Very true, but mostly EEs and embedded SW/FW engineers. I think the SW tools, although still awful, are reaching the point where more SW-focused developers can

Very true, but mostly EEs and embedded SW/FW engineers. I think the SW tools, although still awful, are reaching the point where more SW-focused developers can take advantage of FPGA flexibility. Which isn't to say every programmer shouldn't be forced to struggle through a Verilog or VHDL project - that'll put some hair on your chest and the fear of god into you. I'll see your async and raise you an "always @(posedge clk)"