Technology Blogs

We play with technology. Sometimes we discover things we think are worth sharing.
TCL/TK Graphical Display Driven By A VHDL Test Bench
TCL

TCL/TK Graphical Display Driven By A VHDL Test Bench

An example TCK/TK graphical display driven by VHDL such that as signals change, the display reflects the new values.
VHDL-2008 Packages
VHDL

VHDL-2008 Packages

Simple examples of working with VHDL-2008 packages. How close to inheritance-like properties do the new VHDL features get us? Protected types are class-like but how close?
Getting Started with FPGA and VHDL
FPGA

Getting Started with FPGA and VHDL

I've been asked a few times how one gets started with FPGA design? Here are a few notes on the tools you can download for free and the existing websites that already cater for teaching VHDL.
Verification of Clock Domain Crossing Topologies
FPGA

Verification of Clock Domain Crossing Topologies

There are too many ways in which it is possible to mess up clock domain crossings in digital electronics. This post explores Xilinx's report_cdc TCL command and how well it recognises some of the risks you may have missed.
Working With AXI Streaming Data
VHDL

Working With AXI Streaming Data

Beyond using Xilinx IP cores to work with AXI streaming data, one will always need to eventually write custom VHDL code. I've personally found working with AXI awkward and so I've put together some techniques.
Verification of Clock Domain Crossing Timing Constraints and Exceptions
FPGA

Verification of Clock Domain Crossing Timing Constraints and Exceptions

Applying timing exceptions for synchronising registers when crossing clock domains, and verifying the exceptions have been correctly applied and others have not been missed.
Using Certbot To Generate Certificates Without SSH Access
Bash

Using Certbot To Generate Certificates Without SSH Access

Let's Encrypt and Certbot provide ways to automate the maintenance of free HTTPS certificates for your website, but only if your hosting service has included the cPanel plugin or gives you SSH access. We present a solution that we've used for…
Radix-n Fast Fourier Transforms (Part 3)
VHDL

Radix-n Fast Fourier Transforms (Part 3)

FFTs are generally defined recursively, so how hard can it be to write a recursive VHDL implementation of an FFT that can scale to any number of inputs for any chosen radix?
Radix-n Fast Fourier Transforms (Part 2)
VHDL

Radix-n Fast Fourier Transforms (Part 2)

FFTs are generally defined recursively, so how hard can it be to write a recursive VHDL implementation of an FFT that can scale to any number of inputs for any chosen radix?