Stream Compilation for Real-Time Embedded Multicore Systems

Multicore systems have not only become ubiquitous in the desktop and server worlds, but are also becoming the standard in the embedded space. Multicore offers programmability and flexibility over traditional ASIC solutions. However, many of the advantages of switching to multicore hinge on the assumption that software development is simpler and less costly than hardware development. However, the design and development of correct, high-performance, multi-threaded programs is a difficult challenge for most programmers. Stream programming is one model that has wide applicability in the multimedia, signal processing, and networking domains. Streaming is convenient for developers because it separates the creation of actors, or functions that operate on packets of data, from the flow of data through the system. However, stream compilers are generally ineffective for embedded systems because they do not handle strict resource or timing constraints. Specifically, real-time deadlines and memory size limitations are not handled by conventional stream partitioning and scheduling techniques. This paper introduces the SPIR compiler that orchestrates the execution of streaming applications with strict memory and timing constraints. Software defined radio or SDR is chosen as the application space to illustrate the effectiveness of the compiler for mapping applications onto the IBM Cell platform.