Web-based design Flávio Rech Wagner UFRGS, Porto Alegre, Brazil SBCCI, Manaus, 24/09/00 Informática UFRGS

Motivation Systems-on-chip, embedded systems –software, hardware (digital, analog) –multiprocessor platforms (DSPs, µcontrollers, ASIPs) Design productivity gap Design reuse Expertise reuse

Motivation Systems-on-chip, embedded systems Design productivity gap –Transistor count grows 58% per year –Design productivity grows 21% per year –Design and expertise reuse is the solution Design reuse Expertise reuse

Motivation Systems-on-chip, embedded systems Design productivity gap Design reuse –Standards VSIA –Methodologies –Availability of IPs Expertise reuse

Motivation Systems-on-chip, embedded systems Design productivity gap Design reuse –Standards –Methodologies Abstraction - hard x soft IPs Languages - VHDL, Java, SpecC Object-orientation Core selection Communication synthesis –Availability of IPs Expertise reuse

Motivation Systems-on-chip, embedded systems Design productivity gap Design reuse –Standards –Methodologies –Availability of IPs Vendors Protection E-commerce Expertise reuse

Motivation Systems-on-chips, embedded systems Design productivity gap Design reuse Expertise reuse –Analog and mixed design –Physical design and effects –High-level design –Test and testability

The impact of the web Web is a “technology push” also for EDA Services Distributed data Distributed tools Distributed teams

The impact of the web Web is a “technology push” also for EDA Services –Information on components and products –Search engines –Technical support –IP analysis and selection Distributed data Distributed tools Distributed teams

The impact of the web Web is a “technology push” also for EDA Services Distributed data –Design reuse –IPs –Standards Distributed tools Distributed teams

The impact of the web Web is a “technology push” also for EDA Services Distributed data Distributed tools –Distributed environments –Tool integration –Distributed tool execution Distributed teams

The impact of the web Web is a “technology push” also for EDA Services Distributed data Distributed tools Distributed teams –Expertise reuse –Collaborative design

Environments, frameworks Requirements –Management of data, tools, design flows, teams Data management Design management Tool management Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web Requirements –Management of distributed data, tools, design flows, teams Data management Design management Tool management Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web Requirements Data management –Distributed version and configuration management Design management Tool management Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web Requirements Data management Design management –Distributed design flow management –Loosely coupled flows –System modularity –Methodologies for web-based design Tool management Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web Requirements Data management Design management Tool management –Tool integration or encapsulation –Web-based tool interfaces Team management

Environments, frameworks on the web Requirements Data management Design management Tool management Team management –Task distribution and synchronization –Design tasks may be fired … –By designers on different nodes … –And may need tools and data on different nodes

Tools on the web “Applet” model x “computing center” model –Tool runs either on the client or on the server side –Move data or move tool? –Interactive x batch tools –Pay-per-use –Protection of data and tools A good architecture combines both models What tools?

Tools on the web “Applet” model x “computing center” model A good architecture combines both models –Each task has a different trade-off regarding... Communication and computation costs Security –Solution may very according to the network characteristics What tools?

Tools on the web “Applet” model x “computing center” model A good architecture combines both models –Each task has a different trade-off regarding... Communication and computation costs Security –Solution may very according to the network characteristics Performance Intranets x Internet What tools?

Tools on the web “Applet” model x “computing center” model A good architecture combines both models What tools? –Is the web a new platform enabling the development of new tools? –Do we have the same “old” tools? –Taking concrete cases

Tools on the web “Applet” model x “computing center” model A good architecture What tools? –Is the web a new platform enabling the development of new tools? –Do we have the same “old” tools … With a new web interface? Running on a new execution environment? –Taking concrete cases

Tools on the web “Applet” model x “computing center” model A good architecture What tools? –Is the web a new platform enabling the development of new tools? –Do we have the same “old” tools … With a new web interface? Running on a new execution environment? –Taking concrete cases High-level synthesis, place-and-route => same tools! Validation => new simulation tools!

Distributed simulation Co-simulation of multiple domains Multi-language specification Hardware models Standards Challenges

Distributed simulation Co-simulation of multiple domains Multi-language specification Hardware models Standards Challenges on the web !!!

Distributed simulation Co-simulation of multiple domains Multi-language specification Hardware models Standards –For describing the behavior of IPs –HLA: High-Level Architecture Federated simulation Challenges on the web !!!

Distributed simulation Co-simulation of multiple domains Multi-language specification Hardware models Standards Challenges –Integrating IPs into distributed models –Performing multi-language, multi-domain co-simulation on the web on the web !!!

An ideal web-based environment Adapt tools to a web-based design environment –Build web interfaces –Consider client - server trade-offs Build new web-specific tools Reuse ideas What is really new and important?

An ideal web-based environment Adapt tools to a web-based design environment Build new web-specific tools –Distributed simulation Reuse ideas What is really new and important?

An ideal web-based environment Adapt tools to a web-based design environment Build new web-specific tools Reuse ideas –From design frameworks An “old” discipline which... –Was fading away … –And may become again relevant because of web computing Recover models, techniques, architectures and adapt them to the web –From collaborative design What is really new and important?

An ideal web-based environment Adapt tools to a web-based design environment Build new web-specific tools Reuse ideas –From design frameworks –From collaborative design Bring solutions from different communities What is really new and important?

An ideal web-based environment Adapt tools to a web-based design environment Build new web-specific tools Reuse ideas What is really new and important ? –IP-based methodologies –Challenge: combine abstraction + language + object-orientation + + soft IPs + communication synthesis + …

An ideal web-based environment Adapt tools to a web-based design environment Build new web-specific tools Reuse ideas from design frameworks –Environments must support methodologies languagesdesign management modelsdata management toolsteam management methodologies –“Old” ideas must be adapted to “new” IP-based methodologies What is really new and important? X

An ideal web-based environment Adapt tools to a web-based design environment Build new web-specific tools Reuse ideas from design frameworks –Environments must support methodologies –“Old” ideas must be adapted to “new” IP-based methodologies Recent proposals on object-oriented VHDL to promote reuse and workflow management What is really new and important?