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Message
From: Gunnar Dahlgren<gunnar.dahlgren@a...>
Date: Wed Jul 30 08:43:45 CEST 2008
Subject: [oc] Open Source creation of FPGA data files?
Andrei Purdea wrote: > --- On *Mon, 7/28/08, Gunnar Dahlgren /<gunnar.dahlgren@a...>/* wrote: >> As far as I know, the details of the datafile formats are kept secret by >> the FPGA vendors (maybe with the exception of some very old device >> families). > > Hello! > > Do you know a few such old devices, with their file formats published, > or at least reverse engineered in a clean room fashion? Even if they are > old, they could still be interesting...
I was thinking of the XC6200 family from Xilinx. It has probably been discontinued since long, there is no mention of it on Xilinx website. I didn't manage to find the datasheet on the web either. Anyone got a paper copy of Xilinx 1996 "the programmable logic databook"? :-) It is said to be there...
Further, when thinking more of it, I'm not sure if the data format was actually documented, or if the FPGA just had the special feature of being "random-config-file-safe". I.e. it was not possible to burn the FPGA by presenting an incorrect config file to it. This feature made the FPGA useful to some guys experimenting with "evolutionary algorithms" for automatic, genetic hardware design. Quite cool. :-) See e.g. http://www-verimag.imag.fr/PEOPLE/Nicolas.Halbwachs/SYNCHRON03/Slides/girault2.pdf
Best regards Gunnar Dahlgren
> > Andrew > > >
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