C-to-Silicon Support of Concurrent Processes

Another key differentiator of C-to-Silicon Compiler (CtoS) when compared to C / C++ based ESL tools is its ability to describe multiple concurrent threads. CtoS supports multiple concurrent threads because, rather than using pure C or C++ as input language, CtoS uses SystemC.

SystemC and CtoS support the capability of declaring multiple concurrent threads in a single SC_MODULE. SystemC and CtoS also support the description of an SC_MODULE as a structural netlist of other SC_MODULES.

Supporting multiple threads and module instances are requirements for any ESL language and High Level Synthesis tool to be a viable alternative to traditional RTL synthesis.

Pure C / C++ ESL based tools cannot support multiple threads and therefore their scope is limited to what can be described by a single process in VHDL or a single “always” block in Verilog.

This Team ESL posting is provided by Dr. Sergio Ramirez, Sr Staff Product Engineer for the C-to-Silicon Compiler high level synthesis product. Product Engineer for the C-to-Silicon Compiler high level synthesis product.