Integrating VHDL into an undergraduate digital design course

Modern industry has created a demand for engineers with knowledge and experience in digital system design; therefore, digital design courses are mandatory in an undergraduate electrical engineering curriculum. However, many university programs are still based on outdated methods and technology and have not properly introduced modern topics such as FPGAs and VHDL. In this paper, a new approach taken to modernize a digital design course by integrating VHDL oriented to digital arithmetic is described. The resulting course provides an improved understanding of digital design and a more effective preparation for more elaborate digital design projects.