Xilinx Training Courses

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Overview Brochure Who Should Attend What You Will Learn Prerequisites Benefits General Course Description Schematic-Based Course Synthesis-Based Course VHDL Course Registration & Tuition Information

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The Xilinx Programmable Logic Training Courses

Who Should Attend a Training Course?

All users of Xilinx products should attend one of our training courses. Attending a Xilinx training course is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to learn how to design with FPGA devices from Xilinx. Hands-on expert instruction with the latest information and software will allow you to implement your own designs in less time with more effective use of the devices.

A variety of courses are offered to meet your specific needs. Courses are held regularly in centers around the world, and can even be brought to your own facility.

Not only design engineers, but also test engineers, component engineers, CAD engineers, technicians, and engineering managers may want to attend the course in order to understand the Xilinx products.

What You Will Learn

Not only will you learn about our products, but we will recommend the best ways to use the software based on our years of experience with thousands of designs. You will learn how to efficiently enter, implement, and verify your design. You can use the Xilinx automatic mode, or take a power-user approach and guide the automatic tools to the best implementation of your design.

Prerequisites

Students need only have a background in digital logic design. Basic familiarity with the PC or workstation is helpful but not required. It will benefit you to learn your design entry tool of choice before attending the Xilinx course, including an HDL language for the synthesis-based courses.

If you would like to prepare for the training course to maximize your learning, you should complete the tutorials available in the development system. There are tutorials available for the third-party tools for which Xilinx sells the interface, and interactive, animated tutorials for many of the Xilinx tools with graphical user interfaces.

Benefits

Start or Complete Your Design During the Training Course

Bring your design to the course and consult with the instructor. Course size is limited to allow more interaction. You can spend extra time getting your design completed before you return home. Call to see if your design entry tool will be available at the course.

Reduce Your Learning Time

Extensive Xilinx documentation and tutorials provide the information you need to complete your design. But attending the training course for focused, interactive learning is faster than a question-and-answer approach on your own. Instead of interruptions and piecemeal self-education, you will quickly become your company's expert in Xilinx designs.

Make Fewer Design Iterations

By learning the proper approach, you will save time and expense in prototyping and debugging designs. However, if you do need to make changes to your design, you will learn how to do this quickly and efficiently.

Get to Market Faster

Getting your product to market faster is probably one of the key reasons you are using Xilinx products in the first place. Studies have shown that time-to-market often has a greater effect on profits than development costs. Training will allow you to get your product to market on schedule, allowing your company to reap the rewards that follow.

Lower Production Costs

By learning how to use the device effectively, you may be able to get more logic into a smaller device, or operate at a higher speed. As a result, you may be able to save on the cost of the device itself, and the surrounding logic on your board.

Increase Quality

Effective verification techniques will prove the quality of your Xilinx-based design. Higher quality leads to less maintenance and repair costs, and improved customer satisfaction.

Time and Cost Savings

Attending a Xilinx training course is an investment that will pay for itself with the first Xilinx design that you begin. The courses are fast-paced, each providing as much information as possible in the short time available. Hands-on experiences throughout the courses make sure that the information is retained and applied to practical applications. Just as Xilinx products reduce your development time, attending a training course can reduce your design time. The person attending the course will be an in-house expert who can be utilized by other members of your company.

You can reduce your travel costs by attending a course scheduled in your area, or having the class brought right to your facility. The tuition pays for the course notes and expert, in-person instruction, which can be priceless when trying to meet a schedule.

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Course Descriptions

Hands-On Experience

Each course includes over two hours each day for hands-on labs. There is at least one computer for every two people in the course.

Platforms

Schematic-based FPGA courses are available on PC, while Synthesis-based classes are available on UNIX workstations.

Instructors

Xilinx training courses have been successfully held worldwide for over seven years. The instructors are Xilinx experts who are skilled at passing that knowledge on to fellow engineers. A dedicated Education organization at Xilinx works closely with the Applications and Engineering groups to keep the courses up-to-date with the latest improvements to Xilinx and third-party tools.

Course Materials

All course materials are supplied by Xilinx. Every student gets an excellent reference tool in the form of course notes, which include all the material presented during the course. The course notes are bound for easy use and include additional reference material beyond what is covered in the course.

Most courses include a full lunch, with morning and afternoon snacks. Let the Education Registrar know if you have any special dietary needs when registering for the course.

Product Coverage

Xilinx courses will cover the latest released versions of our devices and development systems. While all available products will be covered, emphasis will be placed on the more popular and/or recommended solutions. New products are added to the class as they become available. If you have any questions on coverage of a particular product, please call Xilinx Customer Education.

Schematic-Based Course Outline

The standard Xilinx training course is three days in length. All North American training sites, and most international locations, teach the same course.

Schematic-based courses are heavily focused on the labs, which feature Xilinx' Foundation Software.

Introduction

Synthesis-Based Courses

Designing with high-level languages (VHDL and Verilog) and synthesis tools can be very different than using schematic entry. As a result, Xilinx offers courses that focus on VHDL and Verilog design entry for Xilinx products. The schedule reflects synthesis-based courses scheduled at Xilinx Headquarters in San Jose, CA. The same classes are available for on-site training. The classes are designed for new Xilinx users, as with the standard class. Xilinx highly recommends the synthesis-based class for anyone using VHDL or Verilog for design entry. Lab and lecture material are based on Synopsys' FGPA compiler.

Special Synthesis Topics

Synthesis-based courses include the following additional topics, using HDL code for design entry:

Good coding styles

- Efficient coding for synthesis to Xilinx architectures

- Implementation tradeoffs of different constructs

Hierarchy within synthesis

Synthesis design flow

- Recommended options within the synthesis tool

Controlling Xilinx implementation tools with synthesis

Synthesis-Based Course Outline

The outline of the three-day synthesis-based course is as follows:

Introduction
FPGA Architecture
Xilinx-Synopsys Design Flow

VHDL Seminar (Esperan-Based)

This one day seminar consists of one half-day of presentation and one half-day of hands-on training using the Foundation tools. The seminar is designed to be an introduction, providing the students with enough training so that they are conversant with the language and can write simple VHDL functions.

VHDL Outline

The one-day VHDL seminar includes the following topics:

VHDL Application Introduction
VHDL Language Introduction
Signals and Data Types
VHDL Operators
Concurrent and Sequential Statements
Writing VHDL for Synthesis

VHDL Lab Exercises

The lab exercises presented during the one-day VHDL seminar consist of:

Familiarization with Xilinx Foundation Series Synthesis Tool
Familiarization with the Decoder Design
Writing Your First VHDL Code
Adding the Alarm Signal
Adding a Seven Segment Display Driver
The Alarm Register
A Counter
The Alarm Clock Controller (a State Machine)

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Training Locations

Xilinx Headquarters

Courses are held regularly at Xilinx headquarters in San Jose, California. During the class, you may elect to meet one-on-one with Xilinx Applications engineers to discuss specific issues not covered in the course. Topics may include using a specific third-party tool, optimizing your particular design, or more advanced issues beyond the coverage of the course.

North American Distributor Locations

Xilinx distributors sponsor training courses jointly with Xilinx, using the same material as the headquarters courses. Since the distributor sponsors the course, the tuition cost is often reduced to $495 for customers of the sponsoring distributor. Check with the distributor when registering. Locations include over seventy cities across North America. Contact your local distributor, or Xilinx headquarters, for information on courses in your area.

International Locations

Xilinx courses are held throughout Europe, Asia, India, Israel, South Africa, South America, and other international locations. Courses vary in length and tuition, but are based on the same material used in North America. The schedule lists some of these courses. Contact your local Xilinx sales office or representative for courses in your area.

On-Site Courses

Xilinx can bring the training course to your own facility for the greatest convenience to your company.

On-Site Courses Provide Additional Benefits:

No Travel Costs
On-site Xilinx training courses eliminate travel time and expenses:
- No airfare
- No hotel bills
- No car rental
Courses Tailored To Your Needs
On-site courses can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your company:
- Convenient course time and location
- Projects of a proprietary nature can be discussed openly - Students can use their own equipment and begin an actual design right in course
Costs: North America
Prices start at $4,500 for a minimum course size of six students.
Costs: International
- Prices vary; contact your local Xilinx sales representative.
Included in class fees:
- A Xilinx-certified instructor
- Training materials for each student
- PC for every two students (or if you prefer, the training labs can be performed on your PCs or workstations)

Scheduling a Course

To schedule a training course at your facility and determine pricing, call the Xilinx sales office nearest you, or your local Xilinx sales representative. On-site training courses are popular, so the more advanced notice we have, the better our ability to schedule your course exactly when you want it.

Registration

Tuition

Course tuition in North America is $1,000 per student for the three-day courses, including the synthesis-based and workstation-based courses at Xilinx headquarters. The distributor-sponsored, schematic-based courses are offered at a reduced rate of $495 for customers of the sponsoring distributor. Check with the distributor when registering. On-site courses start at $4,500 per class, and vary according to the course and the number of students. For specific pricing of on-site courses, call the Xilinx Education Registrar or your local sales office. For international locations, call the local registrar for pricing.

Money-back Guarantee

We are so confident you will be satisfied with the benefits of a Xilinx training course that we offer the following guarantee:

- Full refund of the course cost if you are not completely satisfied.

Enrollment

To enroll in a training course, several means are available. The newest method is the on-line registration via the Xilinx web site at "www.xilinx.com". An alternate method for enrollment is to contact the registrar at the course location, or for Xilinx headquarter courses, call (408) 879-5090 or FAX (408) 879-4676 the Education Registrar for additional course information.

Course size is limited, so early enrollment is recommended. Students are considered enrolled only after a check, money order, or purchase order for the course tuition has been received. Please mail your payment to the registrar of the location of your training class. For Xilinx-sponsored courses, make checks/P.O. payable to Xilinx, Inc.

Enrollments will be acknowledged with a confirmation letter. Please call if you have any questions or do not receive a confirmation letter.

Early Enrollment Discount

We encourage you to sign up early, as courses may fill up quickly. At Xilinx headquarters, if we receive your payment or purchase order three weeks or more before the start date of the course, you will receive a 10% discount on the tuition.

Cancellations

Course tuition is fully refundable up to two weeks before the scheduled course starts. Cancellations within two weeks of the scheduled course will incur a 25% cancellation fee. Cancellations within one week of the scheduled course date may only be applied toward a future course date. Rescheduling is allowed until three working days before the start of class. Student substitutions may be made at any time.

Xilinx Education Registrar

Stacey Pinckert
Education Registrar
Xilinx, Inc.
2100 Logic Drive
San Jose, CA 95124
Phone: (408) 879-5090
(800) 231-3386 x1
Fax: (408) 879-4676,
attn: Stacey Pinckert
E-mail: customer.training@xilinx.com
Register on-line

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