A processor description language supporting retargetable multi-pipeline DSP program development tools

• Published in: Proceedings. 11th International Symposium on System Synthesis (Cat. No.98EX210) pp. 31 - 36
• Main Author: Siska, C.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 1998
• Subjects: Circuits; Consumer electronics; Delay; Digital signal processing; Electronic switching systems; Hardware; Hazards; Instruction sets; Pipelines; Turning
• ISBN: 9780818686238; 0818686235
• ISSN: 1080-1820
• DOI: 10.1109/ISSS.1998.730593

Many ISA-level machine description languages have been introduced to support the automated development and retargeting of digital signal processor (DSP) software development tools. These languages have yet to move below the ISA-level and adequately address DSP pipeline issues. ISA-level bit-accurate models may be reasonable for small micro-controllers, but are inadequate when applied to complex high-performance DSPs. We introduce a new machine description language, RADL, which supports the automated generation of DSP programming tools. From RADL, we can generate production-quality tools including cycle- and phase-accurate simulators. RADL has explicit support for pipeline modeling, including delay slots, interrupts, hardware loops, hazards, and multiple interacting pipelines in a natural and intuitive way. RADL can represent both SIMD and MIMD instruction styles. We have coupled our language to an in-house tool-chain generator which is used to create production assemblers, simulators and compilers.