Book excerpt: A book/CD-ROM covering digital systems design using two important technologies: field programmable logic devices (FPLDs) and hardware description languages (HDLs). These two technologies are combined to aid in the design, prototyping, and implementation of a range of digital systems. Presents VHDL and Verilog, widely used standard languages, and the proprietary Altera HDL. Chapters on these languages serve as tutorials and comparisons are made to highlight strengths and weaknesses of each language. The CD-ROM contains the Altera MAX+PLUS II development environment. Can be used as a reference or an advanced level text. Salcic is affiliated with the University of Auckland. Smailagic is affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR