Computer-aided recoding for multi-core systems

The design of embedded computing systems faces a serious productivity gap due to the increasing complexity of their hardware and software components. One solution to address this problem is the modeling at higher levels of abstraction. However, manually writing proper executable system models is challenging, error-prone, and very time-consuming. We aim to automate critical coding tasks in the creation of system models. This paper outlines a novel modeling technique called computer-aided recoding which automates the process of writing abstract models of embedded systems by use of advanced computer-aided design (CAD) techniques. Using an interactive, designer-controlled approach with automated source code transformations, our computer-aided recoding technique derives an executable parallel system model directly from available sequential reference code. Specifically, we describe three sets of source code transformations that create structural hierarchy, expose potential parallelism, and create explicit communication and synchronization. As a result, system modeling is significantly streamlined. Our experimental results demonstrate the shortened design time and higher productivity.