Data processing: structural design – modeling – simulation – and em – Simulating electronic device or electrical system – Circuit simulation
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-13
2001-05-15
Teska, Kevin J. (Department: 2123)
Data processing: structural design, modeling, simulation, and em
Simulating electronic device or electrical system
Circuit simulation
C703S015000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06233540
ABSTRACT:
COPYRIGHTED SUBJECT MATTER
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is situated in the field of design environments for digital systems, generating implementable descriptions of said system. The invention is based on object modeling and mechanisms to refine abstract descriptions to more concrete description of the system.
2. State of the Art
Currently there is a high interest in digital communication equipment for public access networks. Examples are modems for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop (ADSL) applications, and up- and downstream Hybrid Fiber-Coax (HFC) communication. These modems are preferably implemented in all-digital hardware using digital signal processing (DSP) techniques. This is because of the complexity of the data processing that they require. Besides this, these systems also need short development cycles. This calls for a design methodology that starts at high level and that provides for design automation as much as possible. A more generalized view of the field of the invention reveals that in most applications where dedicated processors and other digital hardware are used, demand for new systems is rising and development time is shortening.
The most used modeling description language is VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language), which has been accepted as an IEEE standard since 1987. VHDL is a programming environment that produces a description of a piece of hardware. Additions to standard VHDL can be to implement features of Object Oriented Programming Languages into VHDL. This was described in OO-VHDL (Computer, October 1995, pages 18-26).
A number of commercially available systems support the design of complex DSP systems.
MATLAB of Mathworks Inc offers the possibility of exploration at the algorithmic level. It uses the data-vector as the basic semantical feature. However, the developed MATLAB description has no relationship to a digital hardware implementation, nor does MATLAB support the synthesis of digital circuits.
SPW of Alta Group offers a toolkit for the simulation of these kind of systems. SPW is typically used to simulate data-flow semantics. Data-flow semantics define explicit algorithmic iteration, whereas data-vector semantics do not. SPW relies on an extensive library and toolkit to develop systems. Unlike MATLAB, the initial description is a block-based description. Each block used in the systems appears in two different formats, (a simulatable and a synthesizable version) which results in possible inconsistency.
COSSAP of Synopsys performs the same kind of system exploration as SPW.
DC and BC are products of Synopsys that support system synthesis. These products do not provide sufficient algorithm exploration functions.
Because all of these tools support only part of the desired functionality, contemporary systems are designed typically with a mix of these environments. For example, a designer might do algorithmic exploration in MATLAB, then do architecture definition with SPW, and finally map the architecture definition to an implementation in DC.
One primary aim of the invention is a design environment that makes it possible to design a digital systems from a data vector description to an implementable level such a VHDL. A further aim is to perform this design within the same object oriented environment. Another aim is to provide a means comprised in said design environment for simulating behaviour at any level of development.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first aspect of the present invention concerns a design apparatus compiled on a computer environment for generating from a behavioral description of a system comprising at least one digital system part, an implementable description for said system, said behavioral description being represented on said computer environment as a first set of objects with a first set of relations therebetween, said implementable description being represented on said computer environment as a second set of objects with a second set of relations therebetween, said first and second set of objects being part of a design environment.
A behavioral description is a description which substantiates the desired behavior of a system in a formal way. In general, a behavioral description is not readily implementable since it is a high-level description, and it only describes an abstract version of the system that can be simulated. An implementable description is a more concrete description that is, in contrast to a behavioral description, detailed enough to be implemented in software to provide an approximative simulation of real-life behavior or in hardware to provide a working semiconductor circuit.
A design environment is an environment in which algorithms can be produced and run by interpretion or compilation.
An object is a data structure which shows all the characteristics of an object from an object oriented programming language, such as described in “Object Oriented Design” (G. Booch, Benjamin/Cummings Publishing, Redwood City, Calif., 1991).
Said first and second set of objects are preferably part of a single design environment. Said design environment comprises preferably an Object Oriented Programming Language (OOPL). Said OOPL can be C++.
Said design environment is preferably an open environment wherein new objects can be created. A closed environment will not provide the flexibility that can be obtained with an open environment and will limit the possibilities of the user.
Preferably, at least part of the input signals and output signals of said first set of objects are at least part of the input signals and output signals of said second set of objects. Essentially all of the input signals and output signals of said first set of objects can be essentially all of the input signals and output signals of said second set of objects.
At least part of the input signals and output signals of said behavioral description are preferably at least part of the input signals and output signals of said implementable description. Essentially all of the input signals and output signals of said behavioral description can be essentially all of the input signals and output signals of said implementable description.
Said first set of objects has preferably first semantics and said second set of objects has preferably second semantics. With semantics is meant the model of computation. Said first semantics is preferably a data-vector model and/or a data-flow model. Said second semantics is preferably a signal flow graph (SFG) data structure.
Preferably, the impact in said implementable description of at least a part of the objects of said second set of objects is essentially the same as the impact in said behavioral description of at least a part of the objects of said first set of objects.
Preferably, the impact in said implementable description of essentially all of the objects of said second set of objects is essentially the same as the impact in said behavioral description of essentially all of the objects of said first set of objects.
Impact can include not only function, but also the way the object interacts with its environment from an external point of view. A way of rephrasing this is that the same interface for providing input and collecting output is present. This does not mean that the actual implementation of the data-processing between input and output is the same. The implementation is embodied by objects, which can be completely different but perform a same function. In an OOPL, the use of methods of an object without knowing its actual implementation is referred to as information hiding.
The design apparatus preferably further comprises means for simulating the behavior of said system said means simulating the be
Cockx Johan
Schaumont Patrick
Vernalde Serge
Interuniversitair Micro-Elektronica Centrum
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Sergent Douglas W.
Teska Kevin J.
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