Re: FPGA - software or hardware -2-


Hub van de Bergh wrote:
The background for my question whether an FPGA is viewed as software or as
hardware comes from the regulations for medical devices.

From the perspective of regulatory requirements it makes a difference
whether an FPGA is viewed as software or as purely hardware because of
regulatory requirements for medical devices are more comprehensive when
software is involved.

Looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be a
duck???

In the end, if it looks like software (HDL or HLL), acts like software
(loads from some read/write storage media such as eeprom, flash, disk,
network), is readily updated/changed like software, there probably is
very good reasons for regulators (or litigating lawyers) to suggest
that design procedures would have avoided the loss of life or injury if
the development had been held to the proper, and more rigourous
standards of software. It's really hard to claim due diligence after
the fact when you choose to take the easy way out by splitting hairs
with definitions.

Reconfigurable computing and system-on-chip design strategies blur the
line today, and will probably solidly move that line so that FPGA
design is considered software tomarrow. And for good reason.
***HARD*** ware designs can not easily/cost effectively be changed in
the field, and as such everyone puts more effort into getting it right
first time for that reason. ***SOFT*** ware has a reputation of people
taking shortcuts because it can be changed next release, and get better
(or right, or perfect) over time. I'm almost certain someone can find a
written memo from some company to ship a hardware design in FPGA with
known critical flaws to meet contractual shipment obligations or sales
quotas, with the expectation that it can be corrected with an updated
FPGA image next week, month, year. One such memo, in litigation,
clearly defines HARD and SOFT when it comes to product failures and
field upgradability.

.

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