21 Mar
2009
21 Mar
'09
5:27 p.m.
I interviewed for full time position in a company that develop dedicated super computers
with FPGA. or whatever their hight density cousins are called
They reworked the back-end of the GCC compiler generated,what I can only imagine to be
something near verilog code, (they would not elaborate) so than any application written in
C/C++ would directly be use to program FPGA.
I remember them boasting that these dedicated Silicon Application would be significantly
faster than a bunch of highend CPU running in parallel. Their primay client are DOD.
I can see this killing off embedded device development as we currently know it. All you
need is a FPGA. Write your application in C/C++ then memory, CPU, etc all get generated
automatically.
Relatively soon I can only imagine a vey interesting? future; in addition to a standard
CPU there will also be a pieces of silicons in you PC your will be become your application
whenever load a application.
I have not been following FPGA industry but is there any FPGA infinatable reprogrammable?
?
Michael.
--- On Sat, 3/21/09, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
From: Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com>
Subject: Re: Old Timers [was: CompuPro CPU-68000]
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009, 6:31 PM
On 21 Mar 2009 at 15:50, Jim Battle wrote:
Chuck, that was spoken like a true old-timer, but your
derision is
laughable. "Hey, you damn verilog coders, get off my lawn!"
I'm surprised, as you saw the transition from tubes to transistors to
ICs, so it shouldn't shock you that the next evolution of integration
requires just as much engineering and intelligence, although the
problems to be solved are somewhat different.
Oh, I was trying to be humorous about it. I write Verilog too; it's
fun in its own way.
I could just have easily grumbled about code bloat or not knowing how
to write machine code (not assembly, but knowing by heart the opcodes
and formats of a CPU). Or not being able to read the color codes on
6-dot mica capacitors. Or calling them capacitors instead of
condensors. Or not being able to do neat point-to-point wiring using
tie strips and waxed cable lacing. Or laying out 14 AWG busbar on
mahogany breadboards between surface-mount (meaning that they're
attached with woodscrews) components.
Times change, and all too frequently, we don't. All we can do is
grumble.
--Chuck