PAL introduction (was MITS 2SIO serial chip)

From: Peter C. Wallace <pcw_at_mesanet.com>
Date: Wed Dec 26 11:35:20 2001

The PAL was introduced in 1978, Other types of programmable logic devices
were available earlier, (FPLA's for example)

Here is a quote from one of the PAL's inventors (Andy Chan -- now at
QuickLogic)

"MMI's PAL was designed to overcome the problems associated with FPLA that
made it difficult for end users. A proprietary programmer was necessary
and a cumbersome inputting process (creating the design in Boolean
equations, translating them into a bitmap and typing that into a machine
that generated a paper tape for the programmer to read) meant that if the
design didn't work, it was impossible to know at what step something went
awry. Our PAL was faster and used less power, but the main improvement
was in its ease of use, Chan said, noting that the first PAL chip was
introduced in 1978."



PCW
Received on Wed Dec 26 2001 - 11:35:20 GMT