Why VHDL tutorials kill the brain? Or - where to start?

[Vagant]

Hello,

I have started to learn VHDL a couple of weeks ago but still feel that
it goes nowhere. Well, I have several books around and have read about
150-200 pages from these, all show some examples. I have tried to
program them
on board from Xilinx. All work fine, thanks to God!
But there is no complete exciting project. VHDL kills me, I thought.
Mainly because it's boring and not practical. Had you felt like this
too?
I m really looking not for examples which drain my mind but for
something real.

For something like a design of digital filter which includes:

audio_signal1->ADC->digital_filter->DAC->audio_signal2

where digital_filter is controlled from PC host
Where I could learn how such system can be designed? I think it would
be an awesome project.

 

[MikeShepherd564]

Hello,

I have started to learn VHDL a couple of weeks ago but still feel that
it goes nowhere. Well, I have several books around and have read about
150-200 pages from these, all show some examples. I have tried to
program them
on board from Xilinx. All work fine, thanks to God!
But there is no complete exciting project. VHDL kills me, I thought.
Mainly because it's boring and not practical. Had you felt like this
too?
I m really looking not for examples which drain my mind but for
something real.

For something like a design of digital filter which includes:

audio_signal1->ADC->digital_filter->DAC->audio_signal2

where digital_filter is controlled from PC host
Where I could learn how such system can be designed? I think it would
be an awesome project.

As ever, it's difficult to learn from the dry examples in a book. It's
better to find a real problem: even a simple one is enough, at the
beginning and you will learn more from that than from someone else's
"complete exciting project".

Remember, also, that there are very few good technical books (in any
subject), but many which are written very badly (ih t'mi i t'mi i
t'mi). So don't be discouraged by those which you've seen so far.

Mike

 

[Mike Treseler]

I m really looking not for examples which drain my mind but for
something real.

http://home.comcast.net/~mike_treseler/

 

[Andy Peters]

Hello,

I have started to learn VHDL a couple of weeks ago but still feel that
it goes nowhere. Well, I have several books around and have read about
150-200 pages from these, all show some examples. I have tried to
program them
on board from Xilinx. All work fine, thanks to God!
But there is no complete exciting project. VHDL kills me, I thought.
Mainly because it's boring and not practical. Had you felt like this
too?
I m really looking not for examples which drain my mind but for
something real.

For something like a design of digital filter which includes:

audio_signal1->ADC->digital_filter->DAC->audio_signal2

where digital_filter is controlled from PC host
Where I could learn how such system can be designed? I think it would
be an awesome project.

You must learn to crawl before you can walk, and you must be able to
walk before you run a marathon.

-a

 

[MikeShepherd564]

I agree that most of us need to crawl first. However, the simple
digital filter which you suggest sounds like a good target if you
don't find enough stimulus in very simple logic. I'd recommend
"Digital Signal Processing" by Steven W Smith as a good source for
algorithms. It avoids heavy theory (although, given your background
in NMR at Manchester, I doubt that the theory would give you any
problems).

Mike