Vhdl..

I understand there is really no topic for this, but I thought the people in this topic would know the most about it. I have read some articles on it but I am unsure of what to make of it. If I went out and bought a VHDL book I was wondering if I would need a background in something else? Could a random joe off the street read and understand a VHDL book? Thanks in advance.

-andy