Introducing programmable logic devices into digital design

The paper presents the exploitation of a mini-project, the main goal of which is to introduce programmable logic devices in practice (PALs and/or CPLDs) into small to medium complexity digital system design. It is almost the first work where re-configurable devices are used within the curriculum of Electrical Engineering degree course at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal. The mini-project addresses a subject very attractive for an engineering student, as far as it deals with a common interface (RS-232 serial line interface), although not yet used at the very low level until now. A common design approach is used, namely the partition of the system into control and data paths, with associated requirements, specifications and implementation associated issues.