This is the most appropriate technology for use in a textbook for two reasons. First, PLDs are widely used in practice and are suitable for almost all types of digital circuit designs. In fact, students are more likely to be involved in PLD-based designs at some point in their careers than in any other technology. Second, circuits are implemented in PLDs by end-user programming. Therefore, students can be provided with an opportunity, in a laboratory setting, to implement the book's design examples in actual chips.
Students can also simulate the behavior of their designed circuits on their own computers.
The version included with the book supports all major features of the product. In the book, we provide examples of design using schematic capture, but we emphasize the HDL-based design because it is the most efficient design method to use in practice. We describe in detail the IEEE Standard VHDL language and use it extensively in examples. The CAD system included with the book has a VHDL compiler, which allows the student to automatically create circuits from the VHDL code and implement these circuits in real chips. It can automatically target a design to various types of devices.