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ASICs vs. ASSPs vs. SoCs vs. FPGAsAll Programmable Planet - Max Maxfield, Editor in Chief, All Programmable PlanetMay. 29, 2012 |
I often receive questions about the differences between various types of devices like ASICs, ASSPs, SoCs, and FPGAs. Is an SoC an ASIC, or vice versa, for example? What's the difference between an ASIC and an ASSP? And should a high-end FPGA be classed as a form of SoC?
There are several problems here, not the least of which that the technologies and terminologies have evolved over time. Keeping this in mind, the following is my highly simplified interpretation of where these terms came from and what they mean today.
