![\"\"](\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Book-and-NExys-a7-board-1024x979.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe course begins with fundamental digital logic gates, then moves to design of combination and sequential circuits. These are then combined into the beginning of designing a processor with the end result being a MIPS processor. Then students are exposed to the practice of building peripherals (such as RS232, SPI, interupts, analog to digital conversions, motor controllers etc.). Educators will have a choice between teaching Verilog of VHDL, since both are used in examples. In the end, the student will have built a functioning processor, intergrated peripherals and have the option to explore the additional exercises that show techniques for advanced architectures and I\/O applications they will likely run into in industry, embedded system needs, heterogeneous computing and such. There is an appendix on C programming that can help solidify a students understanding of how programming is affected by processor architecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To help with the concepts of building a processor from the gate level to the programming of that processor, a FPGA trainer board serves as a scalable tool that helps students root the concepts into hardware they can see and touch. All of the material was designed to run on the Nexys A7-100T<\/a> (formerly known as the Nexys 4DDR). This board has an entire suite of peripherals that students can stay busy learning how to connect. Peripherals such as switches, LEDs, seven segment displays, VGA, Ethernet, USB, audio, temperature sensors and accelerometers are on-board. If a lower cost version of the board is desired, the material will also port to the Nexys A7-50T and the less feature-heavy, but more cost-effective Basys 3.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/digilent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/mips-block.png\")
