A Constraint-Based Design Methodology for Automated Composition with IPs.
C. Buchholz, Wolfgang Rosenstiel · 2000
High-level synthesis takes the design process through the steps of allocation, scheduling and binding. While scheduling and binding are automatized processes, e.g. in the high-level synthesis system CADDY, the user has to precisize the components he wants the system to allocate. If a functional description of the library components were provided, this process could run automatically as well. This paper presents a new method for extracting the functional specification of digital designs for the purpose of automatic allocation and composition. A mechanism is presented for compactly specifying circuit functionality as a set of rules in a constraint programming environment. The functional description of the components preserves a uniform structure on all levels of abstraction. This supports rapid design space exploration and transparent integration of already optimized components into the design flow.