Subj : Re: New Pico2 To : Lawrence D'Oliveiro From : Theo Date : Sat Aug 17 2024 16:45:28 Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote: > On Tue, 13 Aug 2024 15:20:50 +0100, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote: > > > On 13 Aug 2024 14:01:07 +0100 (BST) > > > > Theo wrote: > > > >> It's easy to write a core > > > > I wish I could take that statement back to say 1975. > > What happened to the idea of “silicon compilers”? As I recall, they would > automate the process of turning a high-level schematic into a low-level > transistor network. That's how all chip design works today. Except we write code, not schematics. Code - VHDL/(System)Verilog, higher level hardware description langauges like Bluespec and Chisel - scale better than schematics. The compiler takes that and produces a netlist of 'gates' (often more complicated things than regular logic gates, eg lookup tables, adders, memory elements and such) and the place and route tool decides how to pack them onto the chip (either laying down transistor shapes for an ASIC or fititng to existing structures as on FPGAs) and wire them up. Theo --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 * Origin: Agency HUB, Dunedin - New Zealand | Fido<>Usenet Gateway (3:770/3) .