This volume brings together a selection of the best papers from two international electronic design language conferences in 2001. The conferences are the Hardware Description Language Conference (HDLCon) in USA and the Forum on Design Languages (FDL), in Europe. The papers cover a range of topics, including: HDL specification and modelling languages, with results from standardisation process - from specialised languages such as VHDL and Verilog to general purpose languages such as C++ (SystemC, SpecC) and Java; analogue and mixed signal specification and design; system on chip, real time and embedded specifications; real-life experiences in using HDLs; and EDA vendors point of view describing future design tools that utilise HDLs, such as Web design environments, simulation, verification and synthesis tools. The results presented in these papers should help researchers and practising engineers keep abreast of developments in this rapidly evolving field.