System, method and article of manufacture for a reverse-auction-based system for hardware development

摘要

A system, method and article of manufacture are provided for conducting a network-based reverse-auction for a hardware configuration module. A hardware design specification is received from a customer utilizing a network. A bid price is received. The bid price represents the amount of money that the customer is willing to pay for a hardware design module conforming to the design specification. The user can use the hardware design module for configuring a configurable hardware device. A determination is made as to whether the bid price is acceptable. The bid is accepted if the bid price is acceptable. The customer is notified if the bid price is not acceptable.