Newbie Question: Which tool(s) to use?

Hi, all. I'm a tech writer, and recently decided to learn more about electronics. Along the way I've picked up four or five textbooks, most of which came with various software -- some student versions, some trial versions, etc.

I finally signed up for an actual course on introductory Digital Design, and we are using a book Digital Design by Morris Mano. The book comes with software from SynaptiCAD, but most of the stuff only runs in seriously crippled mode (no Saving, for instance); you can get a 30-day trial license, but after that you have to pay huge sums of money to run the software. (I went to their Web site, and could not find personal or student versions for most of this stuff, with one exception:)

It does come with one "lite" version that seems to be operational, a program called WaveFormer Lite. (The other, cripple-ware programs are called VeriLogger Pro, Timing Diagrammer Pro, and DataSheet Pro.)

Now -- and I'm working my way up to my question -- the professor already told us that we don't need to use any of the software for the class. (And, apparently, he plans to offer no instruction on how to use the software.) But it seems to me it might help me to use some CAD software, both to better understand the material, and to work more effectively with the EEs that I deal with on the job (which is the real, main goal of this exercise).

So, the question is, of all the various software I've accumulated, which of this stuff should I try to learn? There's a lot of software, and I have no idea which of it is really applicable for my current needs. The criteria, at least for now, are:

1. Is relevant for learning the basics of digital design. (Some major chapters in the book: Combinational Logic, Synchronous Sequential Logic, Registers and Counters, Memory and Programmable Logic, Register Transfer Level, Asynchronous Sequential Logic). The back cover indicates that the book uses Verilog HDL.

1. The software can be a limited, student version -- perhaps it won't let me build a commercial-scale application -- but it has to let me build applications large enough for typical student purposes, and to save them.

2. If the trial version expires after 30 days, the student edition (or something similar) is cheap cheap cheap. I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on this stuff.

As I say, I have a bunch of stuff sitting here, and I'm not even entirely sure which of it is trial software and which isn't -- I don't want to install all this stuff, without knowing which items I really need. Anyway, the criteria are listed above. The options are:

(A) The WaveFormer Lite, that came with the book.

(B) A whole slew of programs from XiLinx that came with another book. The programs include: Project Navigator, Chip Viewer, Constraints Editor, CORE Generator System, Design Manager, Floorplanner, FPGA Editor, HDL Bencher, iMPACT, LogiBLOX, PROM File Formatter, StateCAD, Timing Analyzer, XPower. This all sounds like ASIC and FPGA design stuff to me, rather than basic Verilog HDL stuff, but I could be wrong.

(C) I have a CD called Electronics Workbench/MultiSim that came with one of the textbooks I purchased.

(D) I have another CD called Schematic Capture Using MicroSim PSpice, that came with another textbook. For both (C) and (D), I have no idea if these are trial versions, or cripple-ware, or what.

(E) Finally, with a book called Fundamentals Of Electronic Circuits, the included CD has software called MultiSim 2001 Textbook Edition. (Which may be the same stuff as on the CD listed in (C) above.

So, can anyone -- perhaps a student or teacher who has worked with these CDs, and this software -- tell me both which of this software is relevant for my current studies; and which also either comes in adequately functional form on the CDs that came with the book (like, I can Save the files I create), or can be purchased (at least at the student level) at very, very modest prices?

Also, if there is yet another option I've missed -- perhaps some Open Source tool -- please let me know.

While you are at it, and if you really have time to burn, you might let me know -- for future reference -- what some of these other programs are for, even if not relevant for my immediate needs.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Steve O.

"Spying On The College Of Your Choice" -- How to pick the college that is the Best Match for a high school student's needs.

Xilinx WebTools (freeware if you have the bandwidth to download it).

Paul Burke