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Thank you Tricky for advice. I've started learning about digital hardware design and VHDL since your post. It's building up little by little.
Can someone please tell me more about NIOS II? From the product literature that I've read, I understand that it is a soft microprocessor that can be implemented on Altera boards and I can use C to code things on it. Is it that simple?? What are the drawbacks of using the soft embedded microprocessor?
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In some ways, it is that simple. If we ignore the complexities of designing the FPGA for the moment, and assume we've got a working design with a Nios, and working real hardware, writing code for the Nios is not largely different than any other embedded processor. Booting it up can be challenging, and it is a very modest performer, akin to other embedded CPUs, but with custom FPGA logic to do the heavy lifting, it can make a nice combo. It can't compete cost-wise or performance-wise with dedicated CPUs, but if you need an FPGA, then the Nios makes a nice companion for a variety of solutions, without needing a separate CPU chip.
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