A VHDL Based Expert System for Hardware Synthesis

Sajjan G Shiva,Judit U Jones

doi:10.1155/1994/93168

Abstract

This paper describes an expert system for Hardware Synthesis. Details of the target digital system are input to the expert system using Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL). The VHDL representation is first translated to a knowledge representation scheme known as a ‘hologram’ which is a combination of rule, frame and semantic network representation schemes. The hologram representation of the target system is then input to the inference engine, which matches the target system to the Knowledge Base components and selects an appropriate set for implementation, and connects them creating a digital circuit. Some design examples are described. The expert system approach results in designs very close to designs from a human designer. In its present form, the system does not perform a design space exploration for alternate designs, but expects the designer to alter the VHDL representation, after observing the results from previous design cycles.

Highlights

This paper describes an expert system for Hardware Synthesis
The VHDL representation is first translated to a knowledge representation scheme known as a ’hologram’ which is a combination of rule, frame and semantic network representation schemes
System [6] by IBM and the MIMOLA synthesis system [7] with a VHDL front end tool [8], the high level behavioral VHDL description is first translated into a register transfer (RT) level representation, which is translated into hardware

Summary

A VHDL Based Expert System for Hardware

Computer Science Department, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama. System [6] by IBM and the MIMOLA synthesis system [7] with a VHDL front end tool [8], the high level behavioral VHDL description is first translated into a register transfer (RT) level representation, which is translated into hardware. Research in the area of developing an expert system which would function as a design tool in the VHDL design environment has been done at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) by Green [2, 10], Klon [11], and Jones [12]. Green designed the University of Alabama Hardware Expert Synthesis System (UHESS) which serves as a design consultant in the selection of VHSIC ICs. Klon investigated the issues concerning interfacing UHESS to VHDL.

A VHDL BASED EXPERT SYSTEM FOR HARDWARE SYNTHESIS

CONCLUSIONS