05-02-2022, 01:56 PM
(04-02-2022, 04:40 PM)someone Wrote: In addition to FPGA development, Protel also provided a real time debuggable Z80 equivalent soft core with assembler and C compiler.
The accompanying Nanoboard hardware was excellent only to be let down by perpetually unresolved software bugs.
Even the mere change of a letter in a signal name was enough to cause a design that worked into a failed mess.
The FPGA and software development portions of Altium Designer were dropped some years ago in favour for a sole focus on PCB design and with that change development was moved from Australia to China.
I've used the protel z80 soft core before, and the soft JTAG debugging / instruments - which were a great feature.
I didn't have the Nanoboard, but did have the original LiveDesign Demo board that had an XC3S400 on it.
I was quite peeved when they dropped support for FPGA development, but now I know more, and about the things that it didn't do well,
I am not so fussed. Besides, it wasn't ever going to support some of the newer players in FPGA.