Design Flow: HW vs. SW

Yilin Huang 0627314

Overview

Software: features and flexibility Hardware: performance Designs have different focuses

SW design flow in V Model

Requirements: what to do Specification: how to do

Refinement

SW design flow in V Model

System design: sub-systems, interfaces Component design: internal structure

Refinement

SW design

design for change design to ease

extensibility presently needed expected or possible

extensions

HW design flow

Constrains timing, size, power

HW design flow

Specification function and behavior

detail Hardware

Description behavior modeling

HW design flow

Synthesis description →

components mapping to target

technology (library)

HW design flow

Partition, Place and Route target technology

device library elements →

chip

Key differences in HW/SW design

Design orientationfeatures,

extensibilitytask specific

(performance)

Software Hardware

Design process refinement transition

Design step bound close to

specification implementation

Requirement of correctness

relative low relative high

Timing testability directly testablesynthesizable

real timing after PPR

Cost relative low relative high

Tool costs

Software design tools UML tools 0~$ compilers interpreters also free available

Hardware design tools Commercial

mostly $1000 -3000 per seat or from vendors

For Academic Institutes and Research Labs e.g. EUROPRACTICE membership

software_price.html Some free tools

e.g. GHDL(vhdl simulator). Icarus Verilog (simulator and synthesizer), See: gEDA

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