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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Albert Koelmans, Martin McLauchlan, Professor David Kinniment
A set of tools are presented which are aimed at producing graphical representations of a number of aspects of the behaviour and structure of hardware designs expressed in the Hardware Description Language STRICT. Three main types of diagrams are described. Firstly, a structural diagram in which the implementation of a block in terms of sub blocks and their interconnection is shown; secondly, a control flow diagram which is presented as a Petri Net giving the control behaviour; and finally a resource usage diagram illustrating the results of exercising a particular block in terms of the silicon area occupied and the time required to compute the result. The information presented in graphical form is that described by the source language, but the graphics provide a more easily comprehensible medium. Our belief is that this medium can often assist in a better understanding of the structure and behaviour of a particular algorithm and its implementation, which may then lead to a better optimised system.
Author(s): Kuszynski CA, Busfield T, Koelmans AM, McLauchlan MR, Kinniment DJ
Publication type: Report
Publication status: Published
Series Title: Computing Laboratory Technical Report Series
Year: 1990
Pages: 28
Print publication date: 01/12/1990
Source Publication Date: December 1990
Report Number: 318
Institution: Computing Laboratory, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Place Published: Newcastle upon Tyne
URL: http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/trs/papers/318.pdf
