Integrated Scheduling and Binding : A Synthesis Approach for Design Space Exploration

Synthesis of digital systems, involves a number of tasks ranging from scheduling to generating interconnections. The interrelationship between these tasks implies that good designs can only be generated by considering the overall impact of a design decision. The approach presented in this paper provides a framework for integrating scheduling decisions with binding decisions. The methodology supports allocation of a wider mix of operator modules and covers the design space more effectively. The process itself can be described as incremental synthesis and is thus well-suited for applications involving partial pre-synthesized structures.