Lattice Diamond alternative: learn the logic before the FPGA

Lattice Diamond is Lattice Semiconductor's design software for its FPGAs, such as the ECP5, MachXO2, MachXO3 and LatticeXP2 families: a GUI-based design and verification environment that takes a design from entry to bitstream, with design exploration across multiple implementations and graphical timing and power analysis. Version 3.14 (October 16, 2024) runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 and on Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Ubuntu, and a license is requested from Lattice's licensing page, with subscriptions available to buy. Its page also lists a QuestaSim Lattice Edition for simulation. Lattice Diamond puts your design onto a Lattice FPGA; digiwleea is where you learn what that design is made of, in the browser.

What Lattice Diamond is good at

Everything needed to take a design onto a Lattice FPGA: design entry, implementation with several strategies side by side, timing and power analysis, and the bitstream for the device, plus programmer and debug tools as separate downloads. If your lab board carries a Lattice FPGA, it is the vendor tool to learn. (digiwleea is an independent project, not affiliated with Lattice Semiconductor.)

How digiwleea is different

digiwleea runs in the browser with no install, no license and no board, and shows every wire's value as you build. You start from CMOS transistors, make NOT and NAND, then adders, multiplexers, flip-flops, counters, registers, RAM and an 8-bit CPU that runs a stored program, through a 40+ level course where every part is checked against its truth table, with an AI tutor (Wleea). It does not synthesize HDL or program FPGAs. Learn the circuits here, export them to Verilog or VHDL, then build them for real. The same comparison for other vendors is on the Vivado and Quartus Prime Lite pages, and for open-source FPGA boards on the Icestudio page.

	Lattice Diamond	digiwleea
Purpose	Design and verification for Lattice FPGAs	Learning digital logic, transistor to CPU
Runs on	Windows 10/11 and Linux desktops	Any modern browser
Hardware	A Lattice FPGA board	None
License	Requested from Lattice; subscriptions sold	None needed for the free lab and Act I
Price	See Lattice's licensing page	Free lab and Act I; Premium for the full course

No sign-up is needed to start: open the lab and place your first transistor, or read the free theory course. The account (and the AI tutor) are optional.

More comparisons: HDL, FPGA and chip design tools

Quartus Prime Lite alternative Yosys alternative Vivado alternative Icestudio alternative Icarus Verilog vs Verilator vs GHDL Microwind alternative ModelSim alternative IRSIM alternative HDLBits alternative Magic VLSI vs Electric VLSI EDA Playground alternative Cadence Virtuoso alternative

See for yourself: build a logic gate from transistors in the simulator, then follow the path from sand to an 8-bit CPU.

Open the digiwleea lab →

Frequently asked

What is Lattice Diamond used for?

Designing for Lattice FPGAs such as the ECP5 and MachXO families: design entry, implementation, timing and power analysis and generating the bitstream, in a GUI on Windows or Linux.

What is the latest version of Lattice Diamond?

Version 3.14, released October 16, 2024, for 64-bit Windows and Linux.

Can I learn digital logic without an FPGA tool?

Yes. A browser simulator such as digiwleea lets you build gates, flip-flops, counters and a small CPU and watch every signal, before you ever install vendor software.