[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [oc] Verilog coding style for Open Cores-RTL - Case in pointSHA1



Aloha!

Marco Antonio Simon Dal Poz wrote:
> I am used to do FPGA hardware design with Verilog and VHDL, and I can't
> see why Verilog is so better than VHDL. In fact, I see advantages and
> disadvantages in both sides, so, why Verilog is still dominant?

On purely technical merits, and based on what you want to do (simulation model 
RTL-model for synthesis, GTL representation etc) each language have ther pros 
and cons. And it is more or less a moot point to try and analyze why Verilog 
dominates on purely technical merits. Instead it's IMHO things like:

* Historical. Verilog took off early as a design language. Companies like 
Intel, Cisco, Nortel etc all have built up huge data bases with cores and 
designs based on Verilog. Also these companies have huge setups/design flows 
and experience based on Verilog. All these means that you don't switch unless 
there are very compelling reasons. I.e. lots of money to be made. Instead 
these companies keep investing in Verilog.

* Geographical. Most EDA tool vendors are based in the USA. Most ASIC/FPGA and 
EDA engineers in the USA use Verilog. For this reason, the Verilog version of 
tools are usually released first and have fewer bugs than the VHDL version.

* Market share. VHDL is generally found in academia, in Europe (but note that 
Verilog is very strong in Europe too) and for FPGA designs. For EDA vendors 
this means that the potential revenue for developing a VHDL version is quite 
slim. This is the main reason why Aart De Geus claimed that VHDL is dead.

This all means that VHDL does not have industry support, neither from the 
major users and the major vendors. That's why Verilog is dominant and will 
continue to be.

-- 
Med vänlig hälsning, Yours

Joachim Strömbergson - Alltid i harmonisk svängning.
VP, Research & Development
----------------------------------------------------------------------
InformAsic AB / Hugo Grauers gata 5B / SE-411 33 GÖTEBORG / Sweden
Tel: +46 31 68 54 90  Fax: +46 31 68 54 91  Mobile: +46 733 75 97 02
E-mail: joachim.strombergson@informasic.com  Home: www.informasic.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------


--
To unsubscribe from cores mailing list please visit http://www.opencores.org/mailinglists.shtml