/writing-a-vhdl-compiler/
• https://www.nickg.me.uk/nvc/manual.html