Chips-python 2.2.3
Design hardware with Python
Keywords: Verilog,FPGA,C,HDL,Synthesis,VHDL

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Chips
===========

*Chips* is a high level, FPGA design tool inspired by *Python*.

Try it out
----------

Why not try the `Chips <http://benfre.pythonanywhere.com>`_ web app. 

Design components in C, design FPGAs in Python
----------------------------------------------

In Chips, a design resembles a network of computers implemented in a single
chip. A chip consists of many interconnected components operating in parallel.
Each component acts like a computer running a C program. 

Components communicate with each other sending messages across buses. The
design of a chip - the components and the connections between them - is carried
in Python. 

Chips come in three parts:

1. A Python library to build and simulate chips by connecting together digital components using high speed buses.

2. A collection of ready made digital components.

3. A C-to-hardware compiler to make new digital components in the C programming language.

A quick example
---------------

::

        from chips.api.api import *
        
        #create a new chip
        chip = Chip("knight_rider")

        #define a component in C
        scanner = Component(C_file = """

            /* Knight Rider */
            int leds = output("leds");
            void main(){
                unsigned shifter = 1;
                while(1){
                    while(shifter != 0x80){
                        fputc(shifter, leds);
                        shifter <<= 1;
                        wait_clocks(5000);
                    }
                    while(shifter != 0x01){
                        fputc(shifter, leds);
                        shifter >>= 1;
                        wait_clocks(5000);
                    }
                }
            }

        """, inline=True)

        #capture simulation output in Python
        scanner_output = Response(chip, "scanner", "int")
        
        #add scanner to chip and connect
        scanner(chip, inputs = {}, outputs = {"leds":scanner_output})

        #generate synthesisable verilog code
        chip.generate_verilog()

        #run simulation in Python
        chip.simulation_reset()
        while len(scanner_output) < 16:
            chip.simulation_step()

        #check the results
        print(list(scanner_output))

..        


Work at a higher level of abstraction 
-------------------------------------

In Chips, the details of gates, clocks, resets, finite-state machines and
flow-control are handled by the tool, this leaves the designer free to think
about the architecture and the algorithms. This has some benefits:

+ Designs are simpler.
+ Simpler designs take much less time to get working.
+ Simpler designs are much less likely to have bugs.

With Chips the batteries *are* included 
---------------------------------------

With traditional Hardware Description Languages, there are many restrictions on
what can be translated into hardware and implemented in a chip.

With Chips almost all legal code can be translated into hardware. This includes
division, single and double precision IEEE floating point, maths functions,
trig-functions, timed waits, pseudo-random numbers and recursive function
calls.

Python is a rich verification environment
-----------------------------------------

Chips provides the ability to simulate designs natively in Python.  Python is
an excellent programming language with extensive libraries covering many
application domains. This makes it the perfect environment to verify a chip.

`NumPy <http://www.numpy.org/>`_ , `SciPy <http://scipy.org/>`_  and
`MatPlotLib <http://http://matplotlib.org/>`_  will be of interest to
engineers, but that's just the `start <https://pypi.python.org/pypi>`_ .

Under the hood
--------------

Behind the scenes, Chips uses some novel techniques to generate compact and
efficient logic - a hybrid of software and hardware. 

Not only does the compiler translate the C code into CPU instructions, it also
generates a customised pipelined RISC CPU on the fly. The CPU provides the
optimal instruction set for any particular C program.

By minimising the logic required to perform each concurrent task, designers can
reduce power and area or cost. Performance gains can be achieved by increasing
the number of concurrent tasks in a single device (tens in a small device to
around a thousand or more large device).

While the code generated by chips is compact and efficient, die hard FPGA
designers will be pleased to know that they can still hand craft performance
critical data paths if they need to. There are even a few hand crafted
components thrown in!

Install from github
-------------------

::

        $ git clone --recursive https://github.com/benfre/Chips.git
        $ cd Chips
        $ sudo python3 setup.py install

Install from PyPi
-----------------

::

        $ pip3 install chips-python