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Forum: FPGA, VHDL & Verilog mini micro controller using FPGA


von vhdl n. (Company: none) (pranoy)


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Hi guys,
         I am a newbie to FPGAs, I have to do a project on FPGA for my 
major project.
My teacher suggested making a mini micro controller using FPGA.
I have some experience using Arduino.
So pls help me with some guidance.

What kind of an FPGA should i buy?

I am planning to learn VHDL.

So pls give your suggestions.

von Norbert (Guest)


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Just have a look here. This webpage might be a good starting point for 
you if you are interested in learning VHDL.

http://hdlplanet.tripod.com/vhdl/vhdl.html

Then you might want to buy some kind of prototyping board. For example, 
Digilent sells some economical priced prototyping boards with Xilinx 
FPGAs. They are well suited for a beginner's demands.

http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Catalog.cfm?NavPath=2,400&Cat=10&FPGA

And finally you need some suitable software for developing and 
programming your FPGA. Here you will find a software bundle from Xilinx 
named Webpack. You can download the software, install it on your 
computer and apply for a free license. The free version does have some 
restrictions, i.ex. you can use it only for small FPGA models. But 
that's fine for a beginner like you.

http://www.xilinx.com/products/design-tools/ise-design-suite/ise-webpack.htm

If you have some additional questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Hope that helps :-)

Best regards,

Norbert

von Norbert (Guest)


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Well, I have noticed that quite some links of the first webpage are 
dead, sorry for this!

But here you find lots of interesting training lessons about VHDL and 
FPGA programming.

http://www.youtube.com/user/LBEbooks/videos

Just watch & enjoy!

Norbert

von vhdl n. (Company: none) (pranoy)


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Thanks Norbert.
It was helpful.

There is one more thing.

Is there any major difference between VHDL and Verilog?

Which one is easy to program an FPGA?

von Wolfgang M. (womai)


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Verilog is much more common in the US and a good part of Asia. VHDL 
rules in Europe. In India both are pretty common (because the designers 
there most often work for foreign clients, so it depends where the 
client is). There isn't much difference in terms of functionality. VHDL 
is a bit more verbose, while Verilog usually appeals more to people who 
like C. Pick the one that is more common in your area. Once you mastered 
one of the two with all its design concepts, development flow etc., 
learning the other one when needed is usually not a big deal.

von vhdl n. (Company: none) (pranoy)


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Thanks
I am from India.
and also i have some(basics) knowledge about C.

So is Verilog my best choice to learn?

von Norbert (Guest)


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pranoy tm wrote:
> So is Verilog my best choice to learn?

Well, if there are no special requirements it's just a matter of taste. 
This decision is up to you.

Anyway, here is a famous website with some Verilog examples.

http://www.fpga4fun.com/

von Fitzebutze (Guest)


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You might check for the Papilio board, various suppliers sell this at 
approx 50 USD. Still beats the cheapest digilent starter kits..
If you are unsure which language to choose when it comes to bigger 
projects, I've made good experience with MyHDL (www.myhdl.org). This is 
an extension module to the Python language that handles simulation and 
conversion into synthesizable results in either Verilog or VHDL. 
However, I'd strongly recommend to learn either of the low level 
languages to be able to debug the output and learn to write 
synthesizable code.
MyHDL helps you to get stuff running quickly and focus on the logic 
description, moreover, it encourages you to write self-testing code 
(built-in testbench), but there are many pitfalls to get around until 
you reach a design that runs in hardware, likewise. However, there are 
some good examples coming with it guiding you the way. So for learning 
purposes, I could very much recommend it. But you should consult your 
tutor about this, too.

von vhdl n. (Company: none) (pranoy)


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what all can i include in this mini micro controller?

von vhdl n. (Company: none) (pranoy)


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i meant that

can i make an ADC in FPGA?

how can i create registers?

how can i create PWM using FPGA?

von Wolfgang M. (womai)


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can i make an ADC in FPGA? -> no

how can i create registers? --> Google

how can i create PWM using FPGA? --> Google

In other words, please do some work yourself first and then come back 
with specific(!) questions. There is plenty of introductory material out 
on the web and Google makes it easy to find. As a start you may try e.g. 
www.digilentinc.com, they have course material for both VHDL and Verilog 
(the firsta half of each class material is available for free download).

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