An Interesting Take On FPGAs From A R-Pi Point Of View

From Raspberry Pi @ Gadgetoid comes an interesting overview on FPGAs – in particular, our flagship Papilio-series dev boards. It’s refreshing to read Phillip Howard’s angle on all this, as it is decidedly from an Arduino/ Raspberry Pi angle on things. The article is a well-written synopsis and can serve its purpose well for those new to the Papilio or FPGAs in general. Here’s a quick excerpt, and I’ll follow at the bottom of the post with some basic resources for the Papilio:

It’s not until recently, with the Papilio entering the scene, that FPGAs, and the resources to learn with them, have really been available to hobbyists. Yes, there have been plenty of educational units around, but the Papilio delivers a much more Arduino-like ( in fact, it can even run Arduino sketches! ) solution that’s more paletable and approachable for the amateur.

The Papilio is much like the Pi in this respect. It’s not so much a product, as a nucleas for a community learning a specific topic and it has already succeeded greatly in bringing FPGA tinkerers together. Gadget Factory have also shown they’re committed to making the Papilio fun and interesting, and I need point no further than the RetroCade Synth to prove this.

Ok, here are some links to the resources that Phillip includes in his article:

• Papilio Wiki – Info, videos, downloads, reference material
• RetroCade Synth Wiki – Original Kickstarter demo vid, downloads, reference, projects, etc.
• LogicStart MegaWing Wiki – Video, reference materials, downloads, all that good stuff
• Intro To Spartan FPGA – Free ebook by Mike Field of Hamsterworks (.pdf)

Lastly, thanks to Phillip Howard of pi.gadgetoid.com for the article, and for his enthusiastic approach!  Make sure to read the original article in full here.

(via Raspberry Pi @ Gadgetoid)