From 5b390929f5d4bf454f856a574e675041edfb0861 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Peter McGoron Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2023 03:14:05 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] update programmers manual --- doc/programmers_manual.md | 26 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 26 insertions(+) diff --git a/doc/programmers_manual.md b/doc/programmers_manual.md index 893d186..3288251 100644 --- a/doc/programmers_manual.md +++ b/doc/programmers_manual.md @@ -11,6 +11,32 @@ You do not need to read and digest the entire manual in sequence. Many things will seem confusing and counterintuitive, and will require some time to properly understand. +# Required Knowledge + +Verilog is critical for writing hardware. You should hopefully not have +to write much of it. + +The kernel is written in C. This C is different than C you have written +before because it is running "freestanding." + +The kernel uses Zephyr as the real-time operating system running the +code. Zephyr has very good documentation and a very readable code base, +go read it. + +Tests are written in C++ and verilog. You will not have to write C++ +unless you modify the Verilog files. + +The macro processing language GNU m4 is used occasionally. You will +need to know how to use m4 if you modify the main `base.v.m4` file +(e.g. adding more software-accessable ports). + +Python is used for the bytecode assembler, the bytecode itself, and +the SoC generator. The SoC generator uses a library called LiteX, +which in turn uses migen. +You do not need to know a lot about migen, but LiteX's documentation +is poor so you will need to know some migen in order to read the +code and understand how some modules work. + # FPGA Concepts Upsilon runs on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). FPGAs are sets