Programming FPGAs: Getting Started with Verilog

I got multiple problem messages in the ISE trying to generate the .bit file for the very first exercise in the book, the data selector. The ISE reported these problems:INFO:Security:54 - 'xc6slx9' is a WebPack part.INFO:Security:61 - The XILINXD_LICENSE_FILE environment variable is not set.INFO:Security:63 - The LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable is not set.ERROR:Security:9c - No 'ISE' nor 'WebPack' feature version 2013.10 was availablefor part 'xc6slx9'.The error prevents the ISE from building the .bit file, so I focused on fixing that first. In Simon's book he shows us how to get the Vivado/ISE Webpack license. The book goes through the process to get the Vivado license, but the ISE Webpack license is also needed. These two licenses should show up in the list of available licenses in the Xilinx License Configuration Manager (XLCM) within the Acquire a License tab, and they both have to be checked (I had only gotten the Vivado license initially so I had to go back through the process and check the ISE Webpack license selection). Then you generate the node locked license file which shows up in your email and stored on your computer. That is the license file that needs to be loaded via the "Load License" button in the Manage Licenses tab of the XLCM by typing in the file path in the field and clicking Load. Note that you can get the licenses in two separate steps like I did, you will get a second license email, just be sure to delete the original license file (or just overwrite it) when loading it via XLCM.The second effort that is not described in Simon's book fixes these issues:INFO:Security:61 - The XILINXD_LICENSE_FILE environment variable is not set.INFO:Security:63 - The LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable is not set.I'm not sure if it's a big deal or not to fix this. In any event, in the Manage Licenses tab of the XLCM there is a "Set" button and to the left are fields marked XILINXD_LICENSE_FILE and LM_LICENSE_FILE. You plug in the location of your license file into both fields and click on Set.Once those steps were done I reran the project and successfully generated the .bit file. I am using a Mojo so I ran the Mojo loader program and successfully uploaded the file to the FPGA which then worked fine. I should also note that finding the loader for the Mojo board was a bit nitsy in that Embedded Micro appears to have changed its name to Alchitry, and it's not obvious where the file is in the website. The Mojo loader is here: https://alchitry.com/pages/mojo-loaderI hope this info helps. I think very highly of Simon Monk's books and his writing style helps make these complex projects easy to implement.

I didn’t know anything about FPGAs but knew quite a bit about logic gates. This book not only gave me knowledge about how to get started with FPGA programming, but also gave me insight into the combination of logic gates and FPGAs and how they work as one- the baseline understanding of some logic gates that I was lacking from my Electrical Engineering classes. I purchased the Elbert V2 FPGA. This book uses this and a couple of other FPGAs. My 10 year old is asking about it and I expect him to start little project with it soon. :)

Explanations and examples could be better worded and organized in places, but overall it is very good for the price. Great delivery and packaging.

Really good little book to get you started in Verilog and FPGAs. I purchased this to review for some curriculum I am working on. This is intended for someone new to FPGAs and Verilog that really doesn't know where to start. It goes through the typical samples like counters, 7-segment displays, etc. and has a few intermediate examples such as VGA. But you really don't get into any real depth with Verilog... just an introduction. Most of this you can get online for free, but if you are like me and prefer to have someone else do the legwork for you and just work through a book, this is a good place to start.Ignore the annoying reviews that complain that it is a beginner level book. That's exactly what it says it is. If you are not sure what FPGA stands for and have never written anything in Verilog, this will help get you started. If you already know Verilog and have written a few things, this book isn't for you.

I think a better and cheaper (free!) learning experience may found by searching for the web page of Gisselquist Technology. The tutorial found there is excellent.

I highly recommend this book to anyone starting out with Verilog and Xilinx FPGA's... I bought this with Numato Lab Mimas V2 Spartan 6 FPGA Development Board and was up and running in no time... I also bought Blaine Readler's book Verilog By example, which I also recommend.If you have no logic experience, this book will teach you a little about logic gates... That said, I am not sure you really need to understand how the FPGA works to be able to program the FPGA with Verilog.. Verilog is a C like high level language... It's called a hardware description language (HDL) but, you are not really describing the logic in terms of gates, instead you describe the functionality in pretty much the same way you would with any programming language...

This is a well-written, simple, introduction. It is a good starting point if you have no experience with FPGAs.The reader has three hardware options to choose from and the author notes the minor differences between the options as needed.

First 50 pages were references to FPGAs and the Xilinx ecosystem. The rests was just a bunch of low level information. Even for the low cost of the book I could not justify keeping it or even donating it to a library.