Chapter 1 - Introduction to Architecture Description Languages

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the architecture description languages (ADLs). The phrase “architecture description language” is used in the context of designing both software and hardware architectures. Software ADLs are used for representing and analyzing software architectures where they capture the behavioral specifications of the components and their interactions that comprise the software architecture. The hardware ADLs capture the structure (hardware components and their connectivity) and the behavior (instruction set) of processor architectures and these ADLs have been successfully used as a specification language for processor development. The ADL specification is used to generate various executable models such as simulator, compiler, and hardware implementation, and these models can enable various design automation tasks such as exploration, simulation, compilation, synthesis, test generation, and validation. The ADLs differ from programming languages in the sense that the latter bind all architectural abstractions to specific point solutions, whereas ADLs intentionally suppress or vary such binding. The ADLs differ from modeling languages such as UML, as the latter are more concerned with the behaviors of the whole rather than the parts, whereas the ADLs concentrate on the representation of components. Based on the nature of the information, the ADLs can be classified into three categories, which include structural, behavioral, and mixed. On the other hand, contemporary ADLs based on their objective can be classified into four categories, which include compilation-oriented, simulation-oriented, synthesis-oriented, and validation-oriented ADLs.