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What this digital-design terminology question tests

This is a medium-difficulty question on the vocabulary and architectural patterns of low-latency trading systems. It targets candidates pursuing roles in FPGA or ASIC design for financial exchange connectivity, where understanding the separation of concerns between hardware and software is foundational.

The question probes whether you recognize how modern trading infrastructure delegates certain time-critical operations entirely to programmable logic, bypassing the latency and unpredictability of the main software stack. This design pattern is central to achieving sub-microsecond order submission at high-frequency trading firms.

• Hardware–software co-design in trading systems
• Latency reduction through specialization
• Exchange protocol implementation in RTL
• DMA and kernel-bypass techniques