I began my career with Xilinx products and can vouch for their tools. I own the Lattice board above and it is a great board for experimenting with. Lattice is Windows only, however.
With these boards you can learn the basics of FPGAs: HDL design, I/O techniques, design architecture, etc. You could also implement image processing algorithms, but you would be limited by I/O throughput and the DSP slices in these low-end devices. When you're comfortable with designing in HDL and you have a better grasp of the tools, then you might consider having your employer/educational institution purchase you a more advanced kit. Some of the kits with high-end equipment and I/O can cost thousands of dollars, depending on your application.
While there are some open source and free tools for working with FPGAs, most of the tools you'll need to learn to use are Windows and Linux only. Often the free versions from the FPGA vendors are Windows only (EDIT: Looks like Linux is started to be supported as well). You could try using Verilog HDL with Icarus and GNUWave, but when it comes time to programming the design to a device, you'll need the vendor specific tools.
If you just need to learn HDL then downloading ModelSim will be enough. I suspect though that you will learn much more with a simple kit. Not only will you learn the HDL design, you'll also learn practical aspects such as programming, optimization for your device, debugging designs on hardware and so on.
Although it is far from the cheapest, buying a Xilinx XUPv5 is a good idea if you want to learn a lot - not only is the 110T chip large enough to build very ambitious projects (a fully functional Nintendo console replica, for example), but it is also the board many top-tier universities use in their digital design class. Berkeley, for example, publishes their full notes, labs, etc for use with the XUPv5 board. I taught the class for a number of years, and would like to believe that it is an excellent, high-quality resource.
As to your question about what an FPGA is, I think the best way to think of it if you are already familiar with microcontrollers (and their normal programming scheme with sequential ordering of processing) is to think of a microcontroller as being told what to "do" and FPGAs as being told what to "be." I think this is the simplest way to view it :P FPGAs are programmed differently. You need to have a full knowledge of the circuit which you want to design, the inputs, outputs, and you will need to spend a lot of time considering the clocking, as clock skew and other issues can easily arise when dealing with more complex circuits in FPGAs! I learned about FPGAs first using a Spartan3E. Have fun! :)
I have little experience with other brands, but I am very happy with the Altera DE2 "*D*evelopment and *E*ducation Board". It is an ideal starting point if you have not played around with FPGAs before.
It includes half a dozen different types of memories (SDRAM, SRAM, Flash, SD cards), 7-segment displays, lots of buttons and switches and more I/O than you can shake a stick at. Want to play with IR? Ethernet? VGA? USB? Audio? All these are the sorts of things that students and novices like. :-)
The same applies to the DE2-70 and other big-brother cards to this one.
This board has several interesting example firmwares to choose from. (The AGA Amiga platform is not in that list, but an Amiga compatible firmware is also available for it.)
人们已经提到了Altera和Xilinx。这是FPGA市场的两大参与者。但根据你想做什么，我也可以建议你看看 Actel（尤其是他们的 Igloo）。它们的优点是不需要额外的 ROM/闪存/任何保存比特流的东西，以防您想要制作一个稍后应尽可能小的应用程序（而且它们的省电模式也非常好）。因此，对于一些业余爱好者（或非常低功耗）的应用程序来说，这可能更好（它们也包含 ARM 软核许可证 - 其他人也有软核，但也许您已经习惯了 ARM 编码）。
The people already mentioned Altera and Xilinx. That are the two big players in FPGA market. But depending on what you want to do I could also recommend, that you look at Actel (esp. their Igloo). They have the advantage that they do NOT need an additional extra rom/flash/whatever holding the bitstream, in case you want to make an application that should be later as small as possible (also their power saving mode is very good). So it maybe better for some hobbyist (or very low-power) application (also they have an ARM softcore licences included - the others have also softcores, but maybe you alredy used to ARM coding).
Btw. coding hardware in a HDL (VHDL or Verilog HDL) is very different from normal programming. So maybe its for the beginning enough for you to just check out the HDL compilers and simulators (usually you always simulate your code before you bring it onto hardware, so its not different from the real hardware developing process).
This depends on the kind of experiments you want to run. I recommend the Virtex 2 boards if you're doing small logic. If you're doing something complex target for Virtex 5, especially if you need an on-ship processor for serial calculations. I think it comes with PowerPC. If you can provide more detail for your experiment I can help you chose a better FPGA.
An ALU is Arithmetic Logic Unit were you do all the "math" stuff: addition, shifts, multiplication, etc.
You program them using HDL software, either VHDL or Verilog. The latter is more C-like. I prefer the first. I have worked with it a long time. You can download Modelsim student edition and experiment with it.
Its not easy learning FPGA so take some time to learn how to program HDL first.
I find this an interresting question and it continues to be. The FPGA's world is also on the constant move and due to this new boards keep arising. If it is still an open question, I would suggest ZYBO from Digilent or DE1-SOC from Terrasic. Which to chose is highly dependant on ones take on Xilinx vs. Altera (a completely different discussion). The good about the two is that they have both FPGA and ARM processor for learning both FPGA design, and embedded OS development.
An interesting open-source piece of hardware is Armadeus.
It combines a Xilinx FPGA (Spartan 6A) with with an ARM SoC (Freescale i.MX51), and that thing can run Linux with custom peripherals implemented on the Spartan!
(BTW, the iMX51 SoC has an FPU as well an is clocked at 800 MHz.)
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如果您想开始使用 FPGA 并尝试使用便宜的板，您可以花大约 50.00 美元尝试以下任何一种：
我的职业生涯始于 Xilinx 产品，并且可以为他们的工具提供担保。我拥有上面的 Lattice 板，它是一个很棒的实验板。然而，Lattice 仅限于 Windows。
通过这些板，您可以学习 FPGA 的基础知识：HDL 设计、I/O 技术、设计架构等。您还可以实现图像处理算法，但您会受到 I/O 吞吐量和这些低功耗中的 DSP 切片的限制。终端设备。当您熟悉 HDL 设计并且更好地掌握这些工具时，您可能会考虑让您的雇主/教育机构为您购买更高级的套件。一些带有高端设备和 I/O 的套件可能花费数千美元，具体取决于您的应用。
虽然有一些用于处理 FPGA 的开源和免费工具，但您需要学习使用的大多数工具仅限于 Windows 和 Linux。通常，FPGA 供应商提供的免费版本仅适用于 Windows（编辑：看起来 Linux 也开始受到支持）。您可以尝试将 Verilog HDL 与 Icarus 和 GNUWave 结合使用，但是当需要将设计编程到设备时，您将需要供应商特定的工具。
如果您只需要学习 HDL，那么下载 ModelSim 就足够了。不过，我怀疑您可以通过简单的工具包学到更多东西。您不仅将学习 HDL 设计，还将学习编程、设备优化、硬件调试设计等实用方面的知识。
If you want to get started with an FPGA and experiment with an inexpensive board, you can try any of these for about USD 50.00:
I began my career with Xilinx products and can vouch for their tools. I own the Lattice board above and it is a great board for experimenting with. Lattice is Windows only, however.
With these boards you can learn the basics of FPGAs: HDL design, I/O techniques, design architecture, etc. You could also implement image processing algorithms, but you would be limited by I/O throughput and the DSP slices in these low-end devices. When you're comfortable with designing in HDL and you have a better grasp of the tools, then you might consider having your employer/educational institution purchase you a more advanced kit. Some of the kits with high-end equipment and I/O can cost thousands of dollars, depending on your application.
While there are some open source and free tools for working with FPGAs, most of the tools you'll need to learn to use are Windows and Linux only. Often the free versions from the FPGA vendors are Windows only (EDIT: Looks like Linux is started to be supported as well). You could try using Verilog HDL with Icarus and GNUWave, but when it comes time to programming the design to a device, you'll need the vendor specific tools.
If you just need to learn HDL then downloading ModelSim will be enough. I suspect though that you will learn much more with a simple kit. Not only will you learn the HDL design, you'll also learn practical aspects such as programming, optimization for your device, debugging designs on hardware and so on.
虽然它远不是最便宜的，但购买 Xilinx XUPv5 是一个好主意，如果你想学到很多东西 - 110T 芯片不仅足够大，足以构建非常雄心勃勃的项目（例如，功能齐全的任天堂游戏机复制品），而且也是许多顶级大学在数字设计课程中使用的主板。例如，伯克利发布他们的完整笔记、实验等，以便与 XUPv5 一起使用木板。我教授该课程多年，并相信这是一个优秀的高质量资源。
希望这有帮助，
Although it is far from the cheapest, buying a Xilinx XUPv5 is a good idea if you want to learn a lot - not only is the 110T chip large enough to build very ambitious projects (a fully functional Nintendo console replica, for example), but it is also the board many top-tier universities use in their digital design class. Berkeley, for example, publishes their full notes, labs, etc for use with the XUPv5 board. I taught the class for a number of years, and would like to believe that it is an excellent, high-quality resource.
Hope this helps,
至于你关于什么是 FPGA 的问题，我认为如果你已经熟悉微控制器（及其具有处理顺序的正常编程方案），那么最好的思考方式就是将微控制器视为被告知“要做什么”做什么”，而 FPGA 则被告知要“做什么”。
我认为这是最简单的查看方式：P
FPGA 的编程方式不同。您需要充分了解要设计的电路、输入、输出，并且需要花费大量时间考虑时钟，因为在处理更复杂的电路时很容易出现时钟偏差和其他问题在 FPGA 中！
我首先使用 Spartan3E 了解 FPGA。玩得开心！ :)
As to your question about what an FPGA is, I think the best way to think of it if you are already familiar with microcontrollers (and their normal programming scheme with sequential ordering of processing) is to think of a microcontroller as being told what to "do" and FPGAs as being told what to "be."
I think this is the simplest way to view it :P
FPGAs are programmed differently. You need to have a full knowledge of the circuit which you want to design, the inputs, outputs, and you will need to spend a lot of time considering the clocking, as clock skew and other issues can easily arise when dealing with more complex circuits in FPGAs!
I learned about FPGAs first using a Spartan3E. Have fun! :)
开源替代品：
凤蝶
Mojo v3
它们也很便宜:)
Open-source alternatives:
Papilio
Mojo v3
they're cheap too :)
我对其他品牌的经验很少，但我对 Altera DE2“*D*发展和*E*教育委员会”。如果您以前没有使用过 FPGA，那么这是一个理想的起点。
它包括六种不同类型的存储器（SDRAM、SRAM、闪存、SD 卡）、7 段显示器、大量按钮和开关以及多到你无法想象的 I/O。想玩转红外线吗？以太网？ VGA？ USB？声音的？这些都是学生和新手喜欢的东西。 :-)
这同样适用于 DE2-70 和其他大哥卡。
I have little experience with other brands, but I am very happy with the Altera DE2 "*D*evelopment and *E*ducation Board". It is an ideal starting point if you have not played around with FPGAs before.
It includes half a dozen different types of memories (SDRAM, SRAM, Flash, SD cards), 7-segment displays, lots of buttons and switches and more I/O than you can shake a stick at. Want to play with IR? Ethernet? VGA? USB? Audio? All these are the sorts of things that students and novices like. :-)
The same applies to the DE2-70 and other big-brother cards to this one.
这个板有几个有趣的示例固件可供选择。 （AGA Amiga 平台不在该列表中，但也可以使用 Amiga 兼容固件。）
This board has several interesting example firmwares to choose from. (The AGA Amiga platform is not in that list, but an Amiga compatible firmware is also available for it.)
人们已经提到了Altera和Xilinx。这是FPGA市场的两大参与者。但根据你想做什么，我也可以建议你看看 Actel（尤其是他们的 Igloo）。它们的优点是不需要额外的 ROM/闪存/任何保存比特流的东西，以防您想要制作一个稍后应尽可能小的应用程序（而且它们的省电模式也非常好）。因此，对于一些业余爱好者（或非常低功耗）的应用程序来说，这可能更好（它们也包含 ARM 软核许可证 - 其他人也有软核，但也许您已经习惯了 ARM 编码）。
顺便提一句。 HDL（VHDL 或 Verilog HDL）中的硬件编码与普通编程有很大不同。因此，也许一开始就足以让您检查 HDL 编译器和模拟器（通常您总是在将代码引入硬件之前对其进行模拟，因此它与真正的硬件开发过程没有什么不同）。
The people already mentioned Altera and Xilinx. That are the two big players in FPGA market. But depending on what you want to do I could also recommend, that you look at Actel (esp. their Igloo). They have the advantage that they do NOT need an additional extra rom/flash/whatever holding the bitstream, in case you want to make an application that should be later as small as possible (also their power saving mode is very good). So it maybe better for some hobbyist (or very low-power) application (also they have an ARM softcore licences included - the others have also softcores, but maybe you alredy used to ARM coding).
Btw. coding hardware in a HDL (VHDL or Verilog HDL) is very different from normal programming. So maybe its for the beginning enough for you to just check out the HDL compilers and simulators (usually you always simulate your code before you bring it onto hardware, so its not different from the real hardware developing process).
这取决于您想要进行的实验类型。如果您正在处理小型逻辑，我推荐 Virtex 2 板。如果您正在为 Virtex 5 做一些复杂的目标，特别是如果您需要一个板载处理器来进行串行计算。我认为它是与 PowerPC 一起提供的。如果您能为您的实验提供更多细节，我可以帮助您选择更好的 FPGA。
ALU 是算术逻辑单元，您可以执行所有“数学”操作：加法、移位、乘法等。
您可以使用 HDL 软件（VHDL 或 Verilog）对它们进行编程。后者更像C。我更喜欢第一个。我已经使用它很长时间了。您可以下载 Modelsim 学生版并进行实验。
学习 FPGA 并不容易，所以先花一些时间学习如何编程 HDL。
This depends on the kind of experiments you want to run. I recommend the Virtex 2 boards if you're doing small logic. If you're doing something complex target for Virtex 5, especially if you need an on-ship processor for serial calculations. I think it comes with PowerPC. If you can provide more detail for your experiment I can help you chose a better FPGA.
An ALU is Arithmetic Logic Unit were you do all the "math" stuff: addition, shifts, multiplication, etc.
You program them using HDL software, either VHDL or Verilog. The latter is more C-like. I prefer the first. I have worked with it a long time. You can download Modelsim student edition and experiment with it.
Its not easy learning FPGA so take some time to learn how to program HDL first.
我发现这是一个有趣的问题，而且仍然如此。 FPGA 的世界也在不断发展，因此新的板卡不断涌现。
如果这仍然是一个悬而未决的问题，我会建议来自 Digilent 的 ZYBO 或来自 Terrasic 的 DE1-SOC。
选择哪一个很大程度上取决于 Xilinx 与 Altera 的对比（完全不同的讨论）。
两者的好处是它们都有 FPGA 和 ARM 处理器，可以用来学习 FPGA 设计和嵌入式操作系统开发。
I find this an interresting question and it continues to be. The FPGA's world is also on the constant move and due to this new boards keep arising.
If it is still an open question, I would suggest ZYBO from Digilent or DE1-SOC from Terrasic.
Which to chose is highly dependant on ones take on Xilinx vs. Altera (a completely different discussion).
The good about the two is that they have both FPGA and ARM processor for learning both FPGA design, and embedded OS development.
一个有趣的开源硬件是Armadeus。
它将 Xilinx FPGA (Spartan 6A) 与 ARM SoC (Freescale i.MX51) 结合在一起，并且可以运行带有在 Spartan 上实现的自定义外设的 Linux！
（顺便说一句，iMX51 SoC 具有 FPU，时钟频率为 800 MHz。）
An interesting open-source piece of hardware is Armadeus.
It combines a Xilinx FPGA (Spartan 6A) with with an ARM SoC (Freescale i.MX51), and that thing can run Linux with custom peripherals implemented on the Spartan!
(BTW, the iMX51 SoC has an FPU as well an is clocked at 800 MHz.)