Automatic generation of graphical user interfaces for VHDL based controllers

Abstract

Recent trends in embedded systems can be categorized by high application sophistication, shorter product life cycles and low cost requirements. As system complexity increases, rapid application development platforms and user interface builders became an important factor to reduce design cost and time-to-market. The tools proposed in this paper enable the rapid development of applications and the respective user interfaces, with automatic VHDL code generation for FPGAs, without requiring the need to write a single line of code. With high processing power, capability to generate graphical images and interface with pointing devices, reconfigurable hardware platforms provide a very competitive solution for embedded systems.