Xilinx, Inc.

L James Hwang

Roger Brent Milne

Sundararajarao Mohan

Nabeel Shirazi

Jonathan B Ballagh

Jeffrey Stroomer

Vinod Kumar Kathail

Sujoy Mitra

Ralph D Wittig

Eric F Dellinger

Hua Sun

Cameron D Patterson

Jorge Ernesto Carrillo

Haibing Ma

Reno L Sanchez

Shay Ping Seng

Kumar Deepak

Shail Aditya Gupta

Bradley L Taylor

Arvind Sundararajan

Siddharth Rele

Akella Sastry

Yogesh Laxmikant Chobe

Tom Shui

Vidhumouli Hunsigida

Singh Vinay Jitendra

Philip Bryn James-Roxby

Chi Bun Chan

Hem C Neema

Eric R Keller

Gabor Szedo

Sudipto Chakraborty

Jimmy Zhenming Wang

Michael Gill

Alfred Huang

Alexander Carreira

R Brent Milne

Samuel A Skalicky

Kevin Marc Neilson

Jeffrey D Stroomer

Implementing an application within an integrated circuit (IC) having a data processing engine (DPE) array coupled to a Network-on-Chip (NoC) can include determining, using computer hardware, data transfer requirements for a software portion of the application intended to execute on the DPE array by simulating data traffic to the NoC as generated by the software portion, generating, using the computer hardware, a NoC routing solution for data paths of the application implemented by the NoC based, at least in part, on the data transfer requirements for the software portion. The software portion can be compiled for execution by different ones of a plurality of DPEs of the DPE array based, at least in part, on the NoC routing solution. Configuration data can be generated using the computer hardware. The configuration data, when loaded into the IC, configures the NoC to implement the NoC routing solution.

Hardware-software design flow with high-level synthesis for heterogeneous and programmable devices

For an application specifying a software portion for implementation within a data processing engine (DPE) array of a device and a hardware portion having High-Level Synthesis (HLS) kernels for implementation within programmable logic (PL) of the device, a first interface solution is generated that maps logical resources used by the software portion to hardware resources of an interface block coupling the DPE array and the PL. A connection graph specifying connectivity among the HLS kernels and nodes of the software portion to be implemented in the DPE array; and, a block diagram based on the connection graph and the HLS kernels are generated. The block diagram is synthesizable. An implementation flow is performed on the block diagram based on the first interface solution. The software portion of the application is compiled for implementation in one or more DPEs of the DPE array.

Implementing an application within a heterogeneous device can include receiving an application specifying a plurality of hardware accelerators and having a plurality of sections corresponding to different subsystems of the heterogeneous device, wherein the plurality of sections are specified using different programming models. Compiling each section based on the programming model of the section and the subsystem of the heterogeneous device corresponding to the section into an accelerator representation. Linking the accelerator representations based on a platform of the heterogeneous device, generating a hardware implementation of the application for the heterogeneous device based on the linked accelerator implementations, and automatically generating program code configured to control one or more of the plurality of hardware accelerators of the hardware implementation.

Development environment for heterogeneous devices

Event tracing for a system-on-chip (SOC) may be implemented by instrumenting, using a computer, a design for the SOC with instrumentation program code that, responsive to execution by a processor of the SOC, generates software trace events. The design may be specified in a high level programming language. A circuit design specifying an accelerator circuit for a function of the design may be generated using the computer. The accelerator circuit is configured for implementation within programmable circuitry of the SOC. The circuit design may be instrumented to include trace circuitry using the computer. The trace circuitry may be configured to detect hardware trace events for operation of the accelerator circuit, receive the software trace events, and combine the hardware and software trace events into time synchronized trace data.

Hardware and software event tracing for a system-on-chip

Application-specific tailoring and reuse of a platform for a target integrated circuit may include determining, using a processor, a plurality of unused interfaces of the platform and determining, using the processor, connectivity of a circuit block to be coupled to the platform within the target integrated circuit. The method may include coupling, using the processor, the circuit block to the platform using an interface that is compatible with the circuit block and selected from the plurality of unused interfaces of the platform.

Encapsulating metadata of a platform for application-specific tailoring and reuse of the platform in an integrated circuit

In an example implementation, a method is provided for compiling an HLL source file including function calls to one or more hardware accelerated functions. Function calls in the HLL source file to hardware accelerated functions are identified and grouped into a plurality of subsets for exclusive implementation in programmable logic resources. Sets of configuration data are generated for configuration of the programmable logic resources to implement hardware accelerated functions for the respective subsets of function calls. An interface manager is generated and the identified function calls are replaced with interface code configured to communicate with the interface manager. The interface manager manages configuration of the programmable logic resources to switch between the sets of configuration data to implement hardware accelerated functions for different ones of the subsets.

Compilation of system designs

Implementing a system-on-chip (SOC) design specified as a high level programming language (HLL) application may include querying, using a computer, a platform description to determine an available interface of a platform for a target integrated circuit and generating, using the computer, hardware for a function of the HLL application marked for hardware acceleration and hardware coupling the marked function with the available interface of the platform. Implementing the SOC design may also include modifying, using the computer, the HLL application with program code configured to access the generated hardware for the marked function and building, using the computer, the hardware and the software of the SOC design.

Automatic implementation of a customized system-on-chip

In an example implementation, a method is provided for compiling an HLL source file. The HLL source file checked for function calls to a set of hardware-accelerated functions having hardware implementations specified in a hardware library. For each HLL function call to a hardware-accelerated function, a circuit design is retrieved from the hardware library. The circuit design specifies a hardware implementation of the hardware-accelerated function. HLL interface code configured to communicate with the hardware implementation of the hardware-accelerated function is also generated. The HLL function call to the hardware-accelerated function in the HLL source file is replaced with the generated interface code. The HLL source file is compiled to generate a program executable on a processor of a programmable IC. Configuration data is generated that implements the retrieved circuit designs on the programmable circuitry of the programmable IC.

Compilation of HLL code with hardware accelerated functions

Hardware and software co-synthesis performance estimation includes, for a design specified in a high level programming language and having a processor executable partition and a partition selected for hardware acceleration, estimating hardware latency for a hardware accelerator implementation of the selected partition, scheduling the selected partition using the hardware latency generating hardware partition latency information, and compiling an instrumented version of the design using a processor. The instrumented and compiled version of the design is executed generating software latency information. A design performance for the design is determined through combining the hardware partition latency information with the software latency information.

Hardware and software cosynthesis performance estimation

A method and apparatus for verifying and debugging a circuit design module of a high level programming system is disclosed herein. A circuit design created in a high level programming environment must undergo a number of transformations as it is compiled into a form that can be realized in hardware. At each transformative step, the behavior of the circuit must be verified with a simulation model and debugged if the transformation has changed the behavior of the circuit. The claimed invention presents a novel approach for verifying and debugging between different simulation models and achieves an advance in the art by utilizing the modularized structure of a high-level circuit design to systematically identify simulation mismatches among different simulation models and determine which portions of the circuit design are responsible for the discrepancy.

Verification and debugging using heterogeneous simulation models

A method is provided for synthesizing an HLL program. For one or more variables to observe and/or control in a function of the HLL program, a first code segment is added to the function in the HLL program. For each of the one or more variables a respective second code segment is also added to the HLL program. In response to encountering the first code segment during synthesis of the HLL program, a memory is instantiated in a synthesized design. In response to encountering the second code segment during synthesis of the HLL program, a respective interface circuit is instantiated in the synthesized design. Each interface circuit is configured to replicate a state of the corresponding variable in the memory during operation of the synthesized design. A table is generated that maps names of the one or more variables to respective memory addresses in the memory.

Software debugging of synthesized hardware

A method of automatically developing a data transfer network includes determining, using a processor, a plurality of data transfers of a function of a circuit design marked for hardware acceleration within a target integrated circuit. The circuit design is specified in a high level programming language, and at least one other function of the circuit design remains executable by a microprocessor of the target integrated circuit. Each of the plurality of data transfers is characterized. Each of the plurality of data transfers is correlated with resources of the target integrated circuit. A programmatic description of a data transfer network is generated for the circuit design. The data transfer network connects the hardware accelerator and the microprocessor according to the characterizing and the correlating.

Automatic generation of a data transfer network

An interface to a dynamically configurable arithmetic unit can include data alignment modules, where each data alignment module receives input variables being associated with one or more arithmetic expressions. The interface can include multiplexers coupled to the data alignment modules, wherein a data alignment module has outputs coupled to a first multiplexer. The first multiplexer can have a selection line and an output coupled to an input port of the dynamically configurable arithmetic unit. The interface can include a second multiplexer having input instructions and the selection line, where each instruction is associated with one of the arithmetic expressions and has an operation to be performed by the dynamically configurable arithmetic unit. The second multiplexer is configurable to provide selected ones of the input instructions to the dynamically configurable arithmetic unit through an output of the second multiplexer responsive to the selection line.

Interfacing with a dynamically configurable arithmetic unit

A method of modeling a design in a high level modeling system that supports unidirectional data flow, may comprise identifying a bus-block to represent a connectivity of a bi-directional bus in an system. The bus-block may be represented in serial relationship with the bus. Taps may interface the bus via the bus-block. During simulation, the bus-block emulates behavior of a tri-state buffer in series with an input line for the tap interface. During synthesis, pairs of unidirectional input and output lines of opposite data-routing orientation, which may emulate bus ports to the bus-block, may be collapsed to a single bus port. The synthesis may further generate a netlist that may dispose a tri-state buffer between a tap input and the bus. The netlist may also represent layout of the tri-state buffer for driving an output of the tap.

Method of simulating bidirectional signals in a modeling system

Method and apparatus for translating a first program in a dynamically-typed language to a program in a hardware description language. From the dynamically-typed-language first program, a second program in single static assignment format is generated. For cases where a variable is assigned different data types at different places in the program, the assignments of the different data types are resolved for the variable. The second program is then translated to a program in the hardware description language.

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Menlo Park, CA, United States of America

L James Hwang