Hardware interview practice
Compare One-, Two-, and Three-Process FSM Coding Styles
Three engineers code the same fully specified controller as one clocked process, as a state-register process plus combined next-state/output logic, and as separate state-register, next-state, and output processes. Which claim is correct when all three versions implement the same registered behavior?
Choose one
Answer choices
- A. The three-process version is guaranteed to have the highest clock frequency because more always blocks create more pipeline stages.
- B. The one-process version cannot describe a Mealy output under any circumstances.
- C. Synthesis can produce equivalent hardware; the process split mainly changes code organization, where defaults are required, and whether output registration is explicit, so each version still needs complete assignments and safe reset handling.
- D. The two-process version never needs default assignments because next-state logic is combinational.