What is the Difference Between Verilog and C

The main difference between Verilog and C is that the Verilog is a Hardware Description Language while the C is a high level, general-purpose programming language.

Verilog is a language that helps to design and verify digital circuits. The latest stable version is IEEE 1364-2005. On the other hand, C is a popular general-purpose programming language. It is commonly used to develop system software. In brief, Verilog is based on C.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Verilog
     – Definition, Functionality
2. What is C
     – Definition, Functionality
3. What is the Difference Between Verilog and C
      -Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

C, Verilog

What is Verilog

Verilog is a Hardware Description Language (HDL) that helps to describe digital systems such as network switches, microprocessors, flip flops etc. Therefore, it is possible to describe the hardware of a digital system using this language.

Figure 1: Digital Circuits

Verilog supports multiple levels of abstraction. They are as follows.

Behavior Level – Describes the system using concurrent algorithms. Each algorithm consists of a sequence of instructions that executes one after the other.

Register Transfer Level (RTL) – Describes the characteristics of a circuit by operations and the transfer of data among registers.  RTL design contains exact time bounds.

Gate Level – Describes the system by logical links and their timing properties.

Some common keywords found in Verilog programs are as follows.

Wire – Represents a physical wire in a circuit that connects gates or modules.

Reg – Data object that holds the value from one procedural assignment to the next. It is a simple Verilog variable type register.

Input – Declare input port of a task or module.

Output – Declare output port of a task or module.

Inout – Declare bidirectional port of a task or module.

What is C

C is a high level, general-purpose programming language that supports structured programming. The developer of C language is Dennis Ritchie. It is the foundation for many programming languages such as Python, Java, etc. The programmer can easily understand, C programs but the computer does not understand them. Therefore, the compiler converts the C source code into equivalent machine code. The computer understands this machine code, and it performs the task defined in the program. C programs are executed faster than interpreter-based programming languages such as PHP, Python, etc.

Some common features of the C language are iterators, decisions, functions, etc. C is used to develop various applications such as operating systems, hardware drivers, compilers, interpreters, etc. Additionally, the language C++ is a subset of C language. It consists of advanced features than C. Moreover, there is an extension of C called Embedded C. It helps to program microcontroller-based applications.

Difference Between Verilog and C

Definition

Verilog is a Hardware Description Language (HDL) used to model electronic systems whereas C is a general-purpose programming language that allows structured programming. Thus, this is the main difference between Verilog and C.

File Extensions

File extensions is another difference between Verilog and C. Verilog files have .v or.vh file extension whereas C files have .c file extension.

Usage

Verilog helps to design and describe digital systems while C helps to build operating systems, databases, compilers, interpreters, network drivers, etc.

Conclusion

The main difference between Verilog and C is that the Verilog is a Hardware Description Language while the C is a high level, general-purpose programming language. In brief, Verilog is based on C.

Reference:

1. Tala, Deepak Kumar. Wire And Reg In Verilog, 1 Feb. 1970, Available here.
2. “C (Programming Language).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Dec. 2018, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “23330” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “C.sh-600×600” By J.sa13d034 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia