Automated Synthesis of Digital Hardware

This paper describes a portion of the Carnegie-Mellon University Design Automation (CMU-DA) research. This part involves the design and construction of a data-memory allocator, consisting of a set of algorithms and data structures which synthesize hardware at the register-transfer level from a behavioral description written in ISP. The allocator selects registers and data operators and interconnects them with data paths to form a data part capable of implementing the data operations specified in the behavior. Results indicate that the allocator's performance compares favorably with a human designer when designing an elevator controller and a reduced PDP-8/E. Although optimal designs cannot be guaranteed, upper bounds for the number of components used can be derived from the ISP description.