JP3225972B2 - Circuit description support device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circuit description supporting apparatus for supporting optimization of a circuit description when designing an electronic circuit, an LSI, or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among devices that support optimization of a circuit description such as an electronic circuit or an LSI, a circuit description of a specific functional block is optimized for a request for parameter characteristics of the functional block. There are various expert systems which automatically generate

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an example of such a conventional circuit description support apparatus. In this example, an expert system 2 and a database 3 including a library are integrally configured. Then, the expert system 2 performs necessary development on the circuit description input from the input file 1 with reference to the database 3, and outputs data obtained as a result to the output file 4.

That is, the expert system 2 analyzes data input from the input file 1 and refers to a database 3 containing know-how for optimizing a circuit description.
A usable circuit method candidate is extracted from the circuit description library, and the circuit description module is edited according to the selection of the circuit method. This editing result is output to the output file 4.

[0005]

However, in the conventional apparatus, since a database having know-how of circuit description optimization and a circuit description library are integrally formed, for example, a circuit module having a new generality is devised. If the target technology is changed or the target technology is changed, there is a problem that it is necessary to correct or change the circuit description library. In other words, various expert systems corresponding to different functional blocks were required.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and is intended to easily respond to changes in circuit modules and target technologies.

[0007]

A circuit description support apparatus according to the present invention includes an instruction set providing means for sequentially providing instruction sets one by one in response to a request, and a database storing information relating to optimization of a circuit description. Each time a task and task are completed, a request is output to the instruction set providing means, and one set of unprocessed instruction sets is provided .
Only receiving, in response to the instruction set, using the information in the database means, and consultants means for presenting candidates for one or more circuits for circuit description of the input instruction set, and independently of the database means Library means for storing the plurality of circuit description modules,
When the editing process is completed , each time a request is output to the consultant means, it corresponds to one instruction set
Supplied with data to be characterized by comprising a edit unit for editing the read at least one circuit description module corresponding to the circuit description of the data presented by the consultant means in correspondence with the data from the library unit .

[0008]

In the circuit description supporting apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, since the database means and the library means are independently constructed, a circuit module having a new generality is devised or a target technology is changed. In such a case, only one circuit description library needs to be modified, which makes it easy to deal with.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a circuit description support apparatus according to the present invention. From the circuit description input stored in the input file 11, predetermined data is supplied to the consultant device 12 and the circuit description editing device 17. The consultant device 12 has a database 13. The database 13 stores information on know-how for optimizing a circuit description using an AI (expert) system, fuzzy logic, or the like. The circuit description editing device 17 includes a library 19 for storing data relating to various circuit description modules.
And an editor 18 that refers to data stored in the library 19 as necessary and performs an editing process.

[0010] The interface 14 supplies the output of the consultant device 12 to the display unit 15 to perform a predetermined display, and also supplies the data corresponding to the operation input from the operation unit 16 to the consultant device 12. The editor 18 outputs the circuit description obtained as a result of the editing to the output file 20.

Next, the operation will be described. A predetermined circuit description is input to the input file 11. In the embodiment, a description regarding an instruction, a size, a characteristic, and a repeat is input. This circuit description is set as many times as necessary. In the embodiment, MPY meaning a multiplier is input as an instruction, and 8 bits are specified as a size. As a characteristic, a clock frequency of 20 MHz is specified as a small-sized and high-speed one.
Further, three times are specified as the number of repetitions. Among them, the information on the instruction and the size is supplied to the consultant device 12 and the circuit description editing device 17. Also,
Information on the characteristics is supplied to the consultant device 12, and information on the repeat is supplied to the circuit description editing device 17.

The consultant device 12 refers to the database 13 for a part that can be selected with respect to the circuit system based on the input command, information on the size and characteristics, and selects an optimal circuit from among several available candidates. The configuration candidates are narrowed down, one or more are selected, and the selected ones are displayed on the display unit 15 via the interface 14. In the case of this embodiment, for example, two systems of a multiplier system, a Booth system (Booth system) and an array system (Array system) are presented. The user sees this display on the display unit 15 and selects a predetermined method. This selection can be made by operating the operation unit 16 through the interface 14 to the consultant device 1.
2 is commanded. The consultant device 12 adds the code of the selected circuit system (for example, the booth system) to the circuit description and supplies it to the circuit description editing device 17.

The library 19 of the circuit description editing device 17 stores, for example, the following circuit description modules. 1 Multiplication module [nbit]; 2 ... MPY ... 3 ... mpy ... 4 [if Booth method] 5 ｛..BBB ... 6..bbb ...｝ 7 [if Array method 8 ｛.. AAA ... 9..aaa ...｝ 10 end module.

Now, the editor 18 specifies a size of 8 bits and a booth type circuit system as a multiplier. Also, three times are input as the number of repetitions. As a result, the editor 18 searches the library 19 for an 8-bit multiplication module, and selects the Booth method in that module. Then repeat the module three times. As a result, the following circuit description is output to the output file 20. 1 Multiplication module [8bit]; 2 ... MPY ... 3 ... mpy ... 4 ... BBB ... 5 ... bbb ... 6 ... MPY ... 7 ... .mpy ... 8 ... BBB ... 9 ... bbb ... 10 ... MPY ... 11 ... mpy ... 12 ... BBB ... 13 ... bbb ... 14 end module.

FIG. 2 shows the above processing in a time chart. That is, the instruction set 1, the instruction set 2, and the like are sequentially set in the input file 11. The consultant device 12 issues a request to the input file 11 when the consulting work has been completed. The input file 11 supplies an unprocessed instruction set to the consultant device 12 when a request is supplied from the consultant device 12. When the instruction set is input, the consultant device 12 performs a consulting operation for the instruction set. Information obtained as a result of this consulting service is supplied to the display unit 15 via the interface 14 and displayed.

On the other hand, the circuit description editing device 17 generates a request signal to the consultant device 12 when the editing process is completed. The consultant device 12
When a request signal is supplied from the circuit description editing device 17, data relating to a circuit method corresponding to an operation from the operation unit 16 is supplied to the circuit description editing device 17. The circuit description editing device 17 executes editing work related to the circuit system supplied from the consultant device 12. The circuit description obtained as a result of the editing operation is supplied to the output file 20.

When each process is completed, the consultant device 12 and the circuit description editing device 17 generate a request to the input file 11 or the consultant device 12 each time and receive a new input. In this way, each instruction set is processed sequentially.

The database 13 in the consultant device 12 and the library 19 in the circuit description editing device 17 are configured independently. Therefore, when a circuit module having a new generality is devised or a target technology is changed, it is only necessary to make necessary changes to the library 19, and the change can be easily handled.

The above embodiment is basically based on the premise that processing is performed by dedicated hardware, but it can also be implemented by programming on a general-purpose computer.

[0020]

As described above, according to the circuit description support apparatus of the present invention, the database means and the library means are made independent, so that a circuit module having a new generality is devised, and When the technology to be changed is changed, it is only necessary to add or change one circuit description library, and it is easy to cope with various changes. In addition, in the case of supporting optimization of an operation circuit description such as a digital filter and a matrix operation, it is possible to have a basic circuit description library such as a consistent multiplier and adder.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a circuit description support device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example of a conventional circuit description support device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 input file 2 expert system 3 database 4 output file 11 input file 12 consultant device 13 database 15 display unit 16 operation unit 17 circuit description editing device 18 editor 19 library 20 output file

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/50

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An instruction set providing means for sequentially providing an instruction set one by one in response to a request; a database means storing information relating to optimization of a circuit description ; each time, and outputs the request to the instruction set providing means, receiving a supply of unprocessed instruction set only one set, in response to the instruction set, the instruction using the information of said database means, input Consultant means for presenting one or more circuit candidates for a set of circuit descriptions; library means for storing a plurality of circuit description modules that are independent of the database means ; Each time, a request is output to the consultant means, and a set of instructions is
Supplied with corresponding data, further comprising a edit unit for editing the read at least one circuit description module corresponding to the circuit description of the data presented by the consultant means in correspondence with the data from the library unit Characteristic circuit description support device.