Programming challenges & solutions for multi-processor SoCs: An industrial perspective

In this paper, we describe challenges and solutions for programming multi-processor systems-on-a-chip, based on our experience in programming Platform2012, a large-scale multicore fabric under development by STMicroelectronics and CEA, using the MultiFlex multi-core programming environment. We present a component-based environment which is the basis for a rich set of parallel programming constructs supporting task level and data level parallelism. The MultiFlex programming tools are described, supporting platform mapping, debug, trace and analysis. We discuss the applicability of different parallel programming model variants for two versions of a high-definition VC-1 decoding video application. These two versions are mapped onto variants of a homogeneous multi-core platform.