Program Template Research Articles

A Self Test Program Design Technique for Embedded DSP Cores

This paper describes a self test program design technique for embedded DSP cores. The method requires minimal knowledge of the core's internals and minimal insertion of external LFSR hardware, without scan insertions. The test program consists of a small set of instructions which operate iteratively on pseudorandom data generated by the LFSRs to fully test the DSP core components. The method uses instruction-based test metrics and a program template as a blueprint to generate the test program. The self test scheme has been successfully applied on an industrial-strength DSP core and the results compare favorably to other methods using ATPG and pseudorandom BIST.

Building Retro-commissioning, Texas Style

ABSTRACT CenterPoint Energy is the first investor-owned utility in the state of Texas to sponsor a retro-commissioning program for commercial and industrial markets in its service territory. CenterPoint Energy is a Houston, Texas, based company engaged in the transmission and distribution of electric power to 1.8 million customers in a 5,000 squaremile area that includes Houston, the fourth largest city in the nation. Deregulation occurred in Texas in 2001, and significantly changed how investor-owned utilities offered energy efficiency programs within their service territories. As part of deregulation, the State Legislature required that 10 percent of all new demand growth be met through utility-sponsored energy efficiency programs. In the large commercial and industrial markets, CenterPoint Energy implemented a commercial and industrial standard offer program to help meet this 10 percent demand reduction goal. After two years of implementation and a downturn in the economy, it became apparent that another program was needed to extract demand reduction from commercial and industrial markets. Through discussion with national experts and review of other building commissioning programs, CenterPoint Energy concluded that retrocommissioning would be a good candidate to supply additional demand reduction along with identifying opportunities for its commercial and industrial standard offer program. In conjunction with other Texas investor-owned utilities, a retro-commissioning program template was submitted to and approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas in early 2003. This program has been structured to be a market transformation offering, and will continue until retro-commissioning becomes an everyday practice in the CenterPoint Energy service territory. This article will detail the development of CenterPoint Energy's retro-commissioning program, characterize the market for retro-commissioning in the CenterPoint Energy service territory, review program goals over the next three years, and discuss results to date and lessons learned.

An Abstract Formalization of Correct Schemas for Program Synthesis

Program schemas should capture not only structured program design principles, but also domain knowledge, both of which are of crucial importance for hierarchical program synthesis. However, most researchers represent schemas as purely syntactic constructs, which can provide only a program template, but not the domain knowledge. In this paper, we take a semantic approach and show that a schema S consists of a syntactic part, namely a template T, and a semantic part. Template T is formalized as an open (first-order) logic program in the context of the problem domain, characterized as a first-order axiomatization, called a specification frameworkF, which is the semantic part. F endows the schema S with a formal semantics, and enables us to define and reason about its correctness. Naturally, correct schemas can be used to guide the synthesis of correct programs.

Microprocessor power estimation using profile-driven program synthesis

This paper presents a new approach for estimating power dissipation in a high performance microprocessor chip. A characteristic profile (including parameters such as the cache miss rate, branch-prediction miss rate, pipeline stalls, instruction mix, and so on) is first extracted from the application programs. Mixed-integer linear-programming and heuristic rules are then used to gradually transform a generic program template into a fully functional program. The synthesized program exhibits the same characteristics (and hence the same performance and power-dissipation behavior), yet it has an instruction trace that is orders of magnitude smaller than the initial trace. The synthesized program is subsequently simulated on a register-transfer-level description of the target microprocessor to provide the power-dissipation value. Results obtained for Intel's Pentium processor executing standard benchmark programs show a simulation-time reduction of three to five orders of magnitude.

The importance of customizing computer-assisted education software to meet the particular needs of learners

In recent years computer-assisted education (CAE) has provided exciting new ways to present anatomical ideas. Several multimedia software programs for medical education have recently entered the marketplace. Alternatively, we developed a system that allows the faculty unfamiliar with the computer to convert a set of class notes into a multimedia lecture presentation easily. The program template was designed to organize lecture materials and easily display relevant text, graphics, video and interactive questions. Using Asymetrix Toolbook®, we can use animation, still images or full motion video of prosections to illustrate fundamental ideas. Students had access to the award winning ADAM® program versus our course-individualized multimedia program. Our program correlated with the learning objectives established by the instructors of the class. Results of the student surveys showed that students gave higher ratings for the course-individualized Toolbook® program and laserdisc presentations over the ADAM® pro...

An analytic orbit prediction program generator

An ephemeris program generator is designed to automatically construct compact efficient ephemeris programs tailored specifically for tasks encountered in online real-time computing environments. For portability the ephemeris programs are written in standard FORTRAN IV. The analytic theory underlying the ephemeris program is the theory developed by Alfriend and Coffey which solves the zonal satellite problem is closed form. The flexibility required by a diverse user community is built into a meta-program which automatically constructs the ephemeris programs according to a program template/The program template is dictated from a terminal according to the specifications of the particular application. Using the program template the meta-program transcribes the series representing the theory into FORTRAN-compilable code. The largest version of the current ephemeris program can be held in the memory of current microcomputers and could be adapted for use in multiprocessing or distributed processing environments.

Problems, plans, and programs

An important learning skill is the ability to make abstractions, i.e., to construct classification schemes which highlight similarities and differences. In this paper we shall outline the content of a undergraduate course which attempts to teach this skill in the context of teaching introductory LISP programming and problem solving. The key to this enterprise has been the development of: 1. a taxonomy of problems , i.e., a classification scheme which groups problems into classes based on specific criteria, and 2. a set of plans , i.e., abstractions, each of which captures the essential features of a class of problems, and corresponding solution programs . We begin by developing a scheme for classifying the problems usually offered as exercises in introductory LISP courses. We then examine the LISP programs which solve problems in the various classes and abstract higher level structures called 'plans.' Here we view a plan as a program template plus comments describing the goals and reasons for the various expressions in the template. Next, we build on the set of plans to include new problems. Finally, we speculate briefly on the utility of our taxonomy with respect to programming in languages such as FORTRAN, APL, or PASCAL.

DEVELOPING ADULT LITERACY: APPROACHES TO PLANNING, IMPLEMENTING, AND DELIVERING LITERACY INITIATIVES

The authors of this book have set out to create a compilation of the theories behind different models of adult literacy to assist planners internationally in their development of new adult literacy programs. The book offers no ‘quick-fix’ solution or adult literacy program template, but is rich with examples and ideas emerging directly from literacy teachers ‘at the chalk face’ from diverse areas of the globe. Case studies demonstrate how ideas have been put into practice, with a focus on the learning experience being a collaborative process between a facilitator/teacher or between learners and their peers in the classroom. There is also a focus on learning in outdoor learning environments