hardware (PAL) A family of fuse-programmable logic
of a fixed number of products (logical and) of the input
signals. This structure is well suited for automatic
generation of programming patterns by logic compilers.
PAL devices are programmed by blowing the fuses permanently
using overvoltage.
Today, more complex devices based on the same original
architecture are available (CPLD's for Complex PLD's) that
incorporate the equivalent of several original PAL chips. PAL
chips are, however, still popular due to their high speed.
(1995-12-09)