Survival of an object oriented simulation framework through SystemC version upgrades

Abstract

SystemC has evolved from a limited simulation library towards an extensive system design framework since its introduction almost 10 years ago. Currently it is one of the most widely used system design languages and is supported by major EDA vendors. The cost for developing SystemC into a stable and widely adopted system design framework has in our experience been the inherent need of rewriting complex and well-modularized system models with every new SystemC release. In this paper we present our experiences in continuous development of a system level processor model through SystemC version upgrades. The focus is on our latest transition from SystemC 1.1 to version 2.2. In our practical experience, transitions from an older version of SystemC to a newer one have always required rewriting significant amounts, if not most, of the model code. We also experimented with synthesis after the upgrade, and concluded that the synthesis capabilities of SystemC for complex object oriented models are still severely limited at best.