Panel: Opportunities and pitfalls in HDL-based system design

This panel discusses the complexities of system designs using textual Hardware Description Languages (HDLs) such as Verilog and VHDL. As the proliferation of circuits and systems design using HDLs continues questions arise as to whether HDL-based programming provides any real productivity gains in the design of complex integrated hardware. Are there are any alternatives, such as graphical or visual formalisms that are perhaps better suited for the task? We start the discussion by examining the relevant features of today's complex hardware systems and the requirements these impose on the modeling language and methodologies.