index.mdwn

   1 # Welcome to Libre-SOC
   2 (formerly Libre-RISCV)
   3
   4 > We're building a chip. A fast chip. A safe chip. A trusted chip.
   5
   6 > A chip with lots of peripherals. And a VPU.  And a 3D GPU...
   7
   8 > Oh and here, have the source code...
   9
  10 Sounds cool? Learn more about the [why](why_a_libresoc) behind Libre-SOC
  11 and [our mission](The_Mission).
  12
  13 # Our Team
  14
  15 We are proud of our talented and diverse [team](about_us).
  16
  17 # How Can I Help?
  18
  19 If you would like to fund us, see [[funding]]. We currently have some
  20 funding and always appreciate more!  If you are a Corporation or an
  21 individual you can donate tax-free to NLNet, and they can in turn gift
  22 our developers.  Contact lkcl@lkcl.net for more information.
  23
  24 If you want to write code with us, keep reading.  If you want to *learn* so that you can write code with us, see below.
  25
  26 1. First, join the
  27 [mailing list](http://lists.libre-riscv.org/mailman/listinfo/libre-riscv-dev),
  28 introduce yourself, and read through
  29 [recent posts](http://lists.libre-riscv.org/pipermail/libre-riscv-dev/)
  30 and the [[charter]].
  31 2. The next thing you should do is read through the [bugs
  32 list](http://bugs.libre-riscv.org) and see if there are any bugs that
  33 pique your interest.
  34 3. After that, go ahead and take a look at the resources section below.
  35 Try and clone a repository with
  36 ``git clone https://git.libre-riscv.org/git/repositoryname.git``
  37 4. If you plan to do HDL work, you should familiarize yourself with our
  38    [[HDL_workflow]].
  39 5. We do have funding available (see [[nlnet]]) upon completion of issues -
  40 we are also working on procuring more funding which gets the project to
  41 nanometre scale tapeout.
  42 6. After all this, if you feel that Libre-SOC is a something that
  43 you would like to contribute to, add yourself to the [current_members](about_us)
  44 page, fill in some information about yourself, and join the mailing list
  45 and say hello.
  46
  47 Also note that you can edit this wiki. See the last section of this page.
  48
  49 ## How can I learn?
  50
  51 The whole purpose of this project is to be a learning environment as well as an actual business.  If you want to learn how to do ASIC design, with a view to contributing or starting your own ASIC business, start here: [[3d_gpu/tutorial]]. Yes, really: do not let anyone tell you that you can't learn this stuff too.
  52
  53 Along the way, if you find any resources or links that you found particularly helpful, please add them to that page so that other people can also benefit.
  54
  55 ## Needed Skills
  56
  57 Most labor is currently being applied to developing the GPU portion of
  58 the Libre-SOC.
  59
  60 The highest priority needed at the moment is a c++ engineer to work on
  61 a MESA 3D driver. This will begin life similar to SwiftShader however
  62 retaining the vectorisation and predication intrinsics as well as hardware
  63 accelerated opcodes (all of which SwiftShader lacks)
  64
  65 Medium to long-term we need HDL engineers. Particularly those familiar
  66 with nMigen or just python.  Most of the techniques being used require
  67 software engineering skills (OO design, polymorphism) than they do more
  68 traditional HDL programming skills. Basically if you have experience in 2
  69 of the following you'll do fine: python, nmigen, verilog/VHDL/gate-level
  70 design. See [[HDL_workflow]]
  71
  72 Also, individuals with experience in formal mathematical verification
  73 are quite welcome.
  74
  75 List of upcoming project tasks/milestones:
  76
  77 * [Upcoming tasks][1]
  78 * [NLNet Milestones][2]
  79
  80 [1]: http://bugs.libre-riscv.org/describecomponents.cgi?product=Libre%20Shakti%20M-Class
  81 [2]: http://bugs.libre-riscv.org/describecomponents.cgi?product=Libre%20Shakti%20M-Class