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How do people interface these with a computer? Is there some standard way to build it into a card that plugs into the computer and can have software connect usi
by nmstoker 4y ago
How do people interface these with a computer? Is there some standard way to build it into a card that plugs into the computer and can have software connect using drivers of some sort?
For instance if you had programmed the ASIC with a function that replaced something done in software, how do you divert the data from the relevant step over to the ASIC and back again? Can they keep up with CPUs (or is it the other way round?)
- bri3d 4y agoIn the case of Tiny Tapeout, it's unlikely you'd be replacing any kind of general purpose compute task. The process node and size of the ASIC just isn't really sufficient. It's a toy to demystify the ASIC design process. You can get a bare chip produced or for more money, get the same chip already soldered down onto a PCB. There's a good render of it in this article: https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/tinytapeout-boost-for-open-source-silicon-chip-design/ https://www.eenewseurope.com/en/tinytapeout-boost-for-open-s... - it has a 7-segment display and some pin breakouts. If you were to build an ASIC to replace a general purpose computing function, you'd usually either synthesize PCI Express or USB functionality into your design, design a breakout PCB to interface with the bus, and then write a device driver to interface with whatever endpoints your device presented, or add a microcontroller of some kind in "front" of the device that talked PCI Express or USB and translated into a "lower level" chip communication method like I2C, SPI, or even raw parallel address/data/clock lines.
- nmstoker 4y agoThanks a lot! Really interesting.