What the FAQ is an FPGA

A lot of people design embedded systems. Some of them are the hardware design engineers who create the boards. Others are the software developers who program the boards. The one thing that most of them have in common (apart from mutual distrust of each other) is that they predominantly use microcontrollers (MCUs) as the primary processing element in their designs.

Most of them have heard of FPGAs, but all they typically know is that these devices can be programmed to perform different functions -- they don't know how. Similarly, most of them have heard about languages like Verilog and VHDL, but all they typically know is that FPGA designers use these languages to capture the design -- they don't know how these hardware description languages (HDLs) differ from programming languages like C/C++.

In this presentation, engineer, writer, and communicator Max The Magnificent (a legend in his own lunchtime) will rend the veils asunder and reveal all. Max says that we will be leaping from topic to topic with the agility of young mountain goats, so he urges attendees to dress appropriately.