Invisible wrote:
> OK, that's news. I was under the impression that an FPGA works something 
> like an EPROM - you use UV to erase it and then program in all the 
> circuit connections, and thereafter it just works.

nope. FPGA == Field Programmable Gate Array, with the emphasis on 'Field'.
i.e. it has to be re-configured each time it powers on. typically used in
applications where the FPGA (for obvious reasons) is not needed to get the
system booted. (Actually you can attach serial EEPROM's to them to auto-
configure them at startup if you wish). Some newer FPGA's incorporate this
device into the FPGA itself. Configuration is done serially (basically just
a bitstream).

Here's a write-up on them anyhow:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-programmable_gate_array

-- Chris

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