Re: [colorforth] ForthBox and FPGA

["Samuel A. Falvo II" <kc5tja@xxxxxxxx>]

On Monday 01 March 2004 08:52 pm, Jecel Assumpcao Jr wrote:
> - The free version of the software will be enough for your project and
> can run in Linux (under Wine in the current version, natively in the
> next one). The vendors restrict access to the low level details and
> say they do so to protect your designs from reverse engineering by
> others. Xilinx had a JBits tool in Java that could be used to get
> around this, but its distribution is a bit restricted and it only
> works with certain product families.

Can you provide some links to said software that can run under Linux, 
even if under Wine?

> - I don't do simulations at all but instead use a dual trace analog
> osciloscope for all my debugging. It is an absolute joy to be able to
> reprogram the chip in a minute to bring different internal signals to
> the pins (instead of having to change the probes). You can see some
> pictures of the debugging (but the text is in Portuguese) at
> http://www.merlintec.com:8080/hardware/14

Now that is pretty slick.  I hadn't considered that possibility.  I would 
prefer to do simulations, however, at least to get the initial design 
implemented.  Maybe once the chip was actually half-way functional, then 
the "interactive debugging" can be used.

Hats off, and thanks for the tip -- I *really* didn't think of doing 
this.  :)

> The sound, on the other hand, is generated via a single pin with a
> delta sigma (or PWM, as you called it) DAC.

Well, delta-sigma and PWM aren't precisely the same thing.  Though they 
are certainly related technologies, D-S has several advantages over PWM, 
but requires slightly more sophisticated algorithms/circuitry (depending 
on whether a hardware or software-based solution is used).

> PS/2 ports are pretty easy to do. On my next machine I will have four
> USB 2.0 ports but that wasn't simple. The buffer chips only handle

I don't much care for supporting USB 2.0.

> If you can use chips which at least are compatible with what
> ColorForth can handle you can save some development time. I have seen
> network code mentioned, but don't remember anything about USB.

You seem to be mistaken that I aim to support Chuck Moore's ColorForth on 
this machine.  This is not the case.  Any Forth that runs on top of this 
box will be designed *specifically* for this box, from the ground up.

--
Samuel A. Falvo II


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