A multi-level framework that allows an application to be developed independent of the chip or board, and any dependency is built in as part of the framework of the field programmable device (FPD). A shell configuration called a 'wrapper' has a standard look, feel and form factor that provides the interface between the high density language (HDL) application and a standardized and board independent HDL shell, thus isolating the HDL core. A second wrapper is a board specific HDL shell that interacts with the standardized shell. Any application that has the same look, feel and form factor has a common interface that allows various system boards to communicate, providing a mechanism for creating a HDL application component independent of the hardware. An outer shell binds the system to some board and talks to the application program interface (API) layer and the code layer to the outside world, such as the operating system.