Re: [oc] C to HDL? Didn't realise the situation was that bad

[MICHAEL M DELANEY <mmdst23+@pitt.edu>]

Oh, something I wanted to point out and forgot.  a bool is like a bit, but
it also has 31 other bits just sitting there :)  Also, you should not do
anything object orientated, there really isn't anything like
object-orientated hardware in implemtation (oop is very different then
object orientated design, I probally use what could be thought of as
ood a lot, but I don't really think of it that way.
Mike

On Fri, 14 Dec 2001 jdalton@bigfoot.com.au wrote:

>
> I've never really understood why HDLs
> (VHDL, Verilog, SystemC, ...) get treated
> as 'special' languages.  They have their own
> simulators, generators, synthesisers and
> so on.
>
> At the highest level of abstraction, an HDL
> is just a regular programming language with
> native support for simultaneous execution.
>
> eg. what's the difference between VHDL and C/C++?
> Concept of bits: 'bit' maps to 'boolean'
> Concept of simultaneity: 'process' map to 'thread'
> Concept of time: 'wait' maps to the 'time()' (modified to
> take a float so it handles nanosecond resolution)'
>
> Gcc/glib supports all these things.  Why not extend
> gcc to support VHDL and Verilog?  'FPGA' simply
> becomes another target architecture, with the
> instruction set being the set of functions a logic
> block can implement.
>
> In this way, gcc replaces a synthesiser.
> Gdb replaces the simulator.  HDLs
> and 'traditional' programming languages
> become interchangeable.
>
> Yes, this is a very simplistic view, but I can't
> see too much wrong with the big picture.
> (Please point out any errors!)
> When doing the VHDL writing aspect of
> my job, I often ask myself, "What makes
> me different to a computer programmer"?
> Increasingly the answer is "not much".
>
> As I see it, the lack of a free design flow is the
> main reason writing HDL has not been merged
> with everyday programming. It's probably also
> an historical artifact due to the way people have
> been trained to think.
>
> Best wishes
> John
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