One of the more powerful aspects of PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 is the ability to use components that encapsulate both hardware and software functionality.  Cypress provides a large library of the most common components that you might need (I2C, UART, DAC), but there is no end to the possible components that PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 can support.  The Creator platform allows you to develop and use your own components using the same methodology as Cypress engineers.

There are 3 levels of components that a user might want to develop:

1. Schematic Component
2. Verilog Component
3. Datapath Component

Each level gets progressively more involved and more powerful.  A schematic based component provides a hierarchical schematic capability.  Here you can combine any of the components in the current library and also encapsulate the APIs that go with that combination.  With a Verilog based component you have the ability to pull in more complex unique digital content and take direct advantage of the PLDs built into PSoC 3 and 5.  The capability to do either Schematic or Verilog based components is in Creator today.  The third level, datapath based components, adds to a Verilog component the usage of the datapath resources in PSoC 3 and 5.  With datapaths you can create denser designs and more flexibily communicate between your hardware component and the CPU. 

In order to get you started on the right track, several training classes are developed that include:

• Video
• Slides
• Example Projects

They are all posted on the Cypress website under the Design Support tab, then Technical Training, then On-Demand Training, or you can skip directly there with the following links:

• PSoC Creator 110: Schematic Components 
• PSoC Creator 111: Component Parameters 
• PSoC Creator 112: Introduction to Component API Generation 
• PSoC Creator 113: PLD Based Verilog Components