Interfaces for mixed-level simulation with sequential elements

It is well known that techniques such as performance modeling that can be used to effectively evaluate design alternatives early in the design process can greatly increase the quality of the ultimate implementation, while at the same time, decrease the design time. In order to gain the maximum benefit from performance modeling, it must be integrated into the design process such that the performance model can be directly refined into an implementation. This paper presents techniques for developing interfaces between abstract performance models and detailed behavioral models to enable this refinement process. These mixed-level modeling interfaces, as they are called, allow abstract performance models to be cosimulated with detailed behavioral models.