Content deleted Content added
m Bold text is not to be used for emphasis per MoS, emphasis is not required anyways |
IBM PC != computer, it is not disputed that embedded computers have more volume than PCs |
||
Line 7:
The main drawbacks of gate arrays are their somewhat lower density and performance compared with other approaches to [[ASIC]] design. However this style is often a viable approach for low production volumes.
'''[[Sinclair Research]]''' ported an enhanced [[Sinclair ZX80|ZX80]] design to a ULA chip for the [[Sinclair ZX81|ZX81]], and later used a ULA in the [[ZX Spectrum]]. A compatible chip was made in Russia as T34VG1.<ref>[[:ru:Т34ВГ1|Т34ВГ1]] — article about the ZX Spectrum ULA compatible chip {{ru icon}}</ref> '''[[Acorn Computers]]''' used several ULA chips in the [[BBC Micro]], and later managed to compress almost all of that machine's logic into a single ULA for the [[Acorn Electron]]. Many other manufacturers from the time of the [[home computer]] boom period used ULAs in their machines. '''[[Ferranti]]''' in the UK pioneered ULA technology, then later abandoned this lead in semi-custom chips. The [[IBM PC]] took over much of the personal computer market, and the sales volumes made full-custom chips more economical.
Designers still wished for a way to create their own complex chips without the expense of full-custom design, and eventually this wish was granted with the arrival of the [[field-programmable gate array]] (FPGA), [[complex programmable logic device]] (CPLD), and [[Structured ASIC]]. Whereas a ULA required a semiconductor wafer foundry to deposit and etch the interconnections, the FPGA and CPLD had programmable interconnections.
| |||