HacDC Wiki - User contributions [en]

FPGA Workshop

2009-11-05T01:47:26Z

Osmano: /* List of Lectures */

== Main Topics ==
1) Introduction to digital logic & design 
2) Verilog HDL modeling & testing 
3) FPGA's & using them. 
 
We will be taking an approach of reviewing & learning digital design, implementing designs and methods of formally simulating and verifying designs before moving into [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-programmable_gate_array FPGA] oriented work. This workshop will be more engineering oriented than hobbyist/tinkerer oriented.

== Hardware ==
We'll be covering some FPGA specific topics and projects using real hardware. The first half of the workshop will cover logic design, implementation and testing. This will allow people to put off ordering any hardware until they know that they actually want to pursue FPGA development, since the dev board I've chosen for this is not cheap but I feel is robust enough to be a good starting board for this group.
 
The hardware we'll be using is the Xilinx Spartan 3AN development kit. This kit is available from a few vendors for 199USD + shipping. This will be discussed more later on. The kit includes programming cable, and evaluation copies of some of the Xilinx tools."

== Tools ==

=== Verilog Simulation and Waveform Viewing ===
Icarus verilog & gtkwave; for doing Verilog compilation, simulation and waveform viewing. A makefile has been made to simplify the flow for any exercises and projects we use these tools with. That makefile can be found [[iverilogmakefile|'''here''']]. 

=== FPGA Toolchain ===
After we finish up with covering Verilog modeling, we'll move to the Xilinx ISE Webpack tools and actual work with FPGAs. This software is available from Xilinx for free, and is available for Windows and Linux platforms. This will be used for Verilog compilation, simulation, synthesis of designs, design mapping, place and routing of designs, bitstream generation and board programming. 

=== Direct Installation (Ubuntu version) ===

--- Gtkwave ---

gtkwave is good in the Universe repository. If you've already got that linked in your /etc/apt/sources.list file, then installation is as simple as:

sudo apt-get install gtkwave

--- Compiling icarus verilog ---

Icarus verilog, on the other hand, is buggy in the Jaunty repository. So you'll want to compile it by hand.

* Fetch the .tar.gz file:

wget ftp://ftp.icarus.com/pub/eda/verilog/snapshots/verilog-20090923.tar.gz
tar xvzf verilog-20090923.tar.gz
cd verilog-20090923

* Make sure you have the necessary compile tools:

sudo apt-get install build-essential flex bison g++

* Compile and install:

./configure
make
sudo make install

* Go get a cup of tea after you type "make", because compiling takes a while. But when you get back, you should be good to go. Copy William's makefile into your code directory and get to work. Now you have your usual development tools at your fingertips. (Emacs and Gedit have sweet colorization modes for verilog.)

=== Virtual Machine ===
An OpenSuse Virtual Machine (VMWare based) will be available for people to use in this course, if they wish. This will
have the icarus verilog tools and GTKwave loaded on it, along with Firefox, gcc and make. The suseStudio team has encouraged the use of their VMs in such a manner (teaching workshops). This is being built in susestudio, and will be available as a live install as well.
 
When we move over to the Xilinx tools, people will have to download and install the Xilinx tools by themselves, since that material is copyrighted. Instructions will be given for doing that.

The VMware VM image is ready (ver 0.5.2) for people to grab if they wish. [http://susestudio.com/download/49e791d22097dd5694429fabe47ab5d2/Digital_Design__FPGA_Workshop_VM_v4.i686-0.5.2.vmx.tar.gz '''Get it here.''']

The image also works with VirtualBox. Create a new machine, and when it asks you for a hard drive, select use an existing drive. This takes you to the hard-drives list dialog box. From there, file..create a new drive, link it to the .vmdk file, select it, and you're all set. For the rest, all defaults are ok. (Bother Elliot for hints with VBox.)

There are a few items of note regarding the VM 
* Download is approximately 350MB, the tarball is about 1.5GB in size, and the virtual disk will expand up to 20gigs dynamically.
* The download link is a virgin, freshly built VM, so you'll be the first user booting it up since build.
* There are two users, root and workshop. Both have the password 'linux'
* For the user workshop, ~/scripts/ is included in their $PATH
* Also, user workshop has a few small files in ~/resources/ including a simple upcounter design example.
* May need to run the network configuration tools to ensure you get functional networking. I've experienced issues with the VM in suspend mode, switching networks on the host machine, and completely loosing network on the VM until rerunning the network config tools. They can be found poking around in the system settings for yast.
* Currently, the Xilinx Cable Drivers aren't building on the VM (but all the other Xilinx tools work). If someone is a linux guru and wants to try to make it work, contact me at [mailto:teachmeFPGA@gmail.com teachmeFPGA@gmail.com]. My next attempt is to turn the vm into a live-install and try building the cable drivers on real hardware instead of a VM.
* After loading the Xilinx settings (which will be covered in more detail when those tools are introduced), the current shell can no longer run icarus verilog flows. Start a new shell in order to run icarus verilog.
* Its a fairly minimalist system, with the FOSS tools listed above load, along with firefox, gcc and nano. Use yast or yast2 in order to install any additional packages. example yast2 --install ''packname''
* If the download link stops working, the build has likely expired on the SuseStudio server. Please email [mailto:teachmeFPGA@gmail.com teachmeFPGA@gmail.com] if the download link no longer works.
* Mad props to the susestudio team for making this possible

== Lecture ==
Lecture/Discussions will mainly be based on content from a pair of courses in MIT's Opencourseware initiative. This content is licensed on the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial Share-alike 3.0 license; as a result, the electronic content generated by the workshop will also need to be made available under the same license. This will allow people to freely access just the discussion slides without watching through videos. A video archive will be made available for those unable to attend.

=== List of Lectures ===
''This is currently an incomplete list, additional topics will be added as I solidify them - wgibb''
{| border="1"
|Week
|Date
|Topics Covered
|Exercise
|Solutions/Approach
|-
|1
|October 7th, 2009
|[http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/File:Lect1_draft2.pdf Workshop Introduction & Introduction to digital systems and design]
|Make sure people can run the Virtual Machine or FOSS tools
|Lorem Ipsum
|-
|2
|October 14th, 2009
|[http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/File:Lect2_draf3.pdf Boolean Logic, combinatorial circuits and timing]
|Make sure people can run the Virtual Machine or FOSS tools |[http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/File:Lect2_exercise.pdf Boolean & Combinatorial Exercises]
|[http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/File:Lect2_sol.pdf Exercise Solutions]
[[Discussion 2 Exercises Solution notes]]
|-
|3
|October 21st, 2009
|[http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/File:Lect3.pdf Introduction to Verilog Coding, focusing on combinatorial circuits]
|[[FPGAExercise3| Verilog Coding Modular Full Adder Design and Simulation and ALU extension project]]
|Solutions
|-
|4
|October 28th, 2009
|Make up day
|
|Solutions
|-
|4 1/2
|November 4th, 2009
|[http://wiki.hacdc.org/index.php/File:Intro_to_Sequential_Logic.pdf Introduction to Sequential Logic and Flip Flops]
|[http://projects.hacdc.org/tapemachine/SequentialCircuits.mp3 Audio]
|-
|5
|November 11th, 2009
|Digital Arithmetic and adder styles
|Implement various adders, static gate delays & modeling their timing effects
|Solutions
|-
|6
|November 18th, 2009
|Finite State Machines & You
|Modeling of Finite State machines
|Solutions
|-
|7
|November 25th, 2009
|Testbenches in Verilog
|Practical FSM Exercise, event driven testbench
|Solutions
|-
|8
|December 2nd, 2009
|Introduction to FPGAs - History, Capabilities and Features
|Load up Xilinx Tools & conversion of past exercises into ISE Projects, time permitting
|Solutions
|-
|9
|December 9th, 2009
|Logic Synthesis & Design considerations with FPGAs
|Conversion of projects, simulation in iSim
|Solutions
|-
|10
|December 16th, 2009
|TBD
|TBD
|TBD
|}
 

=== Videos of Discussions ===
The videos are mpeg4 video with aac audio 
{| border="1"
| Week
| Video Links
| Notes
|-
|1
|
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week01/MOV011.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 1]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week01/MOV012.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 2]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week01/MOV013.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 3]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week01/MOV014.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 4] 
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week01/MOV015.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 5]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week01/MOV016.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 6]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week01/MOV017.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 7]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week01/MOV018.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 8]
|not equal length
|-
|2
|
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week02/MOV005.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 1]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week02/MOV006.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 2]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week02/MOV007.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 3] 
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week02/MOV008.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 4]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week02/MOV009.TOD.ff.mp4 Part 5]
| Video cuts out at a discussion about Rise and Fall times
|-
|3
|
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week03/10.avi Part 1]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week03/11.avi Part 2]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week03/12.avi Part 3] 
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week03/13.avi Part 4]
[http://wiki.hacdc.org/videos/hacdc-fpga/week03/14.avi Part 5]
|
|-
|4
|
|
|}

== Workshop requirements ==

This workshop will be free of charge to attend, but there are additional needs in order to fully benefit from attending the workshop.
* Open mind to learning
* Willingness to read documentation, as the capacity for independent research is important for doing hardware design.
* Willingness to commit time over this fall
* Either ability to run a VMWare virtual machine, the ability to convert the VM for virtualBox, or ability to install the icarus verilog/gtkwave tools on your own. This will likely necessitate a laptop of some sort.
* Xilinx.com account, for licensing Xilinx tools and IP.
* Hardware will NOT be required at the beginning of the course but will be needed later on to run exercises and to do any interesting projects

== Workshop Frequently Asked Questions ==

# What operating systems will the FPGA toolchain be available on?
##The Xilinx ISE Webpack is supported on Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Business, Redhat Linux and Suse Linux Enterprise. For a detailed list of official OS support, check out the [http://www.xilinx.com/ise/ossupport/index.htm Operating system support page on Xilinx.com]. The tools will run on openSuse as well. Feel free to try other linux distros and post your results.
# What is the cost of the FPGA development board we'll be using?
##The retail cost of the development board is typically around 199-220 USD, plus shipping, from a few different vendors. Links for that are [[FPGA_Workshop#Spartan_3AN_Starter_Kit|here]].
# Will there be homework?
##Since this isn't an academic course, there will not be graded homework in the traditional sense. I'll be choosing a few additional exercises that people can do outside of the workshop each week, if they wish, that will further help hone their skills.
# Will there be extensive C/C++ coding?
##C experience is not a prerequisite for this workshop. There will not be any C/C++ coding involved in the workshop directly. There is one project that I've got in mind that may be of interest to people that are proficient in C/C++ and pick up hardware design rather well.

== Workshop Mailing List ==

A HacDC Mailman mailling list has been setup for this workshop. That list is fpga@hacdc.org. You can subscribe to that list by sending an email to fpga-request@hacdc.org with the subject line "subscribe" or click the mailto link [mailto:fpga-request@hacdc.org?Subject=subscribe fpga-request@hacdc.org?Subject=subscribe] and let your email application handle it...

== Workshop Instructor ==

William Gibb, mad scientist. For contacting him regarding the workshop, please email [mailto:teachmeFPGA@gmail.com teachmeFPGA@gmail.com].

== References ==
=== Grateful Dead Trees Reference ===
Fundamentals of Digital Logic with Verilog Design by Brown and Vranesic 
Verilog Quickstart: A Practical Guide to Simulation and Synthesis in Verilog by Lee 
FPGA Prototyping using Verilog Examples by Chu. 
These texts will not be required for the course, but are very good launching points for the topics that we are covering.

=== Online References ===
==== FPGA Vendors ====
[http://www.xilinx.com/ Xilinx] 
[http://www.altera.com/ Altera] 
[http://www.actel.com/ Actel] 
[http://www.atmel.com/products/fpga/ Atmel FPGA] 
[http://www.siliconbluetech.com/ Silicon Blue] 
[http://www.latticesemi.com/ Lattice Semiconductor] 
[http://www.achronix.com/ Achronix] 
==== Course Resources ====
[http://www.icarus.com/eda/verilog/ Icaurus Verilog] 
[http://gtkwave.sourceforge.net/ GTKWave] 
[http://www.xilinx.com/tools/designtools.htm Xilinx Design Tools] 
[http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/index.htm Xilinx Documentation] 
[http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ VMware Player - Free download for Windows and Linux] 
[http://www.susestudio.com SUSE Studio] SLED/OpenSUSE build service. Make VMs, live installs, all customized 

==== Spartan 3AN Starter Kit ====
[http://www.xilinx.com/products/devkits/HW-SPAR3AN-SK-UNI-G.htm Spartan 3AN Starter Kit] 
[http://www.em.avnet.com/evk/home/0,1707,RID%253D0%2526CID%253D45129%2526CCD%253DUSA%2526SID%253D32214%2526DID%253DDF2%2526LID%253D32232%2526PRT%253D0%2526PVW%253D%2526BID%253DDF2%2526CTP%253DEVK,00.html AVNet Spartan 3AN Starter Kit sales page] 
[http://www.nuhorizons.com/ NuHorizons - Xilinx Vendor] Do a search for HW-SPAR3AN-SK-UNI-G 
[http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Cat=2621773&k=spartan%203an Digi-key Spartan 3AN Starter Kit Sales page] 
Probably also at other [[suppliers]].

==== Group Order Participants ====
* Daniel (obscurite on #hacdc on freenode)
* Alden
* Dan Barlow
* Navid
* Matt Liggett
* Maitland Bottoms
* Ben Peizik (benparse@yahoo.com)
* Martin
* Rob Seastrom (rs@seastrom.com)
* Phillip Stewart
* Tim F (smilemoose@gmail.com)
* Nick
* Brian (bpbri [at] hotmail.com)
* Elliot

==== MIT OpenCourseWare links ====
[http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/terms/terms/index.htm MIT OCW Terms of Use] 
[http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science/6-004Computation-StructuresFall2002/CourseHome/index.htm OCW site for 6.004 - Computation Structures] 
[http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science/6-111Spring-2006/CourseHome/index.htm OCW site for 6.111 Introductory Digital Systems, 2006] 
==== General Resources ====
[http://www.opencircuitdesign.com/ Open Circuit Design] Open Source design tools 
[http://www.doulos.com/knowhow/ Doulos Digital Design Resources] Good learning and design references 
[http://www.asic-world.com/ ASIC World] Good learning references 
[http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/ Play Hookey Digital Design] Good learning references
[http://www.fpga4fun.com/ FPGA4Fun] Lots of available IP 
[http://academic.csuohio.edu/chu_p/rtl/fpga_vlog.html Companion website for Professor Pong Chu's Verilog Book] 
[http://www.opencores.org OpenCores] Very good repository for IP. Also the home to the OpenRISC System on Chip project 
 
[[Category:Classes]]
[[Category:FPGAWorkshop]]

File:Intro to Sequential Logic.pdf

2009-11-05T01:27:39Z

Osmano: Lecture from Nov 4 2009

Lecture from Nov 4 2009

Welcome to the HacDC Wiki

2009-09-23T02:25:43Z

Osmano: /* Events */

Welcome to HacDC. We are a hacker space located in Washington, DC. HacDC members improve the world by creatively rethinking technology. We break, build, and occasionally abuse technology in the pursuit of greater knowledge about how it works and repurposing it to build new things. Our shop is located in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Heights%2C_Washington%2C_D.C. Columbia Heights] neighborhood of DC.

If you're new here, you should start by looking at our public web site at [http://www.hacdc.org/ hacdc.org]. Our Wiki is mostly for internal organization, but you're welcome to look through to get a sense of what we work on (and consider joining yourself!). We invite you to subscribe to our [http://hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/announce_hacdc.org announcement] (weekly e-mail) and [http://hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/blabber_hacdc.org blabber] (high traffic) mailing lists.

<div style="float:left; width:48%;">
=== Top Links ===
Themes and threads that span across the other categories in the Wiki. This is also where we keep things that don't easily fit in other categories:
* '''[[FPGA Workshop]]'''
* [[:Category:Meeting Minutes | Meeting Minutes]]
* [[:Category:Financial Reports | Financial Reports]]
* [[:Category:Meeting Agendas | Meeting Agendas]]

=== [[:Category:Projects]] ===
Where our projects collaborate and document their research and progress. They are generally classified as:
* [[:Category:Ongoing Projects | Ongoing Projects]]
* [[:Category:Proposed Projects | Proposed Projects]]
* [[:Category:Abandoned Projects | Abandoned Projects]]

=== [[:Category:In the Space | Records]] ===
Entries relating to the space including layout and events and classes we hold
* [[:SpaceSearch | Space Search: the search for a new space]]
* [[:Category:Space Configuration | Configuration]]
* [[:Category:Event Planning | Event Planning]]
* [[:Category:Classes | Classes]]
* [[Wishlist]]
* [[:Category:What_I_Stole | What I Stole]]
* [[Human_Resources | Workspace Access]]
* [[Central_Services | HacDC Leadership]]
* [[Inventory | Inventory]]
* [[Procurement | Procurement]]

</div>

<div style="float:right; width:48%;"> 
== HacDC's [[Live Status]] ==

We're working on providing [[Live Status]] information here; please bear with us. 
See [http://twitter.com/hacdcdoorman the hacdoorman twitter feed].

== Events ==

<googlecalendar>?showTitle=0&showPrint=0&showCalendars=0&mode=AGENDA&height=250&wkst=1&bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&src=sb8mh1d332pbvnb2g4iob2p728%40group.calendar.google.com&color=%2328754E&ctz=America%2FNew_York" style=" border-width:0 " width="500" height="250" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></googlecalendar>

=== [[:Category:Community]] ===
Pages on people in our community :
* [[:Category:Members | Member User Pages]]
* [[:Category:Friends | Friends of HacDC]]
* [[:Category:Heroes | Heroes and people who inspire us]]

=== [[:Category:Policy]] ===
Our Policy Manual is divided into the following subcategories:
* [[Articles_of_Incorporation|Articles of Incorporation]]
* [[Bylaws]]
* [[MIBS_Simplified_Rules_of_Coordinated_Consensus_through_Chaos | Meeting Rules]]
* [[Privacy_Policy | Privacy Policy]]
* [[Resource_Use_Policy | Resource Use Policy]]
* [[Resource_Disposal | Resource Disposal Policy]]
* [[:Category:Communications Policy | Communications Policy]]
* [[Licensing_Policy | Licensing Policy]]

</div>

Welcome to the HacDC Wiki

2009-09-23T02:23:02Z

Osmano:

Welcome to HacDC. We are a hacker space located in Washington, DC. HacDC members improve the world by creatively rethinking technology. We break, build, and occasionally abuse technology in the pursuit of greater knowledge about how it works and repurposing it to build new things. Our shop is located in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Heights%2C_Washington%2C_D.C. Columbia Heights] neighborhood of DC.

If you're new here, you should start by looking at our public web site at [http://www.hacdc.org/ hacdc.org]. Our Wiki is mostly for internal organization, but you're welcome to look through to get a sense of what we work on (and consider joining yourself!). We invite you to subscribe to our [http://hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/announce_hacdc.org announcement] (weekly e-mail) and [http://hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/blabber_hacdc.org blabber] (high traffic) mailing lists.

<div style="float:left; width:48%;">
=== Top Links ===
Themes and threads that span across the other categories in the Wiki. This is also where we keep things that don't easily fit in other categories:
* '''[[FPGA Workshop]]'''
* [[:Category:Meeting Minutes | Meeting Minutes]]
* [[:Category:Financial Reports | Financial Reports]]
* [[:Category:Meeting Agendas | Meeting Agendas]]

=== [[:Category:Projects]] ===
Where our projects collaborate and document their research and progress. They are generally classified as:
* [[:Category:Ongoing Projects | Ongoing Projects]]
* [[:Category:Proposed Projects | Proposed Projects]]
* [[:Category:Abandoned Projects | Abandoned Projects]]

=== [[:Category:In the Space | Records]] ===
Entries relating to the space including layout and events and classes we hold
* [[:SpaceSearch | Space Search: the search for a new space]]
* [[:Category:Space Configuration | Configuration]]
* [[:Category:Event Planning | Event Planning]]
* [[:Category:Classes | Classes]]
* [[Wishlist]]
* [[:Category:What_I_Stole | What I Stole]]
* [[Human_Resources | Workspace Access]]
* [[Central_Services | HacDC Leadership]]
* [[Inventory | Inventory]]
* [[Procurement | Procurement]]

</div>

<div style="float:right; width:48%;"> 
== HacDC's [[Live Status]] ==

We're working on providing [[Live Status]] information here; please bear with us. 
See [http://twitter.com/hacdcdoorman the hacdoorman twitter feed].

== Events ==

<googlecalendar>?showTitle=0&showPrint=0&showCalendars=0&mode=AGENDA&height=250&wkst=1&bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&src=sb8mh1d332pbvnb2g4iob2p728%40group.calendar.google.com&color=%2328754E&ctz=America%2FNew_York" style=" border-width:0 " width="600" height="250" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></googlecalendar>

=== [[:Category:Community]] ===
Pages on people in our community :
* [[:Category:Members | Member User Pages]]
* [[:Category:Friends | Friends of HacDC]]
* [[:Category:Heroes | Heroes and people who inspire us]]

=== [[:Category:Policy]] ===
Our Policy Manual is divided into the following subcategories:
* [[Articles_of_Incorporation|Articles of Incorporation]]
* [[Bylaws]]
* [[MIBS_Simplified_Rules_of_Coordinated_Consensus_through_Chaos | Meeting Rules]]
* [[Privacy_Policy | Privacy Policy]]
* [[Resource_Use_Policy | Resource Use Policy]]
* [[Resource_Disposal | Resource Disposal Policy]]
* [[:Category:Communications Policy | Communications Policy]]
* [[Licensing_Policy | Licensing Policy]]

</div>

FPGA Workshop

2009-09-23T02:21:54Z

Osmano:

== Topics ==
1) introduction to digital logic & design 
2) Verilog HDL modeling & testing 
3) FPGA's & using them. 

== Hardware ==
We'll be covering some FPGA specific topics and projects using real hardware. This will allow people to put off ordering any hardware until they know that they actually want to pursue FPGA development, since the dev board I've chosen for this is not cheap but I feel is robust enough to be a good starting board for this group.
 
The hardware we'll be using is the Xilinx Spartan 3AN development kit. This kit is available from a few vendors for 199USD + shipping. This will be discussed more later on. The kit includes programming cable, and evaluation copies of some of the Xilinx tools."

== Tools ==
Icarus verilog & gtkwave; for doing Verilog compilation, simulation and waveform viewing. A makefile has been made to simplify the flow for any exercises and projects we use these tools with. 
After we finish up with covering Verilog modeling, we'll move to the Xilinx ISE Webpack tools and actual work with FPGAs. 
An OpenSuse Virtual Machine (VMWare based) will be available for people to use in this course, if they wish. This will
have the icarus verilog tools and GTKwave loaded on it, along with Firefox and OpenOffice. The suseStudio team has encouraged the use of their VMs in such a manner (teaching workshops).

== Lecture ==
Lecture/Discussions will mainly be based on content from a pair of courses in MIT's Opencourseware initiative. This content is licensed on the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial Share-alike 3.0 license; as a result, the electronic content generated by the workshop will also need to be made available under the same license. A video archive will be made available for those unable to attend.

== References ==
Fundamentals of Digital Logic with Verilog Design by Brown and Vranesic 
Verilog Quickstart: A Practical Guide to Simulation and Synthesis in Verilog by Lee 
FPGA Prototyping using Verilog Examples by Chu. 
These texts will not be required for the course, but are very good launching points for the topics that we are covering.

FPGA Workshop

2009-09-23T02:14:44Z

Osmano: New page: "We'll be covering some FPGA specific topics and projects using real hardware. This will allow people to put off ordering any hardware until they know that they actually want to pursue FP...

"We'll be covering some FPGA specific topics and projects using real hardware. This will allow people to put off ordering any hardware until they know that they actually want to pursue FPGA development, since the dev board I've chosen for this is not cheap but I feel is robust enough to be a good starting board for this group.

The hardware we'll be using is the Xilinx Spartan 3AN development kit. This kit is available from a few vendors for 199USD + shipping. This will be discussed more later on. The kit includes programming cable, and evaluation copies of some of the Xilinx tools."

User:Osmano

2009-09-23T01:58:39Z

Osmano: New page: mistake you go make ppl go laugh at you

mistake you go make 
ppl go laugh at you

Welcome to the HacDC Wiki

2009-09-23T01:57:34Z

Osmano: moved things about the page. should be easier to read and access info now

Welcome to HacDC. We are a hacker space located in Washington, DC. HacDC members improve the world by creatively rethinking technology. We break, build, and occasionally abuse technology in the pursuit of greater knowledge about how it works and repurposing it to build new things. Our shop is located in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Heights%2C_Washington%2C_D.C. Columbia Heights] neighborhood of DC.

If you're new here, you should start by looking at our public web site at [http://www.hacdc.org/ hacdc.org]. Our Wiki is mostly for internal organization, but you're welcome to look through to get a sense of what we work on (and consider joining yourself!). We invite you to subscribe to our [http://hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/announce_hacdc.org announcement] (weekly e-mail) and [http://hacdc.org/mailman/listinfo/blabber_hacdc.org blabber] (high traffic) mailing lists.

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=== Top Links ===
Themes and threads that span across the other categories in the Wiki. This is also where we keep things that don't easily fit in other categories:
* [[:Category:Meeting Minutes | Meeting Minutes]]
* [[:Category:Financial Reports | Financial Reports]]
* [[:Category:Meeting Agendas | Meeting Agendas]]

=== [[:Category:Projects]] ===
Where our projects collaborate and document their research and progress. They are generally classified as:
* [[:Category:Ongoing Projects | Ongoing Projects]]
* [[:Category:Proposed Projects | Proposed Projects]]
* [[:Category:Abandoned Projects | Abandoned Projects]]

=== [[:Category:In the Space | Records]] ===
Entries relating to the space including layout and events and classes we hold
* [[:SpaceSearch | Space Search: the search for a new space]]
* [[:Category:Space Configuration | Configuration]]
* [[:Category:Event Planning | Event Planning]]
* [[:Category:Classes | Classes]]
* [[Wishlist]]
* [[:Category:What_I_Stole | What I Stole]]
* [[Human_Resources | Workspace Access]]
* [[Central_Services | HacDC Leadership]]
* [[Inventory | Inventory]]
* [[Procurement | Procurement]]

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== HacDC's [[Live Status]] ==

We're working on providing [[Live Status]] information here; please bear with us. 
See [http://twitter.com/hacdcdoorman the hacdoorman twitter feed].

== Events ==

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=== [[:Category:Community]] ===
Pages on people in our community :
* [[:Category:Members | Member User Pages]]
* [[:Category:Friends | Friends of HacDC]]
* [[:Category:Heroes | Heroes and people who inspire us]]

=== [[:Category:Policy]] ===
Our Policy Manual is divided into the following subcategories:
* [[Articles_of_Incorporation|Articles of Incorporation]]
* [[Bylaws]]
* [[MIBS_Simplified_Rules_of_Coordinated_Consensus_through_Chaos | Meeting Rules]]
* [[Privacy_Policy | Privacy Policy]]
* [[Resource_Use_Policy | Resource Use Policy]]
* [[Resource_Disposal | Resource Disposal Policy]]
* [[:Category:Communications Policy | Communications Policy]]
* [[Licensing_Policy | Licensing Policy]]

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