Parallax has embraced open source hardware by releasing the source code to its Propeller 1 processor (P8X32A). Designed by [Chip Gracey] and released in 2006, the 32-bit octal core Propeller has built up a loyal fan base. Many of those fans have created development tools for the Propeller, from libraries to language ports. [Ken, Chip], and the entire Parallax team have decided to pay it forward by releasing the entire source to the Propeller.
The source code is in Verilog and released under GNU General Public License v3.0. Parallax has done much more than drop 8-year-old files out in the wild. All the configuration files necessary to implement the design on an Altera Cyclone IV using either of two different target boards have also been included. The DE0-Nano is the low-cost option. The Altera DE2-115 dev board is more expensive, but it also can run the upcoming Propeller 2 design.
The release also includes sources for the mask ROM used for booting, running cogs, and the SPIN interpreter. [Chip] originally released this code in 2008. The files contain references to PNut, the Propeller’s original code name.
We’re excited to see Parallax taking this step, and can’t wait to see what sort of modifications the community comes up with. Not an Altera fan? No problem – just grab the source code, your favorite FPGA tools, and go for it! Starved for memory? Just add some more. 8 cogs not enough? Bump it up to 16. The only limits are the your imagination and the resources of your target device.
Interested in hacking on a real Propeller? If you’re in Las Vegas, you’re in luck. A Propeller is included on each of the nearly 14,000 badges going to DEFCON 22 attendees. While you’re there, keep an eye out for Mike and The Hackaday Hat!
Woooow. Super exciting to see a silicon company step up and release RTL for a processor design. GPL3 is a good move to protect their investment and ensure only pay-it-forward projects make use of it. This should spur on some exciting and very creative expansion of the Propeller universe. Kudos to Parallax!
not really. GPLv3 has some backdoors… you only have to give the source to your direct clients. and those clients can be limited to provide ample distribution to that source via other means.
GPLv2 was tight.
Agreed! Parallax is doing an excellent thing here.
I’m trying to understand the business value of this release. Is this code that has zero value to a copycat in China? How do hobbyists (who apparently have been OK with not seeing the code) benefit from this release? Does open source translate to more sales?
I think it is a trust and an ecosystem thing. The parallax design is on the fringes; while is has a loyal following with hobbyists, it really hasn’t ever hit the big time. Also, the prop1 is expensive for 2014 for what it does. Maybe the thinking is that companies which ship volume will use the prop for designs, and if the design volumes justify it, they can turn it into an ASIC, an option they didn’t have before. Knowing full well that 90% of all designs never make it to that kind of volume, perhaps they will sell more chips.
It is also insurance for any company which would pick the prop. Should parallax fold or give up on the propeller family, this is an escape hatch for legacy designs. That escape hatch might lead a company to use the propeller in a design that they might have not before.
I’m pretty certain its already manufactured as an ASIC, the release just includes FPGA configuration support because it makes sense and the average Joe doesn’t have access to actual manufacturing — most universities don’t. I was one of the demo coders for the Hydra Propeller-based educational game console and I actually have a pre-production Propeller chip that was validated (and, I’m told, possibly corrected — lasers FTW!) by Chip himself.
I think they just see value in open-sourcing it as they prepare to launch the 2nd generation Propeller which is much more powerful.
I’m glad to see it, its quite an interesting design. When it was launched, it had quite a lot of computational grunt for the money if your design mapped well. Moreso, compared to anything else you could get in a 40-pin DIP.
Much of the info has been reversed engineered already and newer ARM processors and SBC’s (RPi anyone?) are taking over the market. So they get a bunch of publicity and generate interest in their brand. Also they look like good guys.
Propeller isn’t like traditional microcontroller, so it is a bit of a business risk to have vendor lock-in. This also means that you now no longer have to worry about second sourcing this part even if it went EOL.
By releasing the chip design, they would encourage people to try it out in a FPGA. More user base would be good marketing their next generation Propeller products. This is one way to survive in a market that is being taken over by ARM.
That’s great news! Parallax and the Prop1 deserve our utmost respect.
Parallax released the software source code for the on-board Spin bytecode executor years ago (after a challenge in the forums to reverse-engineer the “encrypted” onboard code), and the new SimpleIDE development tools have been open-source from the beginning, but the old Propeller tool and the hardware design were still closed-source until now.