A flexible code generation framework for the design of application specific programmable processors

Abstract

This paper introduces a flexible code generation framework dedicated to the design of application specific programmable processors. This tool allows the user to build specific compilation flows, using a library of modules, implementing flexible compilation passes such as code generation, resource allocation, scheduling, etc. Retargeting is performed at two levels: minor changes in the target processor architecture are handled by a retargeting of the modules of the defined compilation flow, while major modifications require a structural modification of the flow. To build a compiler for a target processor, the user selects modules from the library, and links them together. While the global compiler structure is user-defined, the retargeting of modules is automatically performed by the framework. Target processors are described using ARMOR, a programmable processor modeling language especially defined for design space exploration. The proposed tool is then suitable for a large range of instruction set architectures.