Patent EP-1065611-A2 (EP)
Inventor: VAN ROMPAEY
IPC: H04B1/707
Filed: 1996-10-03
Abstract: The present invention is related to a design
apparatus compiled on a computer environment for generating
from a heterogeneous specification a heterogeneous
implementation of a system, said system comprising at least
one digital system part, said heterogeneous specification
comprising a number of paradigms having associated
behavioural and structural languages, said heterogeneous
implementation comprising hardware parts and software
parts, said apparatus comprising:
     a database compiled on said computer environment,
adapted for access by executable programs on said
computer environment for generating the implementation
of said system, said database comprising a plurality of
objects representing aspects of said system wherein said
objects comprise primitive objects representing the
specification of said system and hierarchical objects
being created by said executable programs while
generating the implementation of said system, said
hierarchical objects being refinements of said primitive
objects and having more detail and preserving any one or
all of said aspects to thereby generate said
implementation of said system; and said database further
comprising relations in-between said primitive objects
and in-between said hierarchical objects and between
said primitive objects and said hierarchical objects;
and further comprising functions for manipulating said
objects and said relations;    means for simulating said system comprising a plurality
of simulators for said behavioural and structural
languages;   means for implementing said system comprising a
plurality of compilers for said behavioural and
structural languages; means for allocating hardware
components for an implementation of said system;   means for assigning hardware subsystems and software
subsystems to allocated hardware components;   means for implementing the communication between said
software subsystems and said hardware subsystems, one of
the aspects of said communication being represented by
ports; characterized in that said apparatus further
comprises:   means for creating processor models of said allocated
hardware components as primitive objects in said
database, said models comprising software models
representing the software views on said hardware
components and hardware models representing the hardware
views on said hardware components,   means for specifying said system in said apparatus, the
specification in said apparatus comprising processes
being primitive objects and comprising ports, said ports
structuring the communication between said processes and
being primitive objects, said process comprising a
description of each of the different parts of said
system in a specific host language encapsulation, said
encapsulation comprising threads and context, a
plurality of behavioural and structural languages being
supported in said apparatus, and   
means for encapsulating said simulators, said compilers,
said hardware components, said hardware subsystems and said
software subsystems in said apparatus to thereby create a 
consistent communication between said encapsulation and
said encapsulated simulators, compilers, hardware
components, hardware subsystems and software subsystems,
thereby enabling the refinement process of said primitive
objects while generating the implementation of said system.