Verilog Primer - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ChrisW
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2013, 08:24:31 pm
content: Hello,can anybody point me in the direction of a good intro book to verilog? I find I learn better reading than watching videos.EDIT: For FPGA usageCheersChris

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 20, 2013, 08:27:54 pm
content: Do you want to learn functional verilog for simulation, or synthesizable verilog for FPGA usage?

author: ChrisW
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2013, 08:52:31 pm
content: FPGA usage.

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 20, 2013, 09:00:31 pm
content: http://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/cmpe100/Winter03/Resources/verilog.pdfMore comprehensive referencehttp://www.doe.carleton.ca/~jknight/97.478/PetervrlK.pdf

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2013, 09:34:43 pm
content: for my taste :Bhasker.http://www.amazon.com/Verilog-HDL-Synthesis-Practical-Primer/dp/0965039153simple book , covers the basics and shows what the synthesizer produces from your code. that way you get a feel for how it works.and this is synthesizable verilog. not simulation stuff that can't be converted to hard logic...

author: mrflibble
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2013, 10:12:08 pm
content: What free_electron said, Bashker. "A Verilog HDL primer" was my very first "what's all this verilog stuff then" book, and it was quite useable.

author: ChrisW
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2013, 03:09:54 am
content: Hey guys, thankyou for the recommendations!CheersChris

author: Alexei.Polkhanov
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2013, 04:26:03 am
content: I lerned verilog by reading "FPGA Prototyping By Verilog Examples". Turned out to be very nice book.Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/FPGA-Prototyping-Verilog-Examples-Spartan-3/dp/0470185325/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1374380461&sr=1-1&keywords=fpga+prototyping+by+verilog.Same author has now released another book "Embedded SoPC Design with Nios II Processor and Verilog Examples". Too expensive on Amazon IMHO.

author: cube1us
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2013, 01:47:56 am
content: Thanks, all - I came in tonite with the same kind of question, for both VHDL and Verilog.

author: Mysion
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2013, 08:17:56 am
content: I know this is a bit of a hijack... I'm not sure if I should have made a new thread instead.I'm look to buy an FPGA board and I'm split between these two options...first option Basys 2https://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?NavPath=2,400,790&Prod=BASYS2With the basys 2 board I get a bunch of built in circuitry such as a ton of buttons. The also sell a book to go with it totaling 140$ all together.The other option is the Mojohttps://www.sparkfun.com/products/11953Now the Mojo has more space it looks like but I'm not sure it matters for a beginner. And it's the same price as the basys. 80$ However there's no book for it.does any one have any experience with the book for the Basys 2? Are the community tutorials good enough that I could rely on them?I'm leaning for the Basys 2 for all the built in switches and LED's but I'm very unsure about the quality of the book..

author: mrflibble
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2013, 02:50:56 pm
content: If you can get academic pricing you might want to consider this one:https://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?NavPath=2,400,897&Prod=NEXYS3The spartan-6 on that nexys 3 board is a wee bit more current than the spartan-3e on the basys 2.Or if you want up-to-date goodies, thenexys 4with one of those nifty artix-7 fpga's. I think that one just might be my next fpga toy to play with.

author: Mysion
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2013, 08:21:32 pm
content: I'm a college freshman so I can get that awesome academic pricing.The nexys 3 price is a weee bit high so if I got that I would have to rely on free verilog tutorials witch is fine as long as good ones exist.I don't think I would have use for most of those features on it.... But then again you never knowI originally thought it would be total over kill but it's only a 30$ price difference..... for tipple the space(I think) and a new chip with better features.I think I might spring for it and rely on the free verilog tutorials. There are good ones right?

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 18, 2013, 09:33:16 pm
content: If you buy direct from the vendor you can get the Mojo v2 for only $50 this month.http://embeddedmicro.com/development-boards/mojo-v2.htmlThe SMD programming port doesn't have any strain relief so you need to be very careful with it - I'd recommend sanding off the little metal tabs from the micro plug to make it easier to insert/remove so that you don't rip the port right off from the board.The v3 has a different micro-USB port that used through-hole tabs for significantly better strain relief. Other than that, it is essentially the same as the v2. The v2 are on sale in order to clear out that inventory since only the v3 is sold through sparkfun/adafruit.I have a v2 and it's been a great intro to FPGA's (backed the Kickstarter campaign). Yes, I ripped the SMD port off my first one, but have been much more careful with my new board and haven't damaged it yet. Also got the LED matrix shield, which is a little bit expensive (costs more than the board) but is a nice design.

author: Mysion
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2013, 05:39:12 am
content: Sorry MacAttak I think I will go with the 120$ digilent board. Simply for all the peripherals built in.If I got the mojo I would have a far greater bread board wire mess and a little extra work for the same functionality built into the digilent.It will probably help me learn verilog quicker and do basic noob thingsThe price difference is quite large but it should be worth it.......

author: MacAttak
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 19, 2013, 02:24:58 pm
content: No problem, just thought I would let you know about the current discount on that board since you mentioned it.I don't have access to academic discounts without being shady, so the $200+ price tag on the Nexys board was a little too much for my very first foray into fpga. But at half price it becomes a lot more interesting.

author: Dongulus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2013, 09:00:54 pm
content: Quote from: mrflibble on August 18, 2013, 02:50:56 pmDamn, I wish this came out sooner. I bought the Nexys 3 less than a year ago for my senior project which involved image processing on an FPGA. Since the Spartan-6 on the Nexys 3 has 32 DSP slices, for speedy multiplication, I was pretty limited on how sophisticated I could get. The Nexys 4 now has 240!My mind boggles with what I could have done with 240 parallel multipliers.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2013, 02:44:48 am
content: Quote from: Dongulus on August 22, 2013, 09:00:54 pmAwesome, Artix! I've added it to mylist of cheap FPGA boards. It's a pity the board has no high speed I/O, but it looks like they've outdone themselves with the number of switches and 7-seg displays.