Hello.
I'm getting a better outline of what's available and the differences between the different options, such as FPGAs and CPLDs. Although, I've just come across Alteras "Nios II Embedded Processor" and to be honest it's thrown me off completely.
- What is a soft-core processor?
- It seems that Nios II isn't a physical product I buy, it appears to be an emulator running on top of any FPGA (Stratix, Cyclone etc...)?
- Programming the Nios II is done through the Nios II IDE, although this uses C/C++? Is this then converted into a netlist (along with the Nios core) to run on a certain FPGA?
- Does using Nios II mean a reduction in performance in comparison to an FPGA/CPLD?
Thank you. Nick.