[sdiy] FPGAs, VHDL or Verilog and why?

[Scott Gravenhorst]

I think that it's really just a matter of preference since neither language is capable
of anything the other is not.

I think that the opinions expressed about this are simply based on experience and what
one likes.

For me, the most important points in this discussion have been - 

For Europeans, VHDL is more prevalent.  For Americans, Verilog is more prevalent.  Both
languages can be used to describe the same exact design.  Both languages can be mixed
within the same design.   Since most people who use HDL are introduced to it in higher
education and it has become a European practice to teach VHDL and an American practice
to teach Verilog so some "indoctrination" starts there.  

Someone  mentioned others you might know who also use an HDL and that their help in the
form of sample code that is explained to you is quite valuable.  So environment seems to
be a factor.  That was important in my choice.

And I apologize for my reference to the C programming language - I should have noted
that I understand that HDL supports parallelism (mainly) and that C is sequential.  I
merely meant that Verilog has a familiar look to me because of my C background.

So to reiterate _why_ I chose Verilog - it was somewhat familiar looking, even when I
didn't know squat.  Some of it mades sense just by looking at it.  I liked the more
concise looing syntax ( [11:0] as opposed to [11 downto 0] for example).  And I know
several people who use it.

There are other reasons I suppose - if you have a passion for working for company X,
then you'd best learn what they use.  Other than that, I can't think of other compelling
reasons to choose one over the other.

And regardless which language you pick, a problem might arise if you download a project
written in the other HDL and want to make modifications to it (without support from the
author perhaps).  That will then generate the need to learn the other HDL - which I
might add should be less traumatic than learning the first because you've already come
to understand the line of thinking applied to digital design and the language is merely
a means to an end. Even then, there is the internet, so there is help somewhere.  I have
enough FPGA friends in Europe that if I needed help with VHDL, I can get it if I can't
find what I want with the google thingy.

-- ScottG (who isn't sure he helped anything with this post)
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-- Scott Gravenhorst
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