![]() Digital data can enter and exit this IC at designated pins, and it will be processed in accordance with the design configured inside the chip. Once properly configured, an FPGA becomes a specialized IC with a known behavior of its I/O pins. FPGAs are used for the latter and are akin to ASICs albeit ones that you can design yourself to perform almost any digital task that you can think of. Thus, there are two clearly distinct ways of performing any digital task: using a stored program processor or using an interconnected arrangement of logic gates that process digital data in real time. Many tasks can be executed in parallel, i.e., together in time which endows this scheme with limitless power. ![]() In contrast, a DVD player makes use of application specific chips (ASICs) for performing DVD read and display tasks in real time without the use of a single line of code. The computer’s processor really has to struggle to keep up with the rapid stream of 1s and 0s arriving from the disk reader. The sequential instruction execution methodology necessarily slows things down so limits to performance are quickly reached. A sequentially executing program in computers handles the task of decompressing the raw data stream coming off a DVD and making it presentable for the device screen. This disparity arises because of the different methods employed by these two devices to play a DVD. #Fpga how it works movie#On a computer, the movie may play erratically with the processor sometimes struggling and the cooling fan coming on frequently. Either approach will enable us to view the movie, but the DVD player will probably provide the better viewing experience. We can pop the DVD into a DVD player or use the CD/DVD reader that comes with PCs and laptops. This is a very powerful concept that deserves a look in greater detail, so persevere and read on, and you will be rewarded with the appreciation of great new power by the end of this two-part series.Ī movie on a DVD can be watched on two separate devices. Here, programming the device refers to configuring the inner circuitry of the chip to make it capable of performing one or more digital functions. Despite having programmable in their name, FPGAs and other such programmable logic devices are not programmed in the usual sense of the word, as is applied to microcontrollers. Modern programmable logic devices ( Figure 1) principally belong to the class of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). This is an involved story in its own right, but suffice it to say that, over the years, programmable logic devices have developed greatly in complexity and capability.įIGURE 1. Modern programmable logic devices have had their own evolution - separate from the track followed by microcontrollers. These are based on programmable logic ICs that can perform any function that a microcontroller can (and more), without actually executing a stored program. It may then come as a surprise to know that an increasing number of digital systems are now being implemented with a diametrically opposite ‘pure hardware’ approach. Given this state of development, it’s not surprising that microcontrollers are now thought of as the ultimate control devices with no need for any other approach for implementing digital control and processing functions. Today’s microcontrollers are highly integrated system on chip (SoC) devices that bundle together many useful peripherals with the processor, and allow designers boundless possibilities. Come 2017, and microcontrollers are firmly established as the brains behind almost every system requiring some amount of intelligence. ![]() This greatly enhanced the appeal of microcontrollers and they started appearing in so many applications that to find an electronic system without one or more microcontrollers became a challenging task in itself.Įight-bit microcontrollers gave way to 16- and even 32-bit devices for increasingly demanding applications. By the turn of the century, microcontrollers based on Flash memory technology were introduced which greatly simplified the repeated program/erase cycles needed during application development. ![]() #Fpga how it works serial#Once erased, a new program could be downloaded into the IC through a serial (RS-232C) cable connected to a PC. Initially, microcontrollers were only available in an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) form where stored programs could be erased by exposing microcontroller ICs to ultraviolet (UV) radiation for a few minutes. These ICs could be programmed in assembly language to perform a wide variety of tasks under program control and the possibilities seemed endless. #Fpga how it works professional#Go back over 30 years - during the early years of the 1990s, electronics hobbyists and even professional engineers were getting excited by the prospect of using microcontrollers in all kinds of projects. » Skip to the Extras Working with Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) - Part 1 ![]()
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