Logisim Evolution

Logisim-evolution, according to its project page,

...is educational software for designing and simulating digital logic circuits. Logisim-evolution is free, open-source, and cross-platform.

Project highlights:

• easy to use circuit designer,
• logic circuit simulations,
• chronogram (to see the evolution of signals in your circuit),
• electronic board integration (schematics can be simulated on real hardware),
• VHDL components (components behavior can be specified in VHDL!),
• TCL/TK console (interfaces between the circuit and the user),
• huge library of components (LEDs, TTLs, switches, SoCs),
• supports multiple languages,
• and more!

Logisim-evolution can thus be used to simulate a variety of different devices and to design digital logic circuits.

Installation

For ECE 110, we will be using Logisim-evolution version 2.15. Note that this is not the newest version, but it is the version used in some follow-on classes in ECE and CS so we will use it as well. The following instructions are adapted from "ECE/CS 250 – Recitation #4: Logic Design with Logisim Evolution" by Professor Tyler Bletsch in ECE at Duke.

• See if you have Java installed on your computer.
  • Windows:
    • Click the search button and search for cmd
    • Open a Command Prompt
    • Type java at the prompt
  • macOS:
    • Search for Terminal
    • Open a Terminal
    • Type java at the prompt
  • If you do not have Java, you will need to install it. Specifically, you need to install Java SE 8, which has the longest support window of all Java versions at the moment.
    • Close the Command Prompt or Terminal window
    • Go to https://adoptium.net/temurin/releases/?version=8 and download the version that's right for your OS.
    • Install Java
    • Once installed, open a Command Prompt or Terminal and type java at the prompt - a help file with the numerous options should scroll by.
• Go to https://github.com/logisim-evolution/logisim-evolution/releases/tag/v2.15.0 and download the logisim-evolution.jar file. Keep track of where in your file system your browser put the file.

Running Logisim-evolution

Once Java is installed, it is technically possible to run Logisim-evolution by double clicking the .jar file, but it is not advisable to do so. For Macs, simply double-clicking the .jar file will start things, but will not grant access to your files. For Macs and Windows machines, simply double-clicking also disables combinatorial analysis. Given that, you will want to start Logisim-evolution from a prompt.

• Make sure you know where the logisim-evolution.jar file is in your system!
• Open a Command Prompt or Terminal Window
• Use cd PATH to change directories to the one the logisim-evolution.jar file is in
• Type java -jar logisim-evolution.jar -analyze -- For Mac you can add a & to the end to run Logisim-evolution in the background and free up the terminal.
• Note: if you close the Command Prompt or Terminal Window, that will also close Logisim-evolution!

Shortcuts

If you want to make a shortcut that allows you to double-click and still have file access and combinatorial analysis, you can.

• Windows:
  • Open Notepad
  • Type START /B java -jar PATH\logisim-evolution.jar -analyze where PATH is the full path to the folder your logisim-evolution.jar lives in (for example, START /B java -jar C:\Users\mrg\Downloads\logisim-evolution.jar -analyze
  • Save the file as NAME.bat -- it must end in .bat; this will create a batch file in Windows
  • From this point forward, if you double-click that batch file, it will open a terminal and run Logisim-evolution with combinatorial analysis included.
• Mac: TBD