Questions from newbie

zalzon · 2003-10-10T18:00:02+00:00

I'm trying to get a broad view of embedded stuff.I got a series of (what I hope are not) 12 silly questions which I'mhoping to clear up. Here goes :1) Are FPGAs essentially scaled up microcontrollers? That is theydiffer from microcontrollers in that they have more programmable gatesand more memory space (?)2) Why would someone use an FPGA over say a minil ATX form factormotherboard with a Pentium chip? What advantage does an FPGA offerover a regular mini motherboard with a microchip? 3) I keep calling it "mini motherboards with pentium chips". What isthe proper term for it? PC/104 boards ??4) How do FPGA differ from ASICS. I'm thinking FPGA are for moregeneral purpose whie ASICS are for more specific purposes. 5) Is the method of programming an ASICS and FPGA radiacally differentor similar?6) Will FPGAs eventually drop in price and replace microcontrollersfor many functions? (assuming size is not important)7) Is DSP (digital signal processing) done on FPGAs or some other typeof board?8) Is embedded linux mostly loaded onto those mini boards with Pentiumchips? 9) When people talk about embedded systems, are they mostly talkingabout microcontrollers, FPGAs, ASICS or mini motherboards with pentiumchips?10) Are mini motherboards often used in conjunction with customdesigned boards with microcontrollers? e.g. the microcontroller boardcollects data and feeds that back to the mini motherboard. The minimotherboard processes data spits that info out to another board with amicrocontroller which moves a stepper motor.11) What kind of board are they using in my cable modem, DVD player,LCD screen? 12) Once I get comfortable with using a microcontroller, what would bethe next step in learning? I'm thinking of learning more about usingembedded linux on those mini mobos with pentium chips. Last but not least, thank you for your time!

Oct 10, 2003 21 Replies

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Peter Bennett 22 years ago

I think many of the early simple PLDs are obsolete, and have been replaced with more versatile versions.

No. A PLD is just a bunch of logic gates and flip-flops that the user can interconnect as needed. It would replace a bunch of simple TTL logic chips. A microcontroller would not replace a PLD/PLA/PAL.

A PLD/PAL/PLA/FPGA might serve as "glue logic" around a microcontroller or microprocessor.

The "programmable" in these device names may be a bit misleading - I think a better term would be "configurable", and Altera uses that term with their FPGA parts.

FPGAs are configured at power-up (or before, for the EPROM types), and keep the same configuration all the time the system is operating.

A microcontroller or microprocessor continually reads and processes program instructions in normal operations.

Peter Bennett, VE7CEI new newsgroup users info : http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

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Mark A. Odell 22 years ago

Chris Hills wrote in news:PBKg5OA2w$h$ snipped-for-privacy@phaedsys.demon.co.uk:

I agree, of course. I just love JTAG debug.

- Mark -> --

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