Hardware Description Languages. Concepts and Principles
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Author(s): S. Ghosh
Publisher: IEEE
ISBN:  0 7803 4744 7
Format: hardback
  239pp
Price: $79.95
Review Date: May 23, 2000
Review: This book starts with the basics of hardware description languages (HDLs) for digital systems. These HDLs hold the key to future processor designs. The author aims to present the key concepts, the reasoning and fundamental principles of HDL for computer science and electrical engineering graduate students. It introduces HDLs and traces their origins and evolution over the last thirty years, from 'computer design language' to 'very high-speed integrated circuits' (VHSICs) to 'VHSIC hardware description language'. Behavioural-level HDLs are discussed in detail; the Verilog description language is analysed and a concurrent HDL in ADA is designed from first principles. Hardware descriptions are developed from first principles through a series of case studies - 3 real-world complex digital systems. The principles underlying the concurrent simulation of HDLs in general and VHDL in particular are then explained. The problem of transport delay, which is gaining increasing importance in the current era of higher VSLI densities, higher clock speeds, and newer design techniques, is tackled.