Comment Difficult, but... (Score 1) 365
...this should get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_to_HDL
Find a suitable converter, then grab a free (or evaluation) version of an FPGA design tool, for example one of these (I only suggest these over the many other, probably equally as good alternatives, as I've used them myself):
http://www.xilinx.com/products/design-tools/ise-design-suite/index.htm
And with a bit of work you should be able to produce output that will essentially be your code implemented in programmable logic, and the tools will tell you the number of gates/cells required.
What I would say, is that you'll have a much easier ride if your algorithm is in C rather than C++.
Despite saying that you have no experience with this sort of thing, defining logic in something like VHDL is basically programming. Sure, you'll need to develop a fair understanding of the hardware, but with the libraries of pre-built components available from the numerous companies who produce programmable hardware like FPGAs and CPLDs, you may find you could do a lot more than you think yourself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_to_HDL
Find a suitable converter, then grab a free (or evaluation) version of an FPGA design tool, for example one of these (I only suggest these over the many other, probably equally as good alternatives, as I've used them myself):
http://www.xilinx.com/products/design-tools/ise-design-suite/index.htm
And with a bit of work you should be able to produce output that will essentially be your code implemented in programmable logic, and the tools will tell you the number of gates/cells required.
What I would say, is that you'll have a much easier ride if your algorithm is in C rather than C++.
Despite saying that you have no experience with this sort of thing, defining logic in something like VHDL is basically programming. Sure, you'll need to develop a fair understanding of the hardware, but with the libraries of pre-built components available from the numerous companies who produce programmable hardware like FPGAs and CPLDs, you may find you could do a lot more than you think yourself.
