Automatic generation of bus functional models from transaction level models

Abstract

This paper presents methodology and algorithms for generating bus functional models from transaction level models in system level design. Tkansaction level models are often used by designers for prototyping the bus functional architecture of the system. Being at a higher level of abstraction gives transaction level models the unique advantage of high simulation speed. This means that the designer can explore several bus functional architectures before choosing the optimal one. However, the process of converting a transaction level model to a bus functional model is not trivial. A manual conversion would not only be time consuming but also error prone. A bus functional model should also accurately represent the corresponding transaction level model. We present algorithms for automating this refinement process. Experimantal results presented using a tool based on these algorithms show their usefulness and feasibility.