Block party [system modelling]

Block-based design makes it possible to simulate designs using different types of tool. Some blocks can run high-level tools such as Matlab, with others running as hardware simulations. However, tying the different tools together presents problems. Matlab and Simulink are good for high-level modelling but they do not give you the information needed for deciding on the split between hardware and software in a design. Giving them a way of linking to hardware descriptions can overcome that and produce better designs. An important factor in system-level design is performance. The performance problem is, to a large extent, dependent on where you place the boundary between the hardware and the software parts of a design. This boundary is constrained by several factors such as power consumption or system performance. In order to achieve the best results, the partitioning process should be performed for different combinations of possible solutions.