Is it possible to use the BeMicro SDK as a pure FPGA device?

--- Quote Start ---

Then replace some parts of the code with "hardware accelerated IP" a.k.a., Nios custom instructions.

And you can do it with the NIOS/E (the free one)

--- Quote End ---

Thank you! Nios custom instructions? Does that mean these are APIs(?) that enable (or part of) source code to translate into FPGA, and somehow the Cyclone will be configured to fit?

Sorry for my imprecise questions. My understanding is that the Cyclone on the SDK stick is configured to run an soft core processor/OS called Nios II, and on top of it we develop programs. This way we can benefit from the advantage of "future proofing" and transparency of the platform, which is one of the advantages FPGA offer. Programs developed this way can run on another hardware platform, and at the same time the Cyclone can be configured to run another soft-processor.

However, another potential from FPGA is parallelism and speed advantages when the FPGAs are configured to run specific logic, which is what I'm looking for from the SDK stick. Is that "custom instructions" part going to help with custom/specific logic (like encryption/decryption)?

Thank you in advance for any input.:-P