_ebook__rtl_hardware_design_using_vhdl_apr_2006__wiley_ieee_press___chapter_1___2__1562CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL SYSTEM DESIGN Developing and producing a digital system is a complicated process and involves many tasks. The design and synthesis of a register transfer level circuit, which is the focus of this book, is only one of the tasks. In this chapter, we present an overview of device technologies, system representation,development flow and software tools. This helps us to better understand the role of the design and synthesis task in the overall development and production process. 1.1 INTRODUCTION Digital hardware has experienced drastic expansion and improvement in the past 40 years. Since its introduction, the number of transistors in a single chip has grown exponentially, and a silicon chip now routinely contains hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of mi……