Re: gEDA-user: C++ HDL

[Joerg <joergsch@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

al davis wrote:
> On Monday 11 May 2009, Joerg wrote:
>> al davis wrote:
>>> On Monday 11 May 2009, Joerg wrote:
>>>> I just hope universities don't rely on that route alone
>>>> when teaching RF design.
>>> Why not?  It's no worse than some of the other choices they
>>> make, including some that you vigorously defend.
>> Like what?
> 
> Microsoft Windows.
> 

I don't advocate it, and I don't like its "quality" level. But you need 
to teach them about it because their employer expects that. Else he'll 
pick the other guy. I was thrown into the cold water. "Here, see that 
room with the three PCs? That's where you'll have to hack your stuff 
into CAD when done" .... "WHAT? Oh man." ... I only had exposure to IBM 
mainframe stuff and VAX until then.


>>> Considering how much proprietary stuff they rely on, and by
>>> doing so they reject real opportunities for learning,
>>> System-C as a sole way to teach a particular part of the
>>> curriculum seems rather benign.
>> It's ok as long as they don't neglect real HW design and
>> testing, with solder irons and all. I have found younger
>> candidates to be seriously lacking in that respect. There
>> comes a time when us older guys can't help them anymore. The
>> topper was a professor at my university who said that soon
>> everything will be ICs, that transistors and most of that
>> discrete stuff would go away. I burst into laughter in the
>> auditorium, a bit embarrassing ...
> 
> I agree with you, on this and on your original statement.
> 
> Speaking of the "younger candidates" ..
> 
> What is the biggest difference between EE education now and 
> years ago when I was a student (1970).????
> 

It's 10 years later for me. The main difference was that we had lots of 
soldering irons, cheap ones with wood handles but they worked. Shortly 
before I received my masters one of the institutes dumped them. Took one 
as a souvenir and kept it until a few years ago :-(


> Answer:
> When I was a student we had schematics of our hardware and 
> source for our software, and we could study them.
> 

Schematics yes, source code not so much. For example, CAD back in those 
days was done on a Racal-Redac system running on our VAX. Freaking 
expensive and AFAIR the openness factor for the code was zilch. Only few 
nighttime hours were available so I elected ye olde vellum and ink pens. 
I wrote my thesis on IBM-EasyWriter though, but not open source either.

The only open source work back then (in Germany) was done on the Apple 
IIe platform, all hobby stuff.

Sometimes good old times look the better to us the older we get :-)

-- 
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/



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