Daniel D. Gajski - Böcker

This text presents the system design flow following a simple example through the whole process in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step fashion. Each step is described in detail in pictorial form and with code examples in SpecC. For each picture slide a detailed explanation is provided of the concepts presented. Features include: comprehensive introduction to and description of the SpecC language and design methodology; IP-centric language and methodology with focus on design re-use; and a complete framework for system-level design from specification to implementation for SOCs and other embedded HW/SW systems.

For the near future, the recent predictions and roadmaps of silicon semiconductor technology all agree that the number of transistors on a chip will keep growing exponentially according to Moore's Law, pushing technology towards the system-on-a-chip (SOC) era. However, we are increasingly experiencing a productivity gap where the chip complexity that can be handled by current design teams falls short of the possibilities offered by technological advances. Together with growing time-to-market pressures, this drives the need for innovative measures to increase design productivity by orders of magnitude. It is commonly agreed that the solutions for achieving such a leap in design productivity lie in a shift of the focus of the design process to higher levels of abstraction on the one hand, and in the massive re-use of predesigned, complex system components (intellectual property, IP) on the other hand. In order to be successful, both concepts eventually require the adoption of new languages and methodologies for system design, backed up by the availability of a corresponding set of system-level design automation tools.This book presents the SpecC system-level design language (SLDL) and the corresponding SpecC design methodology. The SpecC language is intended for specification and design of SOCs or embedded systems including software and hardware, whether using fixed platforms, integrating systems from different IPs, or synthesizing the system blocks from programming or hardware description languages. The text describes the SpecC methodology that leads designers from an executable specification to an RTL implementation through a well-defined sequence of steps. Each model is described and guidelines are given for generating these models from executable specifications. Finally, the SpecC methodology is demonstrated on an industrial-size example. The design community is now entering the system level of abstraction era and SpecC is the enabling element to achieve a paradigm shift in design culture needed for system/product design and manufacturing.

Research on high-level synthesis started over 20 years ago, but lower-level tools were not available to seriously support the insertion of high-level synthesis into the mainstream design methodology. Since then, substantial progress has been made in formulating and understanding the basic concepts in high-level synthesis. Although many open problems remain, high-level synthesis has matured. "High-Level Synthesis" presents a summary of the basic concepts and results and defines the remaining open problems. It includes the basic concepts, the main algorithms used in high-level synthesis and a discussion of the requirements and essential issues for high-level synthesis systems and environments.

Embedded System Design: Modeling, Synthesis and Verification introduces a model-based approach to system level design. It presents modeling techniques for both computation and communication at different levels of abstraction, such as specification, transaction level and cycle-accurate level. It discusses synthesis methods for system level architectures, embedded software and hardware components. Using these methods, designers can develop applications with high level models, which are automatically translatable to low level implementations. This book, furthermore, describes simulation-based and formal verification methods that are essential for achieving design confidence. The book concludes with an overview of existing tools along with a design case study outlining the practice of embedded system design. Specifically, this book addresses the following topics in detail:. System modeling at different abstraction levels. Model-based system design. Hardware/Software codesign. Software and Hardware component synthesis. System verificationThis book is for groups within the embedded system community: students in courses on embedded systems, embedded application developers, system designers and managers, CAD tool developers, design automation, and system engineering.

System Design: A Practical Guide with SpecC presents the system design flow following a simple example through the whole process in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step fashion. Each step is described in detail in pictorial form and with code examples in SpecC. For each picture slide a detailed explanation is provided of the concepts presented. This format is suited for tutorials, seminars, self-study, as a guided reference carried by examples, or as teaching material for courses on system design. Features: Comprehensive introduction to and description of the SpecC language and design methodology; IP-centric language and methodology with focus on design reuse; Complete framework for system-level design from specification to implementation for SOCs and other embedded HW/SW systems. System Design: A Practical Guide with SpecC will benefit designers and design managers of complex SOCs, or embedded systems in general, by allowing them to develop new methodologies from these results, in order to increase design productivity by orders of magnitude. Designers at RTL, logical or physical levels, who are interested in moving up to the system level, will find a comprehensive overview within. The design models in the book define IP models and functions for IP exchange between IP providers and their users. A well-defined methodology like the one presented in this book will help product planning divisions to quickly develop new products or to derive completely new business models, like e-design or product-on-demand. Finally, researchers and students in the area of system design will find an example of a formal, well-structured design flow in this book.

Research on high-level synthesis started over twenty years ago, but lower-level tools were not available to seriously support the insertion of high-level synthesis into the mainstream design methodology. Since then, substantial progress has been made in formulating and understanding the basic concepts in high-level synthesis. Although many open problems remain, high-level synthesis has matured. High-Level Synthesis: Introduction to Chip and System Design presents a summary of the basic concepts and results and defines the remaining open problems. This is the first textbook on high-level synthesis and includes the basic concepts, the main algorithms used in high-level synthesis and a discussion of the requirements and essential issues for high-level synthesis systems and environments. A reference text like this will allow the high-level synthesis community to grow and prosper in the future.

For the near future, the recent predictions and roadmaps of silicon semiconductor technology all agree that the number of transistors on a chip will keep growing exponentially according to Moore's Law, pushing technology towards the system-on-a-chip (SOC) era. However, we are increasingly experiencing a productivity gap where the chip complexity that can be handled by current design teams falls short of the possibilities offered by technological advances. Together with growing time-to-market pressures, this drives the need for innovative measures to increase design productivity by orders of magnitude. It is commonly agreed that the solutions for achieving such a leap in design productivity lie in a shift of the focus of the design process to higher levels of abstraction on the one hand and in the massive reuse of predesigned, complex system components (intellectual property, IP) on the other hand. In order to be successful, both concepts eventually require the adoption of new languages and methodologies for system design, backed-up by the availability of a corresponding set of system-level design automation tools. This book presents the SpecC system-level design language (SLDL) and the corresponding SpecC design methodology. The SpecC language is intended for specification and design of SOCs or embedded systems including software and hardware, whether using fixed platforms, integrating systems from different IPs, or synthesizing the system blocks from programming or hardware description languages. SpecC Specification Language and Methodology describes the SpecC methodology that leads designers from an executable specification to an RTL implementation through a well-defined sequence of steps. Each model is described and guidelines are given for generating these models from executable specifications. Finally, the SpecC methodology is demonstrated on an industrial-size example. The design community is now entering the system level of abstraction era and SpecC is the enabling element to achieve a paradigm shift in design culture needed for system/product design and manufacturing. SpecC Specification Language and Methodology will be of interest to researchers, designers, and managers dealing with system-level design, design flows and methodologies as well as students learning system specification, modeling and design.