Portable, Flexible, and Scalable Soft Systems

现场可编程门阵列（fpga）是一种特殊的集成电路“芯片”，可以通过编程成为任何类型的数字硬件。传统芯片需要几个月的时间来制造，成本数十万美元，而fpga是预制的，可以在几秒钟内配置，成本只有几百美元。它们类似于有马达的房子，马达可以移动墙壁、管道和电线，根据房主的意愿自行改变路线。这种灵活性使fpga进入了一个价值40亿美元的市场，因为它们被用于各种类型的通信、计算机和工业硬件。fpga构成了最近（和正在进行的）电信革命的基础，并将构成下一次数字革命的基础，无论那是什么。

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are a special kind of integrated circuit "chip," that can be programmed to become any kind of digital hardware. Compared to conventional chips, which take months to fabricate and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, FPGAs are pre-fabricated, can be configured in seconds and cost only a few hundred dollars. They are analogous to a house that has motors which can move the walls and pipes and wires that re-route themselves according the the home-owner's wishes. This flexibility has vaulted FPGAs into a $4 Billion market, as they are used in all types of communications, computer and industrial hardware. FPGAs formed the underpinning of the recent (*and continuing*) telecom revolution, and will form the basis of the next digital revolution, whatever that is.