[sdiy] FPGAs

[Speth, John]

> OK - I'm not saying that I *will* learn to work with FPGAs, but
> just
> might be a chance, one day...
>
> Am I right in thinking that I'd need to learn VHDL, or am I
> barking up
> the wrong logic array?

I recently "half-finished" a polyphonic synth using and FPGA on an Altium Nanoboard.  It took about three months.  I did it to learn about FPGA programming and soft core MCUs.  I implemented it in VHDL because the tool didn't support Verilog.  I was surprisingly productive and I was able to find a lot of synth related VHDL code on the web.  That provided a good footing for my first FPGA project at work which I did in Verilog and using Altera's NIOS and Quartus tool.  I can say for me that the learning curve for Verilog was shorter than VHDL but I had already wrestled through the paradigm shift from C programming procedural design to concurrent digital design with VHDL when I took on Verilog.

I think in the end, it doesn't matter which on you pick.  For hobby work, you make the choice.  For career work, somebody else might be making the choice for you, either directly or indirectly.

I will offer this: Consider using a soft MCU in your FPGA design (depending on your application).  There are tons of neat stuff you can do when custom logic is coupled with a smart controller.

JJS


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