[sdiy] Xilinx 3E board comments

[Rainer Buchty]

> If you want to have an embedded softcore uP, that is $500 for the 
> development software.

If you want to have the Xilinx supported embedded softcore µP with easy 
integration path to a complete SoC using CoreConnect for module 
connection and µcLinux as an OS that is $500 for the EDK.

You're of course free to use any other free core and manually adopt GCC,
µcLinux, NutOS, port any existing MIDI-related OS, or write your own. In 
the end (valuing time) probably way more expensive.

But does EDK play together with Webpack, or do you need the full-blown 
ISE for that?

> Books to learn either verilog or vhdl....well, those could run about 
> $100 new...

Just go for the "VHDL Cookbook" by Peter J. Ashenden. Free on the web 
and (IMO) a good start, especially the exhaustive DP32 example.

Rainer