FPGA implementation languages
Implementing a design for an FPGA ultimately comes down to using one or more software-programming-like languages to define the functionality of the device. The traditional languages used for FPGA development are VHDL and Verilog. Current-generation FPGA development tools generally support both of these languages together with the ability to define system configurations using block diagramming techniques. Some tool suites also support the definition of FPGA functionality using the traditional C and C++ programming languages.
VHDL
VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL), where VHSIC stands for Very High-Speed Integrated Circuit, has syntax reminiscent of the Ada programming language. VHDL was developed under the guidance of the US Department of Defense beginning in 1983.
Like Ada, VHDL tends to be quite verbose and rigidly structured. In programming language terms, VHDL is strongly typed. The language contains a predefined set of base data types...
