> People often don't realize how important it was to OSS that it was preceded by decades of easy access to programming tools and resources meant for absolute beginners.
> OSS needs FPGAs, and FPGAs need what programming had back in the 1980s: an on-ramp.
Man this looks really cool. Am excite. https://www.blinklight.io/blog/2017-03-31/
@argumatronic FOSS FPGA community is definitely in part inspired by "I'm so f***ing sick of the shitty vendor environments that I'm taking matters into my own hands".
But it's getting easier all the time. Maybe I'm biased w/ how (2010-2012) it used to be harder, but I take issue with the author just shrugging FOSS achievements off as "no comparison".
Also, @parataxis beat me to it, but migen is almost exclusively what I use now.
@five Now that I've had time to reflect... something bothers me about that blog post that I honestly can't pin down. Some thoughts:
1. I agree hardware is DEF not as accessible as software.
2. A simulator like blinklight is prob a good starting point.
3. Re: "When computers first" paragraph, FPGAs expose you to implementation details that are abstracted away from programming environments.
4. In the 70's a single person could build a competitive in marketplace computer. Not true today
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