Editing Advanced Boolean Expression Language

{{short description|Hardware description language and software}}
[[File:ABEL HDL example SN74162.png|thumb|200px|right|An ABEL HDL description of a 4-bit counter.]]
The '''Advanced Boolean Expression Language''' ('''ABEL''') is an obsolete [[hardware description language]] (HDL) and an associated set of design tools for programming [[programmable logic device]]s (PLDs). It was created in 1983 by [[Data I/O Corporation]], in Redmond, Washington.

ABEL includes both concurrent equation and truth table logic formats as well as a sequential state machine description format. A preprocessor with syntax loosely based on [[Digital Equipment Corporation]]'s [[MACRO-11]] [[assembly language]] is also included.

In addition to being used for describing [[digital logic]], ABEL may also be used to describe test vectors (patterns of inputs and expected outputs) that may be downloaded to a hardware PLD programmer along with the compiled and fuse-mapped PLD programming data.

Other PLD design languages originating in the same era include [[Programmable_Array_Logic#CUPL|CUPL]] and [[PALASM]]. Since the advent of larger [[field-programmable gate array]]s (FPGAs), PLD-specific HDLs have fallen out of favor as standard HDLs such as [[Verilog]] and [[VHDL]] gained adoption.

The ABEL concept and original compiler were created by Russell de Pina of Data I/O's Applied Research Group in 1981. The work was continued by ABEL product development team (led by Dr. Kyu Y. Lee) and included Mary Bailey, Bjorn Benson, [[Walter Bright]], Michael Holley, Charles Olivier, and David Pellerin.<ref name="VLSI Design 1985">{{cite journal | last1 = Lee | first1 = Kyu Y. | last2 = Holley | first2 = Michael | last3 = Bailey | first3 = Mary | last4 = Bright | first4 = Walter | title = A High-Level Design Language for Programmable Logic Devices | journal = VLSI Design | volume =6 | issue = 6 |pages=50–62 | publisher =CPM Publications | location = Manhasset NY | date = June 1985 | issn = 0279-2834}}</ref>

After a series of acquisitions, the ABEL toolchain and intellectual property were bought by [[Xilinx]].<ref name = "Xilinx acquires ABEL">{{cite web | url = http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1138186 | title = Xilinx acquires key assets as Minc closes doors | last = Santarini | first = Michael | date = 16 December 1998 | website = EE Times | publisher = UBM | access-date =4 October 2016 | quote =   Xilinx Inc. intends to acquire some of Minc's assets from MI Acquisition, including the popular Abel tool and language, }}</ref>  Xilinx discontinued support for ABEL in its [[Xilinx ISE|ISE Design Suite]] starting with version 11 (released in 2010).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/sw_manuals/xilinx11/irn.pdf | title=ISE Design Suite 11: Installation, Licensing, and Release Notes}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* University of Pennsylvania's [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012234417/http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~ese201/abel/abel_primer.html ''ABEL primer''], as recommended by [[Walter Bright]]. ''Dead Link''
* University of Southern Maine [http://www.ee.usm.maine.edu/courses/ele172/abel/HDL-ABEL%20Primer.pdf ''ABEL-HDL Primer''], by [[J. Van der Spiegel]]
* Prentice Hall Publishers [https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Design-Using-David-Pellerin/dp/0136058744 ''Digital Design Using ABEL''], 1994, by David Pellerin and Michael Holley
* Prentice Hall Publishers [https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Design-Using-Programmable-Logic/dp/0137238347 ''Practical Design Using Programmable Logic''], 1991, by David Pellerin and Michael Holley

{{Programmable Logic}}

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[[Category:Hardware description languages]]