ABSTRACT
Programmable devices have progressed through a long evolution to reach the complexity today to support an entire system on a chip (SOC). This chapter gives an approximately chronological discussion of these devices from least complex to most complex. I say "approximately" because there is definitely overlap between the various devices, which are still in use today. The chapter includes a discussion on application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and how CPLDs and FPGAs fit within the spectrum of programmable logic and ASICs.
