if i were to interface a DSP with an FPGA, will i be using the GPIOs to connect to each other? or r there some assigned ports which i should use specifically?

 

Of course it depends entirely on the FPGA and the DSP. Why don't you reveal some USEFUL information like which DSP and which FPGA. Do you think we are mind readers or that your powers of astral projection are sufficient to project a schematic of what you have on our screens?

 

sorry for the lack of information, as i thought it was a general question...
anyway, i am designing an embedded controller that would require the data acquisition and processing. I am currently thinking of using FPGA, probably a Spartan 3 or 6, as a main platform and use an additional DSP, mosts likely to be a TMS320c28246 TI DSP.
So this interfacing is done through the GPIOs, or some specific ports?

 

I don't think that the FPGA parts will offer any significant impediments assuming that they have a VCCIO that matches the DSP. This will probably be 3.3V but I don't have the data sheets handy.

That said you can use any convenient interface on the DSP and connect it to the FPGA. The SPI is a very popular interface for connecting peripherals to a DSP including serial flash, D2A, and A2D converters. Inside the FPGA, SPI is a nearly trivial interface to implement complete with addressable registers and bi-directional transfer.

I2C is another possible interface, but it is less popular due to the limitation on the clock speed of 400 kHz.

With the GPIO pins you can "invent" any convenient interface that you can specify, so this is also an option.

One benefit of using a standard interface is the availability of monitoring tools like the Beagle Analyzer which can capture and crack USB, SPI, I2C, and MDIO all in an inexpensive box.