Summary

This chapter described the process of designing and implementing systems using FPGAs. It began with a description of the FPGA compilation software tools that convert a description of a logic circuit in an HDL into an executable FPGA configuration. The types of algorithms best suited to FPGAs were identified and a decision approach was proposed for determining whether a particular embedded system algorithm is better suited for execution as code on a traditional processor or in a custom FPGA. The chapter concluded with the development of a complete FPGA-based computer system with TCP/IP networking. This project will be further refined into a high-performance network-connected digital oscilloscope in later chapters.

Having completed this chapter, you learned about the processing performed by FPGA compilation software tools. You understand the types of algorithms most suited to FPGA implementation and how to determine whether FPGA implementation is right for a given application...