FPGA, short for Field Programmable Gate Array, is a highly flexible and reprogrammable chip that has vast application prospects in various fields due to its unique advantages.
With the dual effects of a booming market and policy support, the FPGA market is experiencing unprecedented development opportunities. According to IDC’s prediction, by 2024, the global accelerated server market is expected to reach $28.4 billion, and the FPGA market will also exceed $7.155 billion. Especially in China, as a major consumer of FPGAs, the market potential is enormous.
The rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and 5G is continuously broadening the application scenarios for FPGAs, creating more diversified career development opportunities for FPGA engineers.
Therefore, many engineering students are beginning to consider transitioning to learn FPGA. Here are some small suggestions that may help you on your learning path:
1. Solidify Your Digital Logic Fundamentals
For students who have studied digital circuits, Verilog HDL, microcontrollers, or have an electronic-related background with a deep understanding of digital circuits and logic design, getting started with FPGAs will be relatively easier.
For those transitioning from different majors, systematically learning digital circuit knowledge and mastering the relevant foundational theories and background knowledge is the primary task. This is a prerequisite for understanding and applying FPGAs.
2. Master Programming Languages
The programming languages used in FPGAs are primarily hardware description languages (HDL) or register transfer level languages (RTL). The mainstream HDLs are VHDL and Verilog, as well as SystemVerilog. VHDL is more rigorous, while Verilog is more concise, similar to the C language.
For beginners, it is recommended to start learning Verilog, especially if you have some development experience in C language, as learning Verilog will be smoother. After gaining some experience, you can consider learning VHDL. Additionally, HDLbits is an excellent learning resource that provides foundational exercises from easy to difficult, making it very suitable for beginners.
3. Understand the Uniqueness of FPGA Development
Some students may mistakenly think that FPGA development is merely about writing code, and as long as the code compiles correctly and can successfully drive peripherals, they have learned it. However, FPGA development involves the design and implementation of hardware circuits, where the code is used to describe the designed hardware circuits rather than simply software programs.
Therefore, understanding the internal structure of FPGAs, the mapping relationship between code and actual circuits, and mastering the concept of parallel processing is crucial. At the same time, it is important to abandon the sequential execution thinking of software programming and adapt to the parallel execution characteristics of FPGA hardware programming.
4. Broaden Your Horizons and Master Interdisciplinary Knowledge
The applications of FPGAs often involve complex electronic systems or products, such as ATE, medical devices, video surveillance equipment, etc. In these application scenarios, FPGAs often serve as auxiliary tools for specific hardware acceleration or algorithm acceleration functions.
Therefore, to truly make good use of FPGAs, it is not enough to only master FPGA knowledge. You also need to have a wide range of interdisciplinary knowledge, such as system architecture design, signal processing, and algorithm optimization, in order to accurately assess system requirements, reasonably combine FPGA resources, and achieve the desired functions.
5. Practice Makes Perfect
Theoretical knowledge is certainly important, but practice is the only standard for testing truth. In the process of learning FPGA, it is essential to engage in hands-on practice. You can start with simple projects, such as implementing a basic digital signal processing function or designing a simple hardware acceleration module. Through practice, you will gain a deeper understanding of the working principles and application scenarios of FPGAs.
6. Know Your Learning Path
During the process of learning FPGA, joining relevant online communities or forums (such as the FPGA section of CSDN, GitHub’s FPGA project discussion area, etc.) can significantly enhance your learning progress. Interacting with like-minded friends, exchanging learning experiences, answering each other’s questions, and staying updated on the latest industry trends is beneficial.
If you lack confidence in your self-discipline and want to systematically learn FPGA knowledge, you might consider attending relevant training courses, where there are professional instructors to provide you with comprehensive assistance from foundational knowledge to hands-on practice. Transitioning to learn FPGA requires a solid theoretical foundation and professional skills, as well as a deep understanding of technology development trends and application scenarios. I hope the above suggestions can provide some small help for engineering students aspiring to work in FPGA.
For more information, contact:
Teacher Li: 18508330719