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浙江大学学报(工学版)
J4  2010, Vol. 44 Issue (6): 1079-1085    DOI: 10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2010.06.005
    
MetaHDL: inference and parameter tracing oriented domainspecific language for hardware description
MENG Xin, SHEN Hai-bin, YAN Xiao-lang
Institute of VLSI Design, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
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Abstract  

Configurable parameterized System-On-a-Chip (SoC) design using industry standard Hardware Description Language (HDL) is complicate and hard to maintain. A Domainspecific Language (DSL) named MetaHDL was presented for synthesizable functional description of configurable digital Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits, ranging from logic oriented lowlevel module design to Intellectual Property (IP) based SoC integration. MetaHDL uses inference and parameter tracing technologies and has specific optimizations for circuit’s structure and functional descriptions, so as to improve language expressiveness, code readability and maintainability, and achieved over 65% code reduction. MetaHDL provides a twolevel code configuration system consisting comprehensive preprocessor and parameter tracing mechanism to ease the reuseoriented module design and IP integration. MetaHDL has been used in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) chip development project, addressed various design challenges of complex reuse scenarios, and improved the project efficiency and quality.

Published: 16 July 2010
CLC:  TN 402  
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Cite this article:

MENG Cuan, CHEN Hai-Bin, YAN Xiao-Lang. MetaHDL: inference and parameter tracing oriented domainspecific language for hardware description. J4, 2010, 44(6): 1079-1085.

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http://www.zjujournals.com/eng/10.3785/j.issn.1008-973X.2010.06.005     OR     http://www.zjujournals.com/eng/Y2010/V44/I6/1079


MetaHDL: 面向自动推断和参数追踪硬件描述域特定语言

针对利用工业标准的硬件描述语言（HDL）进行可配置参数化系统芯片（SoC）设计工作繁琐、代码不易维护的问题.提出域特定语言MetaHDL,用于可配置数字集成电路的可综合功能描述,范围从面向逻辑的底层模块设计到IP集成的SoC设计.MetaHDL利用自动推断和参数追踪技术,针对电路结构功能描述作了专门的语法优化,提高了语言的描述力和表现力,进而提升了代码的可读性和可维护性,并达到65％以上的代码精简；通过封装寄存器传输级（RTL）设计规则,降低了RTL描述的复杂度,提高了团队工作质量和工作效率；由MetaHDL预处理器和参数追踪机制构成的二级代码配置体系,大大简化了面向重用的可配置参数化模块的设计和IP集成过程.MetaHDL被应用在“统一威胁管理”芯片设计项目中,很好地应对了复杂重用环境下代码配置的设计挑战,提高了项目开发的效率和质量.

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