For SwissFEL electron beam diagnostics, we combine application-specific detectors and front-end electronics with a common solution for digitization, interfacing and FPGA-based digital signal processing. Many key components and standards we use were initially developed by PSI for the European XFEL BPM system, but are equally suited for a broad range of SwissFEL diagnostics systems with little or no modifications. Examples are e.g. the FPGA signal processing hardware and firmware/software, ADC and DAC boards, interface boards or peak detection front-end electronics. By following a modular generic hardware and firmware/software design approach, we can cover a larger number of different monitor types with moderate development effort. Applications of our generic platform include BPMs, bunch length monitors, beam arrival time monitors, beam loss monitors, and digital laser phase locked loops (PLLs). This paper gives an overview of the design, present and future applications of our generic platform, discussing the synergies and differences of the required hardware, firmware and embedded software solutions.