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附录4 英文资料及译文1英文资料(From DIGITAL DESIGN principles practices ,John F. Wakerly)Language OverviewWhat is VHDL?VHDL is a programming language that has been designed and optimized for describing the behavior of digital systems.VHDL has many features appropriate for describing the behavior of electronic components ranging from simple logic gates to complete microprocessors and custom chips. Features of VHDL allow electrical aspects of circuit behavior (such as rise and fall times of signals, delays through gates, and functional operation) to be precisely described. The resulting VHDL simulation models can then be used as building blocks in larger circuits (using schematics, block diagrams or system-level VHDL descriptions) for the purpose of simulation.?VHDL is also a general-purpose programming language: just as high-level programming languages allow complex design concepts to be expressed as computer programs, VHDL allows the behavior of complex electronic circuits to be captured into a design system for automatic circuit synthesis or for system simulation. Like Pascal, C and C++, VHDL includes features useful for structured design techniques, and offers a rich set of control and data representation features. Unlike these other programming languages, VHDL provides features allowing concurrent events to be described. This is important because the hardware described using VHDL is inherently concurrent in its operation.One of the most important applications of VHDL is to capture the performance specification for a circuit, in the form of what is commonly referred to as a test bench. Test benches are VHDL descriptions of circuit stimuli and corresponding expected outputs that verify the behavior of a circuit over time. Test benches should be an integral part of any VHDL project and should be created in tandem with other descriptions of the circuit.?A standard languageOne of the most compelling reasons for you to become experienced with and knowledgeable in VHDL is its adopt