Industry Expert Blogs
Are there any FPGA tool developers out there?EETimes Blog - Brian BaileyFeb. 08, 2011 |
Any tool that was developed for ASIC development has to be good for FPGA development as well, right? I mean putting logic into an FPGA saves all of the backend nightmares and all of the layout issues; the only thing you have to worry about with an FPGA is making it fit, and a little bit of timing – right?
Well, not so fast. You only have to listen to what some users had to say at a DesignCon panel this year to find out that there are many somewhat hidden issues that are unique to FPGAs, such as the PCB design and the highly configurable nature of the FPGA pins. One panelist went so far as to say “FPGAs are too darn flexible”. So it is perhaps surprising that we do not see more tools available that directly tackle these challenges.