A system for production use of high-level synthesis

High-level synthesis has been an active research field since the early eighties. However, apart from a few exceptions the technology has so far failed to make a smooth transition into the industrial environment. The main reasons are related more to the lack of an integrated methodology, including design entry, simulation, and synthesis, than to the quality of the synthesis algorithms. Experiences in applying the HIS system (High-level IBM Synthesis System) to real designs led to the development of a system and methodology which integrate language modeling, simulation, high-level, and logic synthesis. This paper presents the main concepts behind this system, namely, its modeling, synthesis, and simulation capabilities. Moreover, it addresses some of the problems encountered when transferring high-level synthesis to a production environment.<>