High level software synthesis for signal processing systems

For the design of complex digital signal processing systems, block diagram oriented simulation has become a widely accepted standard. Current research is concerned with the coupling of heterogenous simulation engines and the transition from simulation to the implementation of digital signal processing systems. Due to the difficulty in mastering complex design spaces high level hardware and software synthesis is becoming increasingly important. The authors concentrate on the block diagram oriented software synthesis of digital signal processing systems for programmable processors, such as digital signal processors (DSP). They present the synthesis environment DESCARTES illustrating novel optimization strategies. Furthermore they discuss goal directed software synthesis, by which code is interactively or automatically generated, which can be adapted to the application specific needs imposed by constraints on memory space, sampling rate or latency.<>