Matisse: A system-on-chip design methodology emphasizing dynamic memory management

MATISSE is a design environment intended for developing systems characteriz ed by a tight interaction between control and data-flow behavior, intensive data storage and transfer, and stringent real-time requirements. Matisse b ridges the gap from a system specification, using a concurrent object-orien ted language, to an optimized embedded single-chip hardware/software implem entation. Matisse supports stepwise exploration and refinement of dynamic m emory management, memory architecture exploration, and gradual incorporatio n of timing constraints before going to traditional tools for hardware synt hesis, software compilation, and inter-processor communication synthesis. W ith this approach, specifications of embedded systems can be written in a h igh-level programming language using data abstraction. Application of MATIS SE on telecom protocol processing systems in the ATM area shows significant improvements in area usage and power consumption.