Beginning FPGA: Programming Metal

If you've already tinkered a bit with Arduino or Raspberry Pi, and you want to get more hands-on with hardware, or even if you're completely new to electronics and you just want to dive in, then Beginning FPGA is the book you need.

FPGA stands for Field-Programmable Gate Array. It's an integrated circuit waiting for you to tell it what to become. Unlike a microcontroller board like the Arduino, you don't really "program" an FPGA and tell it what to do; instead you use a hardware description language to tell it what to be. And what can it be? It can be just about anything you can imagine! In this book you'll use it to create a pressure sensor, an air quality sensor, and just for fun, the KITT car display from Knight Rider (or Cylon eyes if you prefer to think of it that way). You'll also learn how to make your FPGA talk to a Raspberry Pi.

Along the way, you'll learn the theory behind FPGAs and electronics, including the math and logic you need to understand what's happening -- all explained in a fun, friendly, and accessible way. It also doesn't hurt that you'll be learning VHDL, a hardware description languae that is also an extremely marketable skill.

You don't need an electronics engineering degree or even any programming experience to get the most out of Beginning FPGA. Just bring your curiosity and your FPGA. In this book, you'll be using the MicroNova Mercury, a very affordable and breadboard-friendly FPGA development board.